THE Rugby World Cup trophy is set to be parachuted into Colchester as part of its summer tour.

The Webb Ellis Cup will be delivered to Colchester Rugby Club in Mill Road by the Red Devils parachute display team, to kick-off an evening of events at the club on August 11.

The visit forms part of a visit to the eastern counties during the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour, prior to the tournament itself getting under way in England in September.

Launching on June 10, which marks 100 days before the opening match, the Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour will travel through Scotland, Northern Ireland, the Republic of Ireland, Wales and England before arriving at Twickenham on September 18, ahead of the opening ceremony before England take on South Sea islanders Fiji.

On August 11, the trophy will start its eastern journey at Lowestoft and Yarmouth RFC, England’s most easterly rugby club Afterwards it will travel to Ipswich to a statue of Prince Alexander Obolensky, an icon of England rugby, having scored what is widely regarded as one of the greatest-ever tries at Twickenham when England beat the New Zealand All Blacks in 1936.

The trophy will then be parachuted on to Colchester Rugby Club's fields at 5pm and will remain at the clubhouse for up to three hours.

The next day. the Webb Ellis Cup will make its way to Cambridge.

Rugby World Cup Trophy Tour information can be viewed at rugbyworldcup.com/trophy-tour Meanwhile, tournament organisers have also announced 15 fanzones where people can watch the action on giant screens.

Colchester’s nearest fanzone is Queen Elizabeth Park, in Stratford, which will be open for 20 days over the tournament.

It will hold up to 10,000 fans at a time.

There is also a fanzone in Trafalgar Square, but it will not screen any of the matches live