Sports fans might remember the unique story that preceded the 2019 Rugby World Cup, where South African cyclists Ron Rutland and James Owens were chosen to deliver the whistle for the opening match in Japan.
A new documentary, Everything in Between, aims to document the monumental journey.
“It documents the journey of two strangers who travelled from London to Tokyo via bicycle,” said documentary producer Greg Fell.
“They were tasked with delivering the whistle for the opening match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup in Japan, so they left Twickenham Stadium and they travelled through 27 countries together to try and deliver the whistle.”
The journey saw the duo cover approximately 20,000km and took them 230 days to complete.
Fell said that the documentary has been in production for the last two years.
“We were asked by the client [DHL Global] to make a bunch of social media content in the build-up to the Rugby World Cup. We were asked by them to work on a social media campaign, creating content for their use,” he said.
“Just over halfway through the trip, there was quite a dramatic turn of events and we realised there was a strong film developing here.
“I don’t really want to spoil the movie for people who haven’t seen it, but there was what I guess you could call a life-threatening event that occurred to one of the guys on the trip, and that made us realise that it wasn’t as simple or easy-going as some people thought.
“We decided to ask them [DHL Global] if we could turn it into a feature film, and they said yes.”
Rutland and Owens finally delivered the whistle in September 20, 2019 which was then used by referee Nigel Owens in the opening game between Japan and Russia, which Japan won 30-10.
Everything in Between is currently available to watch on Showmax, DStv Catch Up and SuperSport.
“We’ve secured a contract for global distribution as well, so it will be sold globally. We don’t have details yet but it is in the pipeline,” Fell said.
For more information, visit the website.
