The eyes of the world will be on Twickenham tonight when the eighth Rugby World Cup kicks off after years of anticipation.

SURVIVAL GUIDE: 15 things you need to know the make it through the Rugby World Cup

England take on Fiji in the first match of the tournament, following this evening’s opening ceremony, at Twickenham stadium.

Love it or hate it, the third biggest sporting event in the world is sure to have a major impact on the lives of residents over the next six weeks.

With roads closed this afternoon and public transport expected to be "exceptionally busy", here are some important pointers to get your through today.

Road closures

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Several roads will be closed before and after today's curtain-raiser at Twickenham, most significantly the A316 Chertsey Road between London Road and Hopsital Bridge Road roundabouts.

The main road closes at 4pm before reopening at 11.45pm, as well as closing at 5pm tomorrow (Saturday, September 19) and reopening at the same time.

This is to allow park and ride shuttle buses to travel between the stadium and Kempton Park racecourse, as well as buses into central London.

Transport South West Trains services between Twickenham and London Waterloo will be increased but passengers have been warned it will be "exceptionally busy".

There will also be bus shuttles to Richmond station, as well as 100 buses running directly to London Waterloo after the match.

Park and ride buses will operate between Kempton Park, which has 3,000 car parking spaces, and Hounslow Civic Centre, which can house 500 cars.

Usual rugby day bus restrictions will be in place in Twickenham town centre, with the Whitton Road and London Road closed for the evening.

Services affected will include the 281, 267, 110 and 290.

Work

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

Workers have been advised by South West Trains to leave work early, answering the prayers of many an office worker on a Friday afternoon.

A statement said: "In light of this, we strongly advise that you make alternative arrangements such as working flexibly, staggering working hours to travel earlier, taking annual leave, and swap to walking or cycling where possible on Friday."

Alternatively, global workspace provider Regus is offering free workspace at its office in London Road to those looking to avoid the commuter scrum.

Visit regus.co.uk for more details.

Fanzone

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

If you want to miss the travel madness but still soak up some of that Rugby World Cup atmosphere, head to the official fanzone at Old Deer Park.

The free-to-enter fanzone opens at 4pm today, featuring rock and roll band Buddy Flames and the Rockets as well as a troupe of Fijian dancers before the big kick-off.

The opening ceremony begins at 7pm before the opening match, both of which will be broadcast to up to 10,000 excited fans.

It will be open on 19 days during the tournament, including between 11am-11.30pm tomorrow for day two's fixtures.

Not got a ticket?

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

If you missed out on a ticket and cannot be bothered with heading to the official fanzone, why not relax at one of Twickenham's famous watering holes to watch the big match?

Twickenham’s Church Street pubs, The Fox, The Eel Pie and The Barmy Arms, promise to be raucous on match days, as do London Road venues The Cabbage Patch and The Shack, so for atmosphere and an action-packed evening look no further.

For a quieter pint, the Prince Blucher on Twickenham Green or The Prince Albert in Hampton Road may be safer bets.

Social media

Richmond and Twickenham Times:

And of course, if you are watching the match from the comfort of your living room, keep up-to-date with development on social media such as Facebook and Twitter.

Use the official hashtag #RWC2015 while tweeting about the game, as well as #ENG and #FJI to represent to two nations.

Here are some of the best tweets from the day so far...

How will you be enjoying the first day of Rugby World Cup 2015? Let us know by emailing us at tom.ambrose@london.newsquest.co.uk or by tweeting with your photos @richmondtimes.