England secure Pennyhill Park as Rugby World Cup 2015 training base

England’s bid for Rugby World Cup 2015 glory has been boosted by Stuart Lancaster securing Pennyhill Park as the host nation’s main training base.

The head coach has opted to keep England at their accustomed Bagshot headquarters for as long as possible during the pool stages of the 2015 tournament. England could even stay at their normal Surrey base for all but one fixture in the whole competition, should they top Pool A and progress to the final.

Lancaster’s men will base themselves in Salford for their final Pool A match on Saturday 10 October, at the Manchester City Stadium (as the Etihad will be know for sponsorship reasons).

England will play three of their four pool contests at Twickenham and will gain clear benefit from sticking to well-practised routines.

The Rugby World Cup organisers have confirmed 41 training bases will be used throughout the tournament in September and October next year.

“It’s great to have Pennyhill Park as our training base,” Lancaster said. “It’s a place we are used to – the facilities are first-class, especially with the new training centre.”

Wales are perhaps the next biggest winners in the team-base allocation, with half of their Pool A preparations taking place at their usual home, the Vale Resort near Cardiff.

Warren Gatland’s men will play two of their four pool matches at the Millennium Stadium, but also take on Australia and England at Twickenham, for which games Wales will be based at London Irish’s new Surrey training complex, Hazelwood.

Gatland is expected to mirror Six Nations trips to Twickenham, with Wales aiming to travel to London Irish’s setup in midweek before their weekend clashes in London.

“The selection of team bases are extremely important for the squad’s preparation and we were very impressed with the packages on offer from the approved venues,” said Gatland. “We are very familiar with the Vale and their pedigree for hosting sporting teams is second to none. In addition the new Hazelwood complex is another great base, which really suits our needs.”

The tournament organisers, England Rugby 2015, vetted more than 100 applications from complexes to become team-base venues. The final list of 41 centres, including pitches, state-of-the-art gyms, swimming pools and hotels, allow teams the flexibility to based close to each fixture.

The reigning world champions, New Zealand, will split their pool phase between the Lensbury and St Mary’s University, near Twickenham, the Sport Wales National Centre and Darlington Mowden Park.

Ireland will move bases between each fixture, making use of Celtic Manor in Newport, the FA’s St George’s Park at Burton upon Trent, Surrey Sports Park and the Sport Wales National Centre.

Scotland will rotate between Hartpury College, where Gloucester train, Leeds Metropolitan University, the University of Leeds and Newcastle Royal Grammar School.

Pennyhill Park and the Vale Resort are among the eight training bases for the tournament’s knockout stages.

Debbie Jevans, chief executive of England Rugby 2015, believes the organising committee will provide all 20 competing nations with first-class bases.

“We are lucky to have some fantastic facilities right across the country and the enthusiasm to be part of the tournament has been really encouraging,” said Jevans. “We are confident that we now have 41 high-quality training environments which provide a home away from home for the teams.”

The International Rugby Board chairman, Bernard Lapasset, also hailed the organising committee’s preparations. “The teams participating at England 2015 will have access to exceptional facilities 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.”

Rugby World Cup 2015 team bases

Argentina Cheltenham RFC (Cheltenham RFC, Leisure@, Gym 66); Haileybury School, St George’s Park.

Australia University of Bath; Dulwich College.

Canada Cardiff Metropolitan University; West Park Leeds RUFC (West Park Leeds RUFC, John Charles Centre for Sport); Leicester Grammar School; Swansea University (Swansea University, Wales National Pool Swansea).

England Pennyhill Park; Salford (The AJ Bell Stadium, Irlam and Cadishead Leisure Centre).

Fiji Milton Keynes and MK Dons (Woughton On The Green, Bletchley Leisure Centre); Swansea University; London Irish RFC (London Irish RFC, Elmbridge Xcel Leisure Complex).

France The Vale Resort; Trinity School Croydon.

Georgia Woodbury Park and Bicton College (Woodbury Park Hotel and Golf Club, Bicton College); Bristol and SGS Wise (South Gloucestershire and Stroud College, Bradley Stoke Leisure Centre); Celtic Manor and Newport (Newport High School/Active Living Centre, The Celtic Academy).

Ireland Celtic Manor and Newport; St George’s Park; Surrey Sports Park; Sport Wales National Centre.

Italy Surrey Sports Park; Cobham RFC (Cobham RFC, ACS Cobham).

Japan Warwick School; Brighton College.

Namibia Loughborough University; Cobham RFC; Plymouth (University of St Mark and St John, Plymouth Albion RFC, Plymouth Life Centre and Royal Navy Rugby Union).

New Zealand The Lensbury and St Mary’s University; Sport Wales National Centre; Darlington Mowden Park (Darlington Mowden Park RFC, Middlesbrough FC).

Romania Sutton Coldfield RFC (Sutton Coldfield RFC, Birmingham Metropolitan College, Wyndley Leisure Centre, CrossFitB76); Woodbury Park and Bicton College, Dulwich College.

Samoa Sutton Coldfield RFC; University of Brighton (University of Brighton, Prince Regent Swimming Complex); Gateshead (Gateshead International Stadium, Gateshead Leisure Centre, Gateshead College); Milton Keynes and MK Dons.

Scotland Hartpury College; Leeds Metropolitan University and University of Leeds; Newcastle Royal Grammar School.

South Africa The Lensbury and St Mary’s University; University of Birmingham; Gateshead; Eastbourne College and University of Brighton (Eastbourne College, University of Brighton – Eastbourne College).

Tonga Cheltenham RFC, Loughborough University; University of Exeter; University of Northumbria.

USA Haileybury School; Hartpury College; Leeds Trinity University (Leeds Trinity University, Kirkstall Leisure Centre); Portsmouth Royal Navy Rugby Union.

Wales The Vale Resort; London Irish RFC.

Final qualification play-off winner (TBC) Celtic Manor and Newport; Loughborough University; Moulton College; Manchester (Broughton Park FC Rugby Union, The Hough End Centre, Manchester Aquatics Centre).

Knockout phase bases Celtic Manor and Newport; Swansea University; the Vale Resort; Sport Wales National Centre; Pennyhill Park; Surrey Sports Park; the Lensbury and St Mary’s University; London Irish RFC.

Article source: http://www.espnscrum.com/england/rugby/story/237737.html

England secure Pennyhill Park as Rugby World Cup 2015 training base