England prop Graham Rowntree will scrum down with the World Cup when he joins the Sweet Chariot Tour in Hertfordshire next week.

The Leicester star - who has won 45 caps for his country - will be coaching at the Old Albanians club in St Albans as part of a development day sponsored by Royal & Sun Alliance.

Rowntree, who was part of the side that won the Six Nations Grand Slam in 2003, will be taking a break from Leicester's bid to secure a place in next season's European Cup.

He will visit the Woollam's ground on Monday, May 10, where a session with young players with learning difficulties and an Under-14 tournament for schools new to the game are taking place.

The Hertfordshire leg of the Sweet Chariot Tour visits Watford, St Albans, Stevenage, Bishop Stortford and Hertford on May 9-10.

The Webb Ellis Cup is on a three-month tour of the country that stops off at more than 250 clubs, schools and shopping centres in all to give people the chance to see the trophy and encourage them to take up the game.

So far it has been seen by more than 750,000 people in the first 13 weeks of its nationwide journey and arrives at the Harlequin Centre in Watford at 11am on Sunday, May 9.

Fans can have their pictures taken with the cup, visit the rugby exhibition and emulate Johnny Wilkinson and Jason Robinson in interactive kicking and try-scoring simulators.

Monday, May 10 starts at 9.30am with a World Cup breakfast at the Old Albanians rugby club, where the trophy will be on display from 11am for two hours followed by a World Cup lunch.

The cup then moves to Stevenage town centre where it will be on display in the RFU exhibition unit from 1.45 to 3.45pm, before travelling to the Bishop's Stortford club where an exhibition of women's rugby takes place.

The final stop of the day is at Hertford rugby club at 7.30pm, where a tag rugby display by primary school children takes place followed by a thankyou party for rugby volunteers.

All the events are open to the public. Print and broadcast media are welcome to visit any of the events but are asked to register their interest with Simon Mills at the RFU on 07702 661214.

More information about the Sweet Chariot tour is also available on the RFU Community Rugby hotline 0906 6800805 and www.rfu.com

The tour takes place in association with sponsors EA SPORTS, Ford, Holiday Inn, Land Rover and Lucozade Sport.

HERTFORDSHIRE ITINERARY

Sunday, May 9
Harlequin Centre, Watford 11am to 4.30pm

Monday, May 10
Old Albanians RFC, St Albans 11am to 1pm
Stevenage Town Centre, 1.45 to 3.45pm
Bishop's Stortford RFC 4.30 to 6.30pm
Hertford RFC 7.30 to 9.30pm