Rugby World Cup: 50,000 fans for Scotland South Africa

A crowd of 50,900 packed St James' Park

More than 50,000 fans attended the first Rugby World Cup match to be held in Newcastle.

Scotland lost 34-16 to South Africa at St James' Park in front of a crowd of 50,900.

Ahead of the match, World Cup commander Ch Supt Steve Neill said: "This is an opportunity to show the world how good our region can be at staging these kinds of high profile events."

There is also a dedicated Fanzone at Science Central.

Matches, including the England v Australia game, were also being shown on big screens around the city.

Newcastle is welcoming fans to three World Cup games

Saturday's fixture between the Scots and the Springboks was one of three being played in the city.

New Zealand take on Tonga on 9 October and Samoa play Scotland the following day.

Early evening closures at the Central Metro station are suspended for the duration of the Rugby World Cup in Newcastle until 11 October, operator Nexus said.

Extra trains would be running on the system.

St James' Park is one of 13 venues for the tournament