Twickenham revamps World Rugby Museum

Twickenham's iconic World Rugby Museum has a new home, moving to the South Stand in time for a relaunch ahead of England's home Six Nations opener, against Wales.

The revamped museum will have 38,000 pieces of rugby memorabilia - more than three times the current hold - and features a new, modernised interactive design.

Museum curator Phil McGowan said the new location allowed the RFU to revolutionise the already world famous museum.

"The cutting edge new museum will be bigger, better, brighter and more interactive than ever before," McGowan said.

"It will house the world’s most prestigious collection of rugby memorabilia. This will include commentary, film and match-footage from the most iconic moments, memorable tours and greatest players in the history of what is the world’s most dramatic team sport.

"It will also include purpose-built events, education and research facilities and invite visitors to engage in the game with exciting hands-on interactive exhibits."

This is the third launch of the museum, which was initially called the Museum of Rugby when it opened in 1996 before rebranding as the World Rugby Museum in 2008.

A significant part of the relaunch is ensuring the museum paints a clearer picture of rugby from around the world, featuring new exhibits on iconic teams such as the 1924 New Zealand side, the 1900s Wales teams, the 1971 and 1974 British & Irish Lions sides, as well as the World Cup winning 2003 England team.