Olympic Stadium among 2015 World Cup venues

LONDON (AFP) –

Aeriel view of London’s Olympic Stadium on August 3, 2012. London’s Olympic Stadium has been confirmed as one of 13 venues for the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup in England and will stage five matches, tournament organisers announced.

London’s Olympic Stadium was confirmed as one of 13 venues for the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup in England and will stage five matches, tournament organisers announced Thursday.

England will play the opening match of the tournament at their Twickenham headquarters in south-west London on Friday September 18 against a team from the Oceania qualifying group, most likely Fiji.

Twickenham will also host two quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the October 31 final, with the other two quarter-finals at Cardiff’s Millennium Stadium — the only non-English venue.

The Olympic Stadium, the main site of the 2012 Games, will stage five pool matches plus the bronze medal match.

Only four dedicated rugby grounds — Twickenham, the Millennium Stadium, Gloucester’s Kingsholm and south-west English rivals Exeter’s Sandy Park — were included among the list of 13 venues, with several football stadiums set to host World Cup matches including London’s Wembley, Manchester City’s Eastlands, Villa Park in Birmingham and Newcastle’s St James’ Park.

In all 10 English cities, plus Cardiff, will stage the 48 matches of the World Cup, with New Zealand the reigning champions after triumphing on home soil in 2011.

Rugby World Cup chairman Bernard Lapasset said the announcement was “an important milestone”.

The Frenchman added: “We have also worked hard with all stakeholders to deliver a match schedule that is fair and balanced for all teams and that will provide the stage for the world’s finest players from 20 nations to perform to the best of their ability during a six-week festival of world-class rugby.”

Meanwhile England Rugby 2015 chief executive Debbie Jevans, a senior member of the team that organised the London Olympics, said: “The world can now start planning for Rugby World Cup 2015.

“In less than two and a half years’ time, we will be welcoming the world to England and to a celebration of rugby, played in a range of atmospheric stadiums right across the country.”

Wembley will stage two pool matches, including New Zealand’s match against Argentina.

Wales’ hopes of playing their pool fixture against England at the Millennium Stadium were, unsurprisingly dashed, with both that match and the equally key Australia-Wales pool match taking place at Twickenham. Only the top two teams from each pool will advance to the quarter-finals.

England will play three pool matches at Twickenham, as well as heading to the north-west city of Manchester for a fixture with against an as yet unknown play-off winner.

“We always get terrific support at Twickenham Stadium so we’re looking forward to the three big games there as well as playing at the Manchester City Stadium against the eventual play-off winners which will conclude our Pool A matches,” said England coach Stuart Lancaster.

“Taking England to the North is something we’ll relish. It’s an area that’s full of passion and pride with huge numbers of people playing and involved in the game, and I know we’ll get great support,” added Lancaster, who grew up in the north of England.

Scotland and Ireland were not offered matches as part of England’s plan to stage the 2015 World Cup but the Scots will play two matches in the north-east English city of Newcastle — the nearest World Cup venue to their own territory — where they are set to face South Africa and Samoa at St James’ Park.

England will be bidding for a second World Cup title after defeating then hosts Australia in the 2003 final in Sydney.

Venues announced Thursday for the 2015 Rugby Union World Cup in England:

Twickenham (10 matches), Wembley (two matches), Olympic Stadium (five matches), Millennium Stadium, Cardiff/WAL, (eight matches), Eastlands, Manchester (one match), St James’ Park, Newcastle (three matches), Elland Road, Leeds (two matches), King Power Stadium, Leicester (three matches), Villa Park, Birmingham (two matches), Kingsholm, Gloucester (four matches), stadiummk, Milton Keynes (three matches), Amex Stadium, Brighton (two matches) and Sandy Park, Exeter (three matches)