The 2015 Rugby Union World Cup is scheduled to be the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament is scheduled to be hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October 2015. Twickenham Stadium will host the final.
England was chosen to host the competition in July 2009, beating rival bids from Italy, Japan and South Africa. Four countries submitted formal bids to host the tournament, with England being recommended by the competition's organisers to the International Rugby Board (IRB). RWCL Chairman Bernard Lapasset revealed the result on 28 July 2009 at IRB headquarters.
After England were appointed tournament hosts on 28 July 2009, the proposed stadia for the tournament were revealed. The final venues were confirmed, along with the tournament’s schedule, on 2 May 2013. Twelve of the stadia are located in England while the Millennium Stadium is in Wales. In 2011 the IRB approved the use of the Millenium Stadium, despite being outside of the host country, due to its capacity and strategic location. Out of the thirteen venues two are dedicated rugby union grounds (Kingsholm Stadium and Sandy Park); two are national rugby stadiums (Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium); one is multi-purpose (Olympic Stadium) and the remainder are association football grounds.
Proposed venues that did not make the final selection were the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, Coventry’s Ricoh Arena, St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, Pride Park in Derby and Ashton Gate in Bristol. In April 2013 Old Trafford was withdrawn from consideration by its owners, Manchester United F.C., citing commitments to hosting rugby league and its Grand Final and concerns about pitch degradation. The RWCL then approached neighbouring Manchester City about leasing their home stadium as a replacement. It was later reported that Manchester City would only be interested in hosting one match during the football season, down from the original three which were to be played at Old Trafford.
Here are the full scheduled fixture list, including dates and venues, for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.
Pool A fixtures
Fri Sep 18, England v Oceania 1, Twickenham
Sun Sep 20, Wales v Play-Off Winner, Millennium Stadium
Wed Sep 23, Australia v Oceania 1, Millennium Stadium
Sat Sep 26, England v Wales, Twickenham
Sun Sep 27, Australia v Play-Off Winner, Villa Park
Thu Oct 1, Wales v Oceania 1, Millennium Stadium
Sat Oct 3, England v Australia, Twickenham
Tue Oct 6, Oceania 1 v Play-Off Winner, stadium:mk
Sat Oct 10, Australia v Wales, Twickenham
Sat Oct 10, England v Play-Off Winner, Manchester
Pool B fixtures
Sat Sep 19, South Africa v Asia 1, Brighton
Sun Sep 20, Samoa v Americas 2, Brighton
Wed Sep 23, Scotland v Asia 1, Kingsholm
Sat Sep 26, South Africa v Samoa, Villa Park
Sun Sep 27, Scotland v Americas 2, Elland Road
Sat Oct 3, Samoa v Asia 1, stadium:mk
Sat Oct 3, South Africa v Scotland, St James' Park
Wed Oct 7, South Africa v Americas 2, Olympic Stadium
Sat Oct 10, Samoa v Scotland, St James' Park
Sun Oct 11, Americas 2 v Asia 1, Kingsholm
Pool C fixtures
Sat Sep 19, Tonga v Europe 1, Kingsholm
Sun Sep 20, New Zealand v Argentina, Wembley
Thu Sep 24, New Zealand v Africa 1, Olympic Stadium
Fri Sep 25, Argentina v Europe 1, Kingsholm
Tue Sep 29, Tonga v Africa 1, Sandy Park
Fri Oct 2, New Zealand v Europe 1, Millennium Stadium
Sun Oct 4, Argentina v Tonga, Leicester
Wed Oct 7, Africa 1 v Europe 1, Sandy Park
Fri Oct 9, New Zealand v Tonga, St James' Park
Sun Oct 11, Argentina v Africa 1, Leicester
Pool D fixtures
Sat Sep 19, Ireland v Americas 1, Millennium Stadium
Sat Sep 19, France v Italy, Twickenham
Wed Sep 23, France v Europe 2, Olympic Stadium
Sat Sep 26, Italy v Americas 1, Elland Road
Sun Sep 27, Ireland v Europe 2, Wembley
Thu Oct 1, France v Americas 1, stadium:mk
Sun Oct 4, Ireland v Italy, Olympic Stadium
Tue Oct 6, Americas 1 v Europe 2, Leicester
Sun Oct 11, Italy v Europe 2, Sandy Park
Sun Oct 11, France v Ireland, Millennium Stadium
Knockout fixtures
Sat Oct 17, QF1: W Pool C v RU Pool D, Millennium Stadium
Sat Oct 17, QF2: W Pool B v RU Pool A, Twickenham
Sun Oct 18, QF3: W Pool D v RU Pool C, Millennium Stadium
Sun Oct 18, QF4: W Pool A v RU Pool B, Twickenham
Sat Oct 24, SF1: W QF1 v W QF2, Twickenham
Sun Oct 25, SF2: W QF3 v W QF4, Twickenham
Fri Oct 30, Bronze Final, Olympic Stadium
Sat Oct 31, Final, Twickenham
Source: DSG