Excitement is mounting ahead of the Rugby World Cup, which kicks off on 18 September at Twickenham, when England take on Fiji.
Twenty teams will do battle for the Webb Ellis Cup, currently held by New Zealand, who remain the world's number one team and are favourites to become the first side to retain the trophy.
The 38cm high cup is named after William Webb Ellis the Rugby schoolboy who, according to legend, first picked up the ball during a game of football and ran with it. Whether the story is true and the sport owes its existance to Webb Ellis is doubtful. Yet his name will forever be associated with the sport and it's biggest prize, which was nicknamed Bill by the victorious Australia team of 1991.
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The trophy is now in England, having toured the world from Argentina to Australia, from Fiji to France in the build-up to this year's tournament, which is being hosted by England for the first time. In 1991 England's hosting duties were shared with Frace, Wales, Scotland and Ireland, and while nine games were played in England in 1999, Wales were the official hosts.
This time around, 40 of the 48 games will take place in England, with eight in Wales.
England and Wales may have collaborated off the field, but on it they will be at each other's throats as they both find themselves in the 'Group of Death' in this year's competition.
As things stand, Pool A at Rugby World Cup 2015 contains four of the world's top ten teams. England are fourth in the world, with Wales ranked sixth. Between them is Australia who are also in Pool A, while Fiji, ranked ten in the world are also in the same pool. With only two teams progressing to the quarter finals, the competition is sure to be tough.
