TWICKENHAM’S £76m REVAMP

THE RFU have invested £76million in Twickenham over the past two years in an attempt to transform the famous old ground into one of the leading sports venues on the planet ahead of next year’s World Cup. An army of workers spent the summer upgrading stadium facilities. Here Sportsmail lets fans attending today’s match know what they can expect:

BIG SCREENS

THERE will be two new big screens — each measuring 169sq metres — hung from the roof behind the posts at either end. The screens will provide fans with more live and real-time replays as well as statistics from the game including information on players’ points-scoring records, tackle rates and more. The RFU plan to encourage fans to give them feedback on the sort of information they would like, with the aim of providing more detail explaining referees’ decisions and calls by television match officials. The position of the screens has made room for 650 extra seats to take the capacity close to 82,500.

FLOODLIGHTS

TODAY’S game will see the first use in an international match of Twickenham’s new LED, low-energy floodlights which will significantly improve the quality of television pictures beamed into people’s homes. ‘As the nights draw in you will see these lights really come into their own,’ Knight said. ‘We have never before been able to provide such uniform lighting coverage of the pitch.’

MEDICAL FACILITIES

THESE have been significantly upgraded over the past 18 months with medics now able to access real-time video content in order to better assess potentially serious injuries and judge if a player has suffered concussion. The players’ changing rooms have also had a complete overhaul under the supervision of Stuart Lancaster.

WIFI CONNECTIVITY

THERE is significantly improved Wifi access with fans able to get online on most concourses, which have also had 700 Samsung digital display screens installed. The long-term aim is to provide Wifi throughout the stadium.

MORE COVERAGE, FEWER QUEUES

JOURNALISTS will benefit from an improved television gantry and dedicated press conference facility for post-match interviews, while fans can pre-order food and drinks via a new app.

AND THEY’VE RECYCLED!

MORE than 1,000 old seats are now at Aylesbury RFC, while furniture was sent to Bedford RFC.