Plans for up to 20,000 fans at England v Barbarians

Tickets have gone on sale for the England v Barbarians match at Twickenham on Sunday 25 October, with hopes that up to 20,000 fans will be able to attend.

The Quilter Cup match, which was due to take place earlier in the year and has had to be rescheduled because of the pandemic, will take place the day after the Gallagher Premiership final and a week before England travel to Italy for their final match of the 2020 Six Nations.

The RFU are working on plans to have up to 20,000 spectators at the match – less than 25% of Twickenham’s 82,000 capacity – but it is still subject to approval.

The safety measures that will be put in place include increased staff to manage social distancing, mandatory face coverings except when in assigned seats or eating/drinking, one-way systems and hand sanitisers throughout the stadium.

RFU chief executive Bill Sweeney said: “We continue to work closely with government and the local authority on the return of sports fans to the stadium.

“The numbers of fans able to attend, given social distancing requirements, will be significantly lower than normal and subject to final agreement from government.

“Local resident and spectator safety is our top priority and numerous measures are being implemented for the events that either adhere to or exceed the guidance provided by the government and the Sports Ground Safety Authority.

“A test event will be held to put into practice our operational plans and demonstrate that Twickenham Stadium is well prepared.”

Those with existing bookings for the original England v Barbarians fixture will have the first opportunity to get tickets for the rearranged date, followed by First XV members on 7 September. If there are still remaining tickets available, they will be put on public sale from 8 September at englandrugby.com/tickets

Fans will only be able to buy tickets that are seated together for people in a single household (including their support bubble).

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