Qualla: Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham Stadium: Introduction

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit George Elgar Hicks, Public domain. Before it was rugby's cathedral, it was a market garden growing cabbages. In 1907 the Rugby Football Union paid five thousand pounds, twelve shillings and sixpence for the 10.25 acres in southwest London, and rugby people still call the place the Cabbage Patch. By 1909 the first stands were up. By January 1910, England were playing Wales there in the first international. By 1995, it held 75,000 in an all-seater bowl. Today, at 82,000, it is the world's largest stadium devoted to rugby union, the second-largest stadium in the United Kingdom, and the fourth-largest in Europe.

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Image: George Elgar Hicks | Public domain

Twickenham Stadium: Why Twickenham Exists

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Public domain. The RFU had been hiring grounds for matches - Crystal Palace, mostly - and watching the receipts go to other people. Sold-out tests against New Zealand and South Africa convinced them they needed a ground of their own. Committee member Billy Williams and treasurer William Cail tr...

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Image: Public domain

Twickenham Stadium: Swing Low, Sweet Chariot

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire), Public domain. The last match of the 1988 Five Nations was a small disaster waiting to happen. England had lost 15 of their previous 23 championship matches. The Twickenham crowd had seen exactly one English try in two years. At half-time the team were 0-3 down to Ireland, and the mood was fune...

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Image: Agence Rol. Agence photographique (commanditaire) | Public domain

Twickenham Stadium: World Cup Memories

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Like tears in rain, CC BY-SA 4.0. Twickenham hosted the 1991 Rugby World Cup Final, in which Australia beat England 12-6. It hosted the 2015 Final, in which New Zealand beat Australia 34-17 for back-to-back titles. In between came the 1999 semifinal where France produced one of the greatest upsets in the sport's ...

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Image: Like tears in rain | CC BY-SA 4.0

Twickenham Stadium: The Stage and the Speakers

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit Mark Freeman, CC BY 2.0. When the rugby balls are away, the speakers come out. The first time the stadium opened to concerts was a consequence of Wembley's chronic construction delays in the mid-2000s. The Rolling Stones played their Bigger Bang Tour at Twickenham. So did R.E.M. in 2008, Bon Jovi the sam...

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Image: Mark Freeman | CC BY 2.0

Twickenham Stadium: Allianz Stadium

Tue, 19 May 2026 00:00:00 GMT

Photo credit VDAnton, CC BY-SA 4.0. In August 2024 the RFU announced that for ten years from September 2024 the ground would be called the Allianz Stadium Twickenham, in a corporate sponsorship deal. The locals will go on calling it Twickenham, or simply Twickers. From the air, the ground is unmistakable - a vast o...

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Image: VDAnton | CC BY-SA 4.0