The Vale Resort on the outskirts of Cardiff and London Irish RFC will be home to Warren Gatland’s side during the game’s showpiece competition.
Tournament organisers England 2015 have announced the 41 Team Bases across England and Wales that will host the 20 competing teams.
Gatland’s squad, who reached the semi-finals of the competition in New Zealand three years ago, will spend their time between the two venues for the duration of their four pool encounters.
“We are delighted to confirm that Wales will be based at the The Vale Resort and at London Irish during next year’s tournament,” said Gatland.
“A great deal of effort has been put in to select the approved bases and we are very pleased to be based at two excellence sporting venues.
“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.
“We are very familiar with the Vale and their pedigree for hosting sporting teams is second to none. In addition London Irish’s new complex at Hazelwood, which they moved into this summer is another great base, which really suits our needs.
“The tournament is only just around the corner and all of our preparations are focused on the next twelve months.”
Wales will kick off their 2015 Rugby World Cup campaign at the Millennium Stadium on Sunday September 20th when they will face the winner of the two-leg repechage final between Russia and Uruguay. England lie in wait for the second pool fixture at Twickenham six days later before Wales return to the Welsh capital to face Fiji on the October 1st. Wales’ final pool game is against Australia on October 10th at Twickenham.
The Millennium Stadium will host eight matches in total during the tournament with New Zealand, Australia, Ireland, France, Georgia and Canada all featuring during the pool stages. Two of the tournament’s four quarter-finals will also be staged at the iconic stadium.
Five team bases across Wales have been selected to host the competing team next year. Sport Wales National Centre, Cardiff Metropolitan University, Swansea University and Celtic Manor / Newport all join The Vale Resort on the list of 41 approved venues. Eight teams will be based in Wales during part of the Pool stage with further teams to also arrive during the knock-out phase.
The search for Team Bases was launched via an open tender process in May 2013 and over 90 bids from across England and Wales were received. Team bases have worked closely with England Rugby 2015 over the past 12 months with 41 confirmed as an official Team Base for Rugby World Cup 2015.
A Rugby World Cup 2015 Team Base will consist of an outdoor pitch, indoor training facility, a swimming pool, gym and hotel and will be utilised by the competing teams in the lead up to and during the six-week event. The facilities must meet international team training standards and be located on one site or within close proximity of one another. Match venue locations have also been taken into account as part of the selection programme.
