RWC alert: the 'wags' are coming!

From left to right: Una Healy, Zara Phillips, Aimee Ann Duffy, Alexandra Rosenfeld.
From left to right: Una Healy, Zara Phillips, Aimee Ann Duffy, Alexandra Rosenfeld.
Crouch, touch, pause, engage - the scrummies are coming.

The wives and girlfriends of the England rugby team - dubbed the "scrummies" by the English press - are expected to visit Dunedin to watch their partners play three pool games in the city during the Rugby World Cup.

The England team will spend 16 nights in Dunedin, where it plays three pool matches, and will also spend five nights in Queenstown.

High-profile scrummies incl- ude Zara Phillips, the eldest granddaughter of the Queen and fiancee of England centre Mike Tindall, and Irish singer Una Healy, who is the girlfriend of fullback Ben Foden.

Tourism Dunedin chief executive Hamish Saxton said he had been advised earlier this year, media would be interested in stories during the World Cup, including ticketing, scalping and those involving "wives and girlfriends", or "wags".

"It was suggested that perhaps the more titillating or salacious goings-on would be of great interest to readers back home."

Already the regional tourism organisation had hosted media working on stories involving wags' weekends for supporters and their partners, he said.

Tourism Dunedin had no plan to host players or their wives or girlfriends, but acknowledged it was a potential marketing opportunity for the city.

Other prominent wags expected for the tournament - selection and relationship permitting - include singer Duffy, whose boyfriend is Welsh halfback Mike Phillips, and former Miss France Alexandra Rosenfeld, who is married to Italian captain No 8/flanker Sergio Parisse.

During the last World Cup in France, the wives and girlfriends of the England team were allowed to stay with the players the night before and after matches, while the All Blacks banned wags from sharing the same hotel floors as the team.

hamish.mcneilly@odt.co.nz

 

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