BT puts rugby fans online

Live Web-chat tomorrow to celebrate forthcoming World Cup

Rugby fans can look forward to a scrum-tastic time on the Net tomorrow thanks to BT. The telco giant is taking time off from cutting off Nottingham's phone exchange and getting into hot water for charging too much from pay phones in north London pubs, to concentrate on its sponsorship of the forthcoming Rugby World Cup. Fans of the game who can't wait for the first match to kick off on 1 October can take part in a live questions and answers session, talking online with three leading players from the international Rugby Union scene. Robert Howley - Wales and British Lions, Gavin Hastings - Former Scottish Captain and Pat Howard - Australia and Leicester, will all be going online tomorrow at 12:30BST to mark the launch of the official Rugby World Cup Web site. The tournament itself runs from 1 October until 6 November, with the final being played out at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Among the favourites to win are Australia, New Zealand and South Africa. Among the list of countries most likely to soundly beaten at every turn is the US. Not famed for its participation in truly international team sports (this World Cup, like the soccer World Cup, has teams from all over the world taking part - unlike the NFL so-called World Series, for example, which does not), the US rugby union squad will nonetheless be turning out to fly the flag for their country and we wish them well. ®