2015 Rugby World Cup Organisers Reject Speculated Venue List

2015 Rugby World Cup organisers have played down a report claiming to list the 12 finalised venues for the tournament.

A Sunday newspaper suggested the venues for rugby’s showpiece had already been agreed upon.

But organisers have branded the reported list as inaccurate, with a final decision not due to be announced until later this month.

“That list is not at all true. It is entirely speculation,” said a spokesman for the 2015 Rugby World Cup. It is not the final list.”

A long list of 17 venues was announced in October last year, with five due to be cut when this month’s final announcement is made.

The only rugby stadiums in the long list were the three named in Sunday morning’s reports – Twickenham, the Millennium Stadium and Gloucester’s Kingsholm ground.

The remaining venues, apart from the Olympic Stadium in Stratford, are football grounds.

“The long-list has been in the public domain for a long time,” the spokesman added.

“The use of football stadiums was a part of the bid which was well documented.”

Second-tier football club Leicester City’s King Power Stadium is among the long list of venues, but Aviva Premiership high-fliers Leicester Tigers’ nearby Welford Road home was overlooked.

Other high-capacity football venues included are Wembley, Old Trafford and St James’ Park.