Rugby World Cup
Wales not guaranteed 'home' games in 2015
ESPNscrum Staff
October 24, 2011
Welsh fans flock to the Millennium Stadium to watch the World Cup semi-final, Wales v France, Rugby World Cup, Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, October 15, 2011
Welsh fans turned out in their thousands just to watch their World Cup semi-final against France on a big screen in Cardiff © PA Photos
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Players/Officials: Bernard Lapasset
Tournaments/Tours: Rugby World Cup
Teams: Wales

International Rugby Board (IRB) chairman Bernard Lapasset insists that nothing has been decided yet in terms of stadia for the 2015 Rugby World Cup in England.

The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) have publicly expressed their hopes of being able to stage some of their games in the event on home soil.

However, when asked if the IRB would accede to the the WRU's wish, Lapasset, speaking the day after the conclusion of the 2011 tournament in New Zealand, said: "No guarantee. We have two objectives. The first is maximizing revenues to be successful, and the second objective is to run a quality tournament for everyone like we have done in New Zealand.

"We opened 12 venues [in New Zealand] to make it possible for as many fans to participate. It will be the same in England, but which cities in England we have not decided."

Scheduling, meanwhile, was a major source of controversy in New Zealand, with a number of Tier Two sides expressing their disappointment at sometimes only being afforded four-day turnarounds ahead of clashes with Tier One nations. Lapasset revealed that this issue will be addressed ahead of the 2015 World Cup.

"We have to be fair for all unions, fair for all teams engaged in the tournament, so it's the same tournament for everyone," he said.

"We have seen in this tournament the Tier Two teams can compete in the first week at a high level, there's no big difference in the scores between Tier One and Tier Two, but after this it is different. We need to manage this process to be sure of a fair tournament for every team, and the quality of the games are the same in the whole tournament."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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