Rugby World Cup Opening Ceremony 2015: Highlights and Twitter Reaction

The Rugby World Cup 2015 kicked off with a fantastic opening ceremony on Friday, firing up the crowd just 40 minutes before the first match of the tournament—England's vital clash with Fiji at Twickenham Stadium, London.

The ceremony itself featured a giant ball, an appearance from a young William Webb Ellis and a rousing speech from Prince Harry of Wales, who stole the show with a short appearance alongside Jonny Wilkinson in a video earlier in the show.

World Cup-winning coach Sir Clive Woodward shared this photo of the pitch at Twickenham ahead of the opening ceremony, and it certainly looked promising:

Rugby School and the legend of Webb Ellis was always going to play a huge part in this year's opening ceremony, which would focus on the game's history from its very start to where it is today, with millions of tickets sold for this year's World Cup.

As shared by the Daily Mirror's Oliver Holt, the school's choir was given the honour to perform in front of a packed Twickenham crowd, setting the tone for the night:

The ceremony itself started with a countdown, immediately sending Twickenham into its first delirium, before a short video detailed the birth of the game in 1823, with Webb Ellis catching the ball and running with it for the first time.

The video then featured some of the most famous runs in the sport's rich history, as well as a fantastic cameo from rugby legend Jonny Wilkinson and Prince Harry of Wales, dressed as gardeners.

The Sun's Emily Nash loved it:

Here's the video:

The sheer scale of the ceremony then became clear as the action focused on the Twickenham pitch, with the giant ball being covered in the official logo of the Rugby World Cup 2015 and half of the pitch rising in the air.

All 20 teams had one of their biggest legends enter the pitch and take positions on the plateaus that had risen, with England's Martin Johnson predictably receiving the biggest cheers.

Meanwhile, British PM David Cameron couldn't believe the atmosphere inside the stadium:

As the panels of the giant rugby ball were stripped away, the famous trophy carrying Webb Ellis' name was revealed at the very top, allowing the youngster playing the game's creator to climb a wall of performers and present it to the crowd.

Prince Harry then stepped on the stage to officially welcome fans across the globe to the tournament, recalling some of the biggest moments of past tournaments, including South Africa's triumph in 1995 and Wilkinson's famous kick in 2003, which drew the loudest cheers.

He ended his speech with the words: "We're ready. Game on," drawing even bigger cheers from Twickenham, and Rugby World couldn't agree more:

As promised, the opening ceremony was a short but spectacular affair and perfectly prepared the Twickenham crowd for the first match of the World Cup. Hosts England immediately face a tricky task, a must-win match against Fiji, one of the dark horses in Pool A. 

The Fijians aren't expected to progress from Pool A but could spring a surprise or two, and with Wales and Australia likely to push for the knockout stages as well, Friday's contest promises to be a cracker.

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