How does it really feel to be Jonny Wilkinson sidestepping a pack of marauding forwards? A select group of rugby fans will find out today at the first international sports event to be screened live in 3-D.

The Calcutta Cup, England’s Six Nations Championship clash with Scotland, has been chosen to test a technological breakthrough that could revolutionise the way in which we watch big sporting events.

Live BBC pictures from Murrayfield will be beamed in 3-D high-definition via satellite to an audience watching on a cinema screen in a studio in Hammersmith, West London. Representatives of British sport’s governing bodies will wear high-quality 3-D glasses for an experience that advocates say will be almost as good as being at the game.

The broadcast is the result of six months’ testing by BBC Resources and The3DFirm, a Richmond-based consortium of production specialists. If it is a success, the BBC hopes to beam big sporting events such as the World Cup and Olympic Games live in 3-D to a network of cinemas.

Organisations such as the Rugby Football Union could sell tickets for 3-D screenings at Twickenham when England are playing away; 3-D screenings could become a significant revenue generator for the BBC if it can sell on the technology and take a cut from box-office takings.

The BBC, which has invested a six-figure sum in the Murrayfield trial, believes that 3-D sport is cost-effective because it does not require special cameras. A stereoscopic hi-def signal is sent from three cameras positioned at pitchside. It is sent via satellite to London where it is converted through a 3-D projection system.

The technology will soon be accessible in viewers’ homes through a new generation of 3-D television screens that do not require special glasses. Philips has developed a prototype 132in 3-D TV that offers an “out of screen” experience. The first sets will be available for £10,000 this year. The next generation of computer games is being designed for 3-D screens.

The BBC has built a grandstand for an audience of 200 guests and sports executives at Hammersmith. Alcohol will be served to replicate the Murrayfield atmosphere. As with the England team, there is no guarantee of a top-level performance.

David Wooster, of The3DFirm, said: “This is a test so the big question is can we actually achieve live 3-D sport? From what we have seen, 3-D can place the audience in the stadium, as if they were actually there, giving a heightened sense of reality.” 3-D rugby gives viewers a wider depth of vision and a greater sense of the players’ positions. It can also help to judge controversial decisions.

Once mocked for its use of flimsy green-and-red glasses, 3-D is regarded as the next platform for Hollywood. Peter Jackson, director of The Lord of the Rings, is creating a 3D Tintin trilogy with Steven Spielberg. The3DFirm hopes to screen live rock concerts in cinemas after the success of a U2 film using the technology.

Aashish Chandarana, BBC Sport’s innovations executive, said: “We’re trying to do something no one’s tried before. Editorially it will not be a fast-cut TV experience but more the experience you’d get if you were at Murrayfield.”

The3DFirm will also assess the impact of alcohol on sports fans wearing 3-D glasses. Mr Wooster said: “You probably don’t want to drink too much or you will get double vision.”