Sporting stars turn out to add a glittering start to Rugby World Cup celebrations

Sophie Cox and Derek Derenalagi

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Paralympian Derek Derenalagi and Olympian Sophie Cox will carry the trophy for the Rugby League World Cup onto the pitch for the opening ceremony of the Fiji versus Ireland match taking place at Spotland Stadium on Monday, 28 October. They will be joined by squad members from Rochdale Hornets, celebrating their recent Championship promotion, who will officially present the match ball.

They will also be joined by students from the borough’s secondary schools who will carry in the tournament flag, player escorts from the local rugby clubs and a guard of honour representing community champions and volunteers together with a group from the Sunsport young disabled person’s holiday club.

Also performing will be choirs and dancers in a colourful opening ceremony that will include performances from local primary school children together with renowned opera singer Rebecca Newman.

Derek Derenalagi is a British Paralympian and the first Fijian to be invited to join the Great Britain squad to compete in the Discus at London 2012. Still a member of the armed forces, Derek was injured whilst on a tour of duty in Afghanistan in 2007 and lost both his legs above the know. His fight back to fitness is an inspirational one and he is part of the Help for Heroes funded ‘Battle Back’ programme supporting other injured soldiers. A former Rugby Union player is training hard for selection for the 2014 Rio Paralympic Games.

Sophie Cox is well known locally as a British Olympic Judo player having competed in 2004 and again at London 2012. Sophie is a multi-talented athlete and appears in the Guinness Book of Records for being the first ever female Rugby League player to appear at Wembley in 1993 where a change in the rules was required for a girl to be part of a ‘school boys’ final. Sophie is an athlete mentor for organisations including The Dame Kelly Holmes Legacy Trust and Link4Life.

First to take to the pitch at 6.30pm will be the finalists from the Primary Schools Rugby Tournament followed by a parade of one hundred competitors from the ten schools taking part. The opening formalities will culminate just before kick off at 8pm in a performance of the traditional Haka from the Fiji team.

Ryan Bradley, Chief Executive of Rochdale Hornets, said: “With strong local Fiji and Irish communities the many thousands of ticket holders will be sure to be entertained with a fantastic match and lively support from the crowd. We are looking forward to a tremendous evening and one that Rochdale will remember for a long time.”

Chief Executive at Link4Life, Gillian Bishop added: “We are delighted that both Derek and Sophie have been able to accept our invitation to join us here in Rochdale to be part of this exciting event. It really is a once in a lifetime opportunity for all those taking part to be part of a world class tournament of this kind staged here in Rochdale.”

The Fiji versus Ireland game is part of Group A match which also includes England and Australia. An exciting and hard fought match is expected with a re-run of the previous world cup when Ireland were narrowly beaten by Fiji to the next round. Kick off at Spotland Stadium is at 8pm and gates will be open for 6.30pm.

Tickets are available online at www.rlwc2013.com/rochdale or on 0844 847 2013. Tickets are also available direct from Rochdale Hornets at Spotland Stadium by calling 01706 648004, open Monday-Friday 10am-4pm. Tickets start from only £5 for concessions.