Vaughan Sound assist in opening RLWC 2013 fixtures

Vaughan Sound played an integral role behind the scenes during the opening ceremony and first two fixtures of the Rugby League World Cup 2013 at the Millennium Stadium at the weekend.

Continuing our ongoing maintenance and support during all events held at Cardiff’s premier multi-purpose venue, we ensured optimum audio quality, intelligibility and coverage throughout.

14 nations – Australia, Cook Islands, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, New Zealand, Papua New Guinea, Samoa, Scotland, Tonga, USA, Wales – will compete for a place in the final at Old Trafford, Manchester on Saturday November 30.

Preparations began on Friday, with Vaughan Sound engineers in attendance for much of the day during rehearsals and sound checks ahead of the spectacular opening ceremony on Saturday afternoon. Close to 1500 performers took to the field in front of a record opening day crowd of 45,052 – the largest attendance since 1995 when 41,271 saw England beat Australia at Wembley.

X Factor 2013 contestants Tenors of Rock, who just missed out on a spot in Gary Barlow’s final six following an outstanding bootcamp performance, were amongst the acts to wow the impressive crowd. We were fortunate enough to catch up with the sextet comprising Jonathan Williams, Hugh Maynard, Dai Richards, Gareth Richards, Jaymz Denning and Gareth Chart following their sound check.

Unfortunately, it was a disappointing start for both England and Wales with both being defeated. England were involved in a highly competitve opening fixture against Australia. Trailing 22-16 with half an hour remaining, they couldn’t quite resist The Kangaroos’ determination and strength in the closing period as the nine-time champions ran out 28-20 winners.

In the later 4.30pm start, Italy also proved too strong for Wales in the final stages. Late tries from James Tedesco and Chris Centrone sealed a 32-16 victory for The Azzuri, after just two points had separated the sides at the interval.

Vaughan Sound will be back at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday 9 November for the return of rugby union to the venue, as the reigning Six Nations champions, Wales begin their autumn campaign against former world champions South Africa in the first meeting with the Springboks since the World Cup in 2011.