RFU defend their crowd control measures at Twickenham after supporters complained about fears of crushing before England’s defeat by South Africa

The RFU have defended their crowd control measures at Twickenham after supporters complained about fears of crushing before England’s defeat by South Africa.

Safety concerns have been raised over the dysfunctional transport system at the home of English rugby, with train queues and traffic wreaking havoc over the weekend.

Several fans told Mail Sport that people were ‘crying for help’ as they tried to enter the ground from the Cardinal Vaughan car park, taking aim at stewarding standards.

There were further issues with the bus service to funnel fans out the 82,000-capacity arena, where roadworks and lane closures brought the system to a painful standstill.

An RFU spokesperson told Mail Sport: ‘Last Saturday, a larger number of guests parked in the Cardinal Vaughan car park chose to enter the stadium later than we normally experience.

‘As soon as we became aware of this, we deployed extra staff and a safety officer to support and expedite safety checks. All guests were able to access their seats before kick-off and there were no reported injuries. We have received one complaint and have since reviewed CCTV footage. 

The RFU have defended their crowd control measures at Twickenham after supporters complained about fears of crushing before England’s defeat by South Africa

Safety concerns have been raised over the dysfunctional transport system at the stadium 

‘Ahead of the next game, we will be introducing a range of additional measures and will be encouraging people who choose to park to enter the stadium earlier.’

Fixing the stadium’s dysfunctional transport system is a key element of the RFU’s redevelopment project which is due to begin in 2027 and aims to ‘reduce the risk and reliance on Twickenham mainline station’, which reaches gridlock on a regular basis on matchdays.