The Rugby World Cup kicks off tonight as hosts England take on Fiji at Twickenham.
The tournament, held over the next six weeks, will be the first time it has been held in England since 1991.
On Saturday, Ireland take on Canada before Wales’ opener against Uruguay the following day. Scotland’s campaign begins on Wednesday against Japan.
Here’s a quick look at everything you need to know ahead of the tournament kicking off.
World Cup basics
- New Zealand are the tournament’s defending champions.
- The World Cup trophy is known as the Webb Ellis Cup.
- England last hosted the tournament in 2001.
- New Zealand are the bookies favourites to win the tournament.
- The final will be played on on Saturday, October 31.
- You can watch the best of the action live on ITV
World Cup key numbers
- 2.3 million. Roughly 2.3 million of the 2.45 million tickets have been sold.
- 500,000. Almost 500,000 overseas fans are expected to visit England and Wales during the tournament.
- One billion. The tournament is expected to bring £1bn to the economy.
- 20. Twenty teams will compete in the tournament.
- Six million. England players will share almost £6million if they win the tournament.
- 880. The South Africato face Japan on Saturday is the most-capped in their history, the starting team has 880 caps between them.
The Groups
- Group A: Australia, England, Wales, Fiji, Uruguay
- Group B: South Africa, Samoa, Japan, Scotland, USA
- Group C: New Zealand, Argentina, Tonga, Georgia, Namibia
- Group D: France, Ireland, Italy, Canada, Romania
World Cup venues
- St James’ Park (Newcastle)
- Elland Road (Leeds)
- Etihad Stadium (Manchester)
- King Power Stadium (Leicester)
- Villa Park (Birmingham)
- Millennium Stadium (Cardiff)
- Kingsholm (Gloucester)
- Sandy Park (Exeter)
- Twickenham (London)
- Wembley Stadium (London)
- Olympic Stadium (London)
- Stadium MK (Milton Keynes)
- Brighton Community Stadium (Brighton)
Home Nations captains
- Scotland: Greig Laidlaw
- England: Chris Robshaw
- Wales: Sam Warburton
- Ireland: Paul O’Connell
