You will see that every RFU-voting club is offered 2 volunteering places (plus a reserve) and every non-voting club one volunteering place (plus a reserve). This is a fantastic offer to clubs given that for the 1,500 places from outside the rugby family there are already over 50,000 applications and the opportunity to register does not close until mid-April 2014! Therefore, this is a fantastic opportunity for some of your club members to be definitely involved in the success of the RWC.

'The Pack' applicants must be 18 or over by April 1, 2015 and have the necessary permissions to volunteer in the UK.

RFU affiliated clubs (voting and non-voting) as well as WRU clubs will nominate between 1-2 members or supporters to join The Pack. Each club can decide on their own nomination mechanism and England Rugby 2015 is working with the clubs in the lead up to applications opening.

'The Pack' will also give members of the public, who are new to the game of rugby, the chance to be part of the tournament

England Rugby 2015 will recruit volunteers who are interested in supporting the game beyond 2015 as part of its legacy

Applications open March 17, 2014 and close April 17, 2014

The England 2015 Organising Committee has today launched 'The Pack' – the volunteer programme for Rugby World Cup 2015.

'The Pack', made up of 6,000 volunteers, will be the faces of the tournament, helping to deliver Rugby World Cup 2015 across England and in Cardiff. In line with the vision for Rugby World Cup 2015, 'The Pack' will have rugby at heart recruiting 75% of the volunteers from rugby clubs in England and Wales.

In addition, 'The Pack' will bring 1,500 potential new volunteers into rugby through a national campaign, with the aim of retaining them beyond 2015 as part the tournament's legacy.

Volunteers will play a key role in the delivery of the six week tournament with a range of roles including transport, meet and greet, accreditation and way-finding which will all vary in duration.

Recruitment will begin on March 17 through an online application process. Over 2,000 RFU and WRU clubs will nominate between one and two of their members to join 'The Pack', and take part in selection events ('Try Outs') across England and in Cardiff throughout 2014.

The Pack key dates:

February 12 2014: Programme details launch, nominations in clubs made and public have a month to consider whether to apply

March 17 2014: Applications open online

April 17 2014: Applications close

June – December 2014: 'Try Outs'(selection events) held across England and in Cardiff

January 2015: Offers to join 'The Pack' commence

Q2/Q3 2015: 'The Pack' uniform launch, training and mobilisation