Twickenham rugby stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest stadium in the world devoted solely to the sport of rugby, it is the second largest stadium in the UK after Wembley Stadium and the fifth largest stadium in Europe.

The stadium is the home of the Rugby Football Union (RFU), and as such primarily a venue for rugby union and hosts England’s home test matches, as well as the Middlesex Sevens, the Aviva Premiership final, the LV Cup and Heineken Cup matches.

The stadium is considered an icon of English rugby and the 2009/2010 season saw Twickenham celebrate its centenary. The 100th anniversary of the first international at HQ in 1910 was marked by the England team wearing a special commemorative shirt against Wales on February 6 and by a centenary book called Twickenham 100 Years of Rugby’s HQ.

Although the ground is usually only occupied by rugby union, it has in the past hosted a number of other events, such as concerts by Iron Maiden, Bon Jovi, Genesis, U2, The Rolling Stones, The Police, Eagles, Richard Benson, R.E.M. and Lady Gaga’s The Born This Way Ball. It has also been the host of Rugby League’s Challenge Cup final.

Twickenham is often referred to as the home of English rugby. The stadium is owned and operated by the RFU, so Twickenham is the host of numerous rugby union fixtures year round. Most prominently it is the home of the English rugby union team, who have played nearly all their home games at the stadium (as opposed to some of the other rugby nations that may have a home stadium, but use numerous venues, England uses just Twickenham). Twickenham hosts England’s Six Nations matches, as well as inbound touring teams from the Southern Hemisphere, usually annually around November.

Apart from its relationship with the national team, Twickenham is the venue for a number of other domestic and international rugby union matches. It hosts the annual London leg of the World Rugby Sevens Series as well at the domestic Middlesex Sevens competition.

It is also the venue for the final of the Aviva Premiership as well as the season-opening London Double Header and the Christmas holiday Big Game, and has hosted the Anglo-Welsh Cup final in the past.

Twickenham also hosted the 2006-07 Heineken Cup final. The stadium is also host to The Varsity Match between Oxford and Cambridge, the English schools’ Daily Mail Cup final and the Army Navy Match which forms the culmination of the annual Inter-Services Competition.

Details

  • Rugby Road, Twickenham, TW1 1DZ, England.
  • Stadium Website: twickenhamstadium.com
  • Capacity of 82,000