O2, proud partner of England Rugby, is taking ‘Wear the Rose’ on the road to local rugby clubs across the country. The first fully immersive 360-degree virtual reality sports experience, using the revolutionary Oculus Rift technology, ‘Wear the Rose’ gives fans the chance to feel what it’s like to train with the England Rugby Team.

The tour follows a recent O2 competition offering fans the opportunity to win ‘Wear the Rose’ to their local rugby club. The Oculus Rift technology is now hitting the road to visit the winning clubs in a custom built, one-off, live, mobile truck. The truck also features an exact replica of the England Rugby changing room at Twickenham.

‘Wear the Rose’ allows users to be fully immersed in a multi-sensory take-over and feel as though they are part of an England training session, whether it’s a team talk from Captain Chris Robshaw, getting tackled by hooker Tom Youngs, or receiving a pass from fullback Mike Brown.

The experience was created using nine GoPro Hero 3 cameras in a custom built gimble, specifically designed to exploit the capabilities of Oculus Rift. After developing the technology to capture the video, it took a further 160 hours of filming and 320 hours of development to create an experience that allows users to turn their head in any direction, with the content responding and moving in unison, displaying a full 360-degree visual spectrum.

People will be transported into a world where they find themselves on the rugby training pitch, surrounded by familiar faces from the England’s Squad. ‘Wear the Rose’ allows fans to train with the England team, participating in genuine drills directed by England Attacking Skills Coach Mike Catt, which will take their senses to the limit and make them feel as though they have just joined training following their first England call-up.

Gareth Griffiths, Head of Sport Sponsorship at O2, said: “We love discovering new ways of using technology to deliver exciting experiences for our customers, and what better way to bring England Rugby fans closer to the action than ‘Wear the Rose’ from O2. This exciting technology really has to be experienced to be believed and we’re proud to be bringing it to rugby fans across the UK.”

Sophie Goldschmidt, RFU Chief Commercial & Marketing Officer said: “O2 has brought in fresh thinking, innovation and pushed the boundaries to deliver a truly unique experience for fans to enjoy. . Wear the Rose allows fans to experience first-hand what it’s like to train with the England Rugby team and compete at the highest level, making dreams become a reality and taking fan engagement to a new high.”

Paul Blackler, part of Harborough’s social Committee and club referee commented that this win was a once in a life-time opportunity for both young and old to experience rugby at the highest level using state of the art virtual equipment and that the club was very proud to have been chosen as one of only seven in the country.

Watch out for further news over the coming weeks.

Check out the ‘Wear the Rose’ trailer here: http://youtu.be/BBLzv_70-F8

For more information go to O2.co.uk/rugby.

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