2015 Rugby World Cup
Wales set for World Cup boost
ESPN Staff
April 30, 2013
A general view of the Millennium Stadium, Wales v Ireland, Six Nations Championship, Cardiff, Wales, March 21, 2009
The Millennium Stadium could play host to two of Wales' pool games at the 2015 Rugby World Cup © Getty Images
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Wales are set to play two of their 2015 Rugby World Cup pool games at the Millennium Stadium - but not their showdown with England, according to reports.

RWC'15 Venues Long List

  • 1. Villa Park, Birmingham
  • 2. Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton
  • 3. Sandy Park, Exeter*
  • 4. Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
  • 5. Coventry Stadium, Coventry
  • 6. Pride Park, Derby
  • 7. Kingsholm, Gloucester
  • 8. Elland Road, Leeds
  • 9. Leicester City Stadium, Leicester
  • 10. Olympic Stadium, London
  • 11. Twickenham Stadium, London
  • 12. Wembley Stadium, London
  • 13. Old Trafford, Manchester**
  • 14. Stadiummk, Milton Keynes
  • 15. St James' Park, Newcastle
  • 16. St Mary's Stadium, Southampton
  • 17. Stadium of Light, Sunderland
  • *Replaced the original choice of Ashton Gate, Bristol, **Withdrawn from selection process

The venues and match schedule for the tournament are due to be announced on Thursday with World Cup chiefs expected to confirm that the 74,500-capacity stadium will play host to eight games including two quarter-finals and Wales' clashes against the two qualifiers that will join them, England and Australia in Pool A at the sport's showpiece event.

Wales made an audacious bid to host their game against England, that is set to be staged at Twickenham, and were also eyeing home advantage against Australia but the Wallabies' protests appear to have been heeded.

However, with England Rugby 2015, the organisers of the tournament, under increasing pressure to hit their target of 2.9m ticket sales following the withdrawal of Manchester United FC's Old Trafford ground from the selection process, the Millennium Stadium is destined to play an extensive role.

The Guardian reports that Twickenham is set to be used for the other two quarter-finals, both semi-finals and the final. The newspaper also reports that Wembley had been in line to host a last eight clash but those plans had to be scrapped due to an agreement to stage an NFL match the same weekend.

The Olympic Stadium is also set to feature strongly after the debate regarding its long-term use was recently resolved.

An England Rugby 2015 spokeswoman told the newspaper: "This is all speculation at the moment - nothing is finalised until the IRB has approved the list of venues and the match schedule, and we are still going through that approval process."

The final venues and schedule are expected to be announced on Thursday.

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.

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