Springbok training venues confirmed for 2015 RWC

Aug 26 • General News, Springboks • 2549 Views • Comments Off on Springbok training venues confirmed for 2015 RWC

The Springboks will use the facilities of three Universities and the Gateshead International Stadium, home of premier rugby league club Gateshead Thunder, as their training venues at next year’s Rugby World Cup. The announcement was made on Tuesday by England Rugby 2015, the organising committee for the international showpiece.

The 2007 and 1995 Rugby World Cup winners will use the training facilities at St Mary’s University, the University of Birmingham and University of Brighton during their campaign in England.

A total of 41 training bases featuring an outdoor and indoor training facility, swimming pool and gym were allocated to the 20 teams participating in the World Cup, which will be hosted in England and Cardiff between 18 September and 31 October 2015.

The organising committee began the search for team bases in April 2013 via an open tender process and close to 100 bids were received from across the country and in Wales. All the prospective team bases were subject to a rigorous selection process which included an expansive and detailed programme of site visits as well as liaison with the competing Rugby World Cup 2015 teams.

Commenting on the team bases, England Rugby 2015 CEO Debbie Jevans said: “As the organising committee for Rugby World Cup 2015 we are committed to ensuring that all participating teams have the optimum training environments available to them throughout the tournament. Rugby is at the heart of all our planning and we have worked closely with the teams to ensure that they have access to the best facilities and a team base that meets their individual needs.

“We are confident that we have 41 high quality training environments which will provide a home away from home for the teams. With a wide range of facilities and locations secured we can give players a unique Rugby World Cup 2015 experience whilst spreading the reach of the tournament even further throughout England and in Wales.”

IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset was also delighted with the impressive list of the team bases and said: “Rugby World Cup 2015 will be an event that has players and fans at heart, and I am delighted that the teams participating at England 2015 will have access to exceptional facilities across the length and breadth of the host nation. It is the attention to detail on and off the field that will elevate this event to new levels and this team base selection will ensure that all the teams have everything they need to perform to their peak potential on Rugby’s greatest stage.”

Photo: Etienne Burger