Rugby World Cup: The Stadiums

With European qualifying starting last Saturday as the mighty Magyars from Hungary took on the belligerent Bulgarians and the 3 year countdown having just passed what better time for a look at the issues surrounding the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England?

This series will look into 5 areas:

The Stadiums, which ones are long-listed, are they suitable and which will be chosen?

The Schedule, how will the World Cup in England actually work?

The Season, can a proper domestic season really be fitted around the demands of the World Cup?

The Stats, how are we measuring up to that other World Cup?

The Sides, who are we going to be watching in 2015 and how are they getting here?

The Stadiums-

On the 8^th of October the 2015 World Cup Organising committee released the long list of 17 venues bidding for the right to stage games.  The 17 venues are spread right across the country with London the only city with multiple venues chosen.  Only 1 Premiership venue is included, 10 which have previously hosted Rugby matches and two 2 which are regular international venues.  13 are principally football grounds and 5 of those are currently Premier League football grounds.

1.      Ashton Gate (21,497)

Rugby? Yes

International Rugby? Yes

When? 1908 and 1999

      Pitch Dimensions 109x69m

2.      AMEX Stadium (27,350)

Rugby? No

Pitch Dimensions 105x69m

3. Elland Road (37,697)

Rugby? No

Pitch Dimensions 105x68m

4. King Power Stadium (32,262)

Rugby? Yes

When? Last time was 2009

International Rugby? Yes

Recently? SA v World XV, 2006

Pitch Dimensions 110x70m

5. Kingsholm (16,500)

Rugby? Obviously!

When? Last week!

International Rugby? Yes

When? Ireland v Barbarians Last summer

Pitch Dimensions 112x70m

6. Millennium Stadium (74,500)

Rugby? Yes, rather a lot.

International Rugby?  Again, a fair bit.

Pitch Dimensions 120x79m

7. Old Trafford (75,765)

Rugby? Yes

International Rugby? Yes

Recently? England v Argentina 2009

Pitch Dimensions 106x68m

8. Olympic Stadium (60,000)

Rugby? No

Pitch Dimensions Unknown

9. Pride Park (33,597)

Rugby? No

Pitch Dimensions 109x67m

10. Ricoh Arena (32,609)

Rugby? Yes!

When? Last game was EDF semi finals in 2009

11. Stadium MK (22,000- Increased to 32,000 by 2015)

Rugby? Yes

When? Northampton have played 3 Heineken Cup games there and Saracens have also played there

International Rugby? No

Pitch Dimensions 111x70m

12. Stadium of Light (49,000)

Rugby? No

Pitch Dimensions 107x68m

13. St James' Park (52,387)

Rugby? No

Pitch Dimensions 105x68m

14. St Mary's Stadium (32,689)

Rugby? No

Pitch Dimensions 104x68m

15. Twickenham (82,000)

Rugby? Yes!

International Rugby? Loads!

Pitch Dimensions 125x70m

16. Villa Park (42,788)

Rugby? Yes

International Rugby? Yes

Recently?  Not really, last game was in 1953 when the All Blacks played Midland Counties

Pitch Dimensions 105mx68m

17. Wembley (90,000)

Rugby? Yes

When? Saracens play there regularly

International Rugby?

Yes

Recently? Australia v Barbarians in 2008 and Saracens v South Africa 2009.

Pitch Dimensions 111x68m

Note on pitch dimensions: All gathered from using the measure tool on Google Maps

These can be split into 8 areas:

London: Twickenham, Wembley, Olympic

South Coast: Amex (Birghton), St. Mary’s (Southampton)

Wales/West: Ashton Gate (Bristol), Millennium Stadium (Cardiff), Kingsholm (Gloucester)

West Midlands: Villa Park (Birmingham), Ricoh Arena (Coventry)

East Midlands: Pride Park (Derby), King Power Stadium (Leicester), Stadium:MK (Milton Keynes)

North West: Old Trafford (Manchester)

Yorkshire/North East: Elland Road (Leeds), Stadium of Light (Sunderland), St James’ Park (Newcastle)

One concern regularly raised has been playing in football stadiums with small in goal areas and smaller pitches.  Compared to Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium then all the stadiums come up short however almost all the pitches will be the same length as Welford Road; which has hosted games in two previous Rugby World Cups, international rugby all the way back to 1902 and regular Premiership and European Rugby without anyone batting an eyelid.  It’s not great to have only two full size pitches during a World Cup, but it is pretty much unavoidable as even the larger capacity club Rugby grounds have small pitches.

Which stadiums will be chosen? 

Obviously Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium; the others are more of a toss-up though it seems Sir Peter Soulsby has actually earned his dosh for once and convinced England 2015 to stage games in Leicester, at the King Power rather than Welford Road due to the disappointing lack of vision from Simon Cohen and those who hold the purse strings.  As stadiums must be “clean” for the World Cup I look forward to everyone having to call the “King Power” the “Raw Dykes Stadium”, childish as I am, should it be chosen. 

Back in London, Wembley and the Olympic Stadium seem like givens.  Whilst people in the RFU might be obsessed by the north the facts remain that more people live in the south-east, with the south coast as a major population centre it would be a major surprise if both Brighton and Southampton missed out.  Complications with the Premier League might make Brighton more likely, though by 2015 Southampton are just as likely to be in the Championship.  On the same theme the Stadium MK must be close to the thoughts of England 2015 as Milton Keyenes and surrounds are a highly populated area.

In the West Country it would be a surprise, though hardly massive, if both Gloucester and Bristol hosted games (along with Cardiff just over the bridge).  It would be a shame if no club Rugby ground hosted a game which might make Gloucester seem more likely but Bristol is a city with 50 rugby clubs and along with Leicester are arguably the only major cities where Rugby is a major sport.

In the West Midlands Villa Park would be my choice, it is a brilliant stadium and the capacity will be needed if the ambition of 2.9m tickets is to be achieved. 

Old Trafford seems a certainty to host as many games as possible, with Alex Ferguson apparently giving his approval and its de facto role as “Stadium for the North”.

The North East seems a real positive area for the Rugby World Cup as both Newcastle and Sunderland seem very keen to host games and civic rivalry is helping keep both in the race.  Stadium of Light is probably the better stadium but St.James’ Park is iconic and superbly located pride of place right in the centre of town rather than hidden in a dip and a bit out of the way.

Yorkshire is a major area for Rugby with that County Body having the most clubs affiliated to it (103); however Elland Road just isn’t really suitable for the World Cup.  Its playing area is one of the smallest and at only 37,000 it isn’t a particularly large stadium either.  With Manchester to the west, Leicester to the south and Newcastle to the north Yorkshire may well end up divided and conquered.