Fans return to Twickenham for the first time in NINE MONTHS as 2,000 descend on the home of rugby for England’s Autumn Nations Cup final against France
- Rugby fans have returned back to stands as 2,000 spectators enter Twickenham
- England host France in the Autumn Nations Cup final after months without fans
- Face coverings, hand sanitiser, temperature checks are all elements of the day
Rugby fans have finally returned back to the stands as 2,000 spectators enter Twickenham Stadium as England host France in the Autumn Nations Cup.
Today’s cup final marks the first time fans have been able to enter the stadium since England played Wales back in March.
The experience is not the same for the fortunate fans who managed to grab a ticket – with face coverings, reduced singing, hand sanitiser, temperature checks on arrivals and social distancing all elements of the new set-up.
Rugby fans have returned back to the stands as 2,000 spectators enter Twickenham Stadium
England will host France in the final of the newly-formed Autumn Nations Cup in London
Today’s cup final marks the first time fans are present since England played Wales in March
This weekend has seen spectators return to stadiums in the Premier League, with clubs located in either Tier 1 or Tier 2 of the UK’s new coronavirus lockdown restriction able to host 2,000 fans.
London has already seen West Ham, Chelsea and Arsenal welcome back a small percentage their faithful, with Tottenham due to later today in the North London derby.
Eddie Jones will be hoping he can give the small section of socially-distanced fans something to cheer about as they battle it out with a tough French side to become the inaugural champions of the Autumn Nations Cup.
England will be hoping he can give their socially-distanced fans something to cheer about
However, the new format, replacing the previous friendly Autumn internationals, has come under some fire in it’s debut campaign.
The competition conclusion was branded a ‘farce’ after France were forced to release star players to their clubs due to a rule preventing certain players playing more than three times this autumn.
England hooker Jamie George, who scored three tries in their group opener against Georgia, insisted that the players are not calling it the ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’.
England hooker Jamie George has insisted their upcoming final is not the ‘Mickey Mouse Cup’
‘No one in this environment is calling it the Mickey Mouse Cup and that’s all that matters,’ said George.
‘The end goal of this campaign was to be in the position to win this trophy. It’s great exposure and experience for us to play in a final.
‘I’ve been lucky enough to win a few at Saracens. The more experience of finals rugby you have, the better you get at them. This time last year we played in a big final that didn’t go our way, hopefully it can be different this time around.’