Forty-eight fixtures will be spread over 12 cities, which include 10 cities in France: Paris, Marseille, Lyon, St Etienne, Toulouse, Montpellier, Bordeaux, Nantes, Lens and St Denis. These cities shall host the 20 qualified teams.
RWC Limited (RWCL) and the French Organising Committee have collaborated in the drafting of the match schedule.
A statement from the International Rugby Board (IRB) said the schedule would respect three main principles:
- A dynamic RWC, with 44 days of competition and pool matches concentrated over three weeks and four weekends; respect for sporting equity and rest periods for the players with a minimum of 14 rest days during the pool phase.
- Packed stadia and a strong media exposure with 36 matches out of 48 played at weekends. There will not be any matches played at the same time and matches scheduled on weekdays will only be played on Tuesdays and Wednesdays. To maximise media exposure, match times will be considerate of time differences.
- The schedule is built upon the respect of equity between all the host cities. Each city is to host at least three matches with the exception of Edinburgh, which will host two. To ensure the popular success of the final phases, RWCL and the French Organising Committee have chosen capacity as first criteria for the selection of venues.
Syd Millar, chairman of RWCL, said: “We have a common ambition with the French Organising Committee, to organise the best Rugby World Cup yet.”
For more details visit www.rugbyworldcup.com
