Six weeks of celebration will begin when England play Fiji at Twickenham this evening with Tesco predicting it will sell 80M packets of crisps, nuts and snacks; more than 150M bottles of beer and cider and 9M pizzas.
The retailer also estimated hungry rugby fans would purchase 3.5M curries, 3M pies and 5M dips during the tournament that takes place in England and Cardiff.
Tesco beer category spokeswoman Natasha Pitman said: “The party is set to start on Friday and for millions of rugby fans over the next six weeks it will all be about friends and family gathering together to watch the games.
‘Demand rockets’
“We know from previous tournaments that on days when home nations play demand for beer, pizzas, and other snacks rockets and continues to rise with each successive round.”
Tesco’s prediction comes off the back of similar claims from the pub industry, which is expecting to sell 25M extra pints during the tournament.
Demand is sure to be at its highest when England hosts Wales at Twickenham next Saturday (26).
Home nations’ opening games (all in September)
- 18th: England V Fiji (20:00)
- 19th: Ireland V Canada (14:30)
- 20th: Wales V Uruguay (14:30)
- 23rd: Scotland V Japan (14:30)
An estimated 460,000 international rugby fans are set to visit Britain as a result of the England 2015 tournament, the organisers claimed.
Nearly 860 Tesco stores will have special rugby tournament power aisles featuring food, drink and clothing for fans.
These stores will also have international wine sampling opportunities and a temporary tattoo station for young rugby fans.
Broken records
On Saturday October 3, Tesco’s Wembley Extra store will be hosting a ‘Fun Day’ which will include a try kicking competition outside; bag packing from a local rugby team and food, ale and wine tastings throughout the day.
The Rugby World Cup has already broken all previous ticket sales records with 2.25M or 95% of tickets sold, surpassing the record set in 2007.
Every game will also will be accessible to a potential reach of 772M households – up by 15% from 2011 – in 209 territories via 103 licenced TV broadcasters.
Live attendance and TV viewing figures means England 2015 is on track to be the most viewed Rugby World Cup to date, the organisers claimed.
Meanwhile, England 2015 has partnered with Tackle Hunger to highlight the importance of good nutrition, not just to play rugby but to enable children to develop both physically and intellectually.
The partnership has already generated more than 1M meals for the WFP school feeding programme.