My first shift - England vs Fiji and the opening ceremony

23 September 2015 @ Twickenham

So today is the day we've all been waiting for.  For some, 4 years of blood, sweat and tears have led to this day.  For the 6,000 members of the pack, this has been building for 15 long months.  

I felt like a kid on Christmas Eve/morning, tossing and turning in the night.  Checking the clock every 20mins wondering if it was acceptable to get up yet, even on my day off!  Mum was up early as always tidying up, whilst I got ready.  It felt like the first day of school.  What happens if I didn't get on with my team?  What happens if I don't make any friends?  The one thing I knew in my heart; this is going to be one of the highlights of my life as a rugby fanatic.  

To mix things up, I checked-in at Richmond for the first time, collected my lunch and sat around waiting...and waiting...and waiting.  Eventually, 45 mins after we were meant to start, we were separated into our groups.  Now to show the level of organisation, I had been sent an email the night before advising that I didn't need a deployment card.  So I didn't request one.  Turns out, I did need one for that day.  Thankfully, I spotted a friendly face by the name of Lynn.  I sat next to Lynn in May at workforce kick off and it turns out she is also at the information point, which meant that we'll be buddies for the whole tournament.  

We were placed in the St Margaret's team.  After a short de brief, we headed out into the field, wandering through Richmond, past the fan zone and on towards Twickenham.  Myself and Sandy were asked to "man the bridge".  A task that after a few hours quickly became very obviously pointless.  Around 6ish we headed towards the St Marg's roundabout stewarding fans towards the stadium.  

We managed to catch the opening ceremony which was electric.  Very clever and the young man playing William Webb Ellis was simply brilliant.  I was lucky enough to meet his parents on the train and they should quite rightly be proud.  We also must give a special mention to Prince Harry for his guest appearance.  The ceremony was compared to the opening ceremony and the Olympics in 2012 and wrongfully so.  These guys had 25 mins and no more to build up the excitement to the tournament whereas the Olympic coverage went on for 3 hours plus.  You simply cannot compare the two!

Special thanks to the team at St Margaret's Tavern who looked after me and the team during our break.  We were treated like royalty and for that we are extremely grateful.  A fabulous team of people.  

The last few hours of stewarding went quickly and my last task of the evening was assisting a wheelchair user with finding a safe way home.  That just shows the important role that we perform which was kindly recognised by an English rugby legend.

Getting home was...a challenge but one that we couldn't have foreseen.  2 hours after I left Twickers, I finally arrived home.  14 hours after leaving.

Still, it's not every day you're a part of something some special.  

Home Turf

22 August 2015 - Twickenham

For the first time in my Iife, Twickenham will be considered my "home turf".  Now, as a self confessed patriotic welshie, there's something about that phrase that just doesn't sit well with me.  Anyway, it is what it is.  

My day didn't start off well.  I went to the wrong location (didn't read the email!) and when I arrived at the venue, it was like trying to get into a maze.  I walked round and round Richmond College and I could t find the entrance.  There was no signage so I didn't even know if I was in the right place, no one was answering the phones (college or HQ) and just as I was about to give up, I managed to sweet talk one of the builders to let me in a side entrance.  To top it all off, it was one of the hottest weekends of the summer thus far.  Sweaty bloody brilliant...

After disturbing the 2nd row of the lecture theatre, I finally found a seat.  The session itself involved the expected; learning about the footprint, health and safety but most importantly of all...collecting our uniform.  

Row by row, we stood up and queued in an orderly fashion to collect our kit, like school kids in an assembly hall.  At last it was my turn.  The moment I'd waited all day for.  The team member went through my bag confirming I'd been given all the necessary kit.  At first glance, we just thought I'd been    the wrong pair of socks (yes that's right we get socks!!) but in fact they'd given me XXS of everything!!  Now I'm not a big girl but even I knew there was no chance of it going anywhere near me but changing it wasn't going to be easy.

Training finished at 5pm.  The rest of the group headed off for an AAA tour of the famous ground but I had to shoot off as friends were coming for my birthday/flat warming.  I got asked if I felt "gutted" to miss out.  Honestly? Not really.  It's no millennium stadium.  That will always be my home turf.

After countless phone calls and laps of the Olympic Park (on my birthday of all days), we finally found the team and the QEOP to change my kit.  A quick change and we were on our way again.  At last, I was ready and raring to go for my first shift.  

Bring on 2 weeks time for the opening ceremony, I for one, cannot wait for the mayhem to begin...

RWC 2015 Workforce Training day @ Stadium MK

Before I knew it, 2 months had passed and I was in the car on the way to Stadium MK for the first in a number of training sessions, starting with Workforce Kick-Off.  The queues were fairly heavy heading into the stadium which I took as a good sign that it was going to be well attended.  Upon arrival I received a bottle of coke branded with 'The Pack', a bag of goodies and the all important baby blue t-shirt.  As I approached my seat, I realised just how big the stadium is.  Even with 5,000 members of the pack, we looked like a couple of hundred rather than a couple of thousand.  

First to take the stage was Laurence Dallagio who made a brief speech followed by a few pack photos with those all important blue tshirts and branded coke bottles.  The presenter and master of ceremonies was of course, the one and only, John Inverdale.  Throughout the course of the morning, The Pack were entertained by stories and words of encouragement from Jason Leonard, Will Greenwood, Serge Betsen, Laura Wright, Maggie Alphonsi, Shane Williams and Bill Beaumont.  Being Welsh, the highlight for me was certainly listening to Shane Williams.  Singing the words to Jerusalem...perhaps not so much.  Listening to these greats, really brought home how fortunate we are to have this magnificent once in a lifetime opportunity. It was also the first chance we had to find out more about the places where we'll be volunteering and and what we will actually be expected to do on the days that we are volunteering. 

A few key moments stood out such as Bill Beaumont's speech and Jason Leonard's standing ovation.  

We have to remember that The Pack is made up of rugby club members, volunteers and fans of the sport, so to listen to words of encouragement from these two English greats, can only demonstrate how fortunate we are to have Leonard and Beaumont as President and Chairman in our World Cup year.

Yet for me, the star of the show, the memory I will take away from that day has to be Will Greenwood's speech.  It was witty, inspiring, and motivational.  No doubt everything Greenwood set out to achieve and more.  It was unprepared to the point that he once had to refer to the leadership team to get back on track.  He took the mick out of the Welsh but also recognised the true talent we have in our country and of course, the roar of our national anthem at the millennium stadium that leaves the hairs on the back of your neck standing for minutes afterwards.  My favourite quote?  What one of his team mates described him as during the RWC 2005 "like a lighthouse in a desert....brilliant and f**ing useless!"

Take a look at his speech here:

https://www.facebook.com/video.php?v=10202785788124553

During lunch, I wandered around the stadium in a failed attempt to find Shane Williams for a quick photo.  Sadly it was not meant to be.  I did however meet John Inverdale pitch side who was very friendly and accommodating chatting about why I decided to volunteer.  The lunch provided was less memorable.

The afternoon was spent doing dancing to a rap about The Pack, singing to Jerusalem and finally getting to look at the uniform we will be wearing this Autumn.  All I can say is, there's a lot of blue and that hat will definitely make sure we are seen!

I think one of the main observations I took from the day was the wide variety of people volunteering for this event.  It really was equal across the board between; men, women, boys, girls, young and old.  Everyone you sat next to or spoke with had that same passion for the game.  That rumble in their belly.  That determination to make this the best rugby World Cup yet!

And I for one cannot wait...

Next session: Talking Tactics @ Twickenham 

The Application Process

Way back in the early part of 2014, somewhere in the world (for those of you that don't already know, I did a RTW trip for 12 months), I decided to volunteer to be a part of "The Pack".  Based on the success of the games makers during the Olympics, the organisers of the Rugby World Cup (RWC) decided they wanted a similar team of volunteers to welcome the spectators to England (and Cardiff).  

The try-outs happened across the country and I attended one at the Saracens home ground in July 2014 just a few weeks after I arrived back in Blighty.  Sadly I couldn't make the interview so I did that bit over the phone.  Most of the questions I had expected such as why I wanted to be a part of the volunteer program etc but there were a few that took me by surprise.  Well, interviews aren't meant to be easy now, are they?

Weeks, months passed by with no word, then, on St David's Day (call it what you want but I like to think of it as fate being Welsh), I was awarded the position of Spectator Services.  Delighted didn't even come close.  From 20,000 applications, 10,000 were interviewed but only 6,000 were successful.  

I am a chosen one...