The Rugby League World Cup in 2013 will follow a similar pattern to the Union one in 2007 as games are shared around England, Wales, France and Ireland. The joint hosts are England and Wales.
Matches will be played in 18 different stadiums, with those hosting the semi’s and final to be announced in 2012, though the strong favourite for the final is Old Trafford which would be a sell-out.
League is gaining popularity in France and Ireland, though it still struggles against Union in Wales the matches should see good crowds in the chosen venues of: Limerick (Ireland), Avignon and Perpignan (France), and Neath and Wrexham (Wales).
Tournament director Nigel Wood said: “We are excited the tournament will visit established rugby league venues and also some new locations, It is quite well known that the sport is particularly strong in France, but not so much the progress it has made in Ireland over the last five years. Limerick recently hosted an international against France and it went well, the enthusiasm for rugby league in that part of the world is overwhelming.”
The quarter-finals venues are: Headingley, Wrexham, Warrington and Wigan.
Nigel Wood said the bidding process had been competitive. “We experienced massive interest in hosting matches from all across Europe and we have had to make some tough decisions. The new locations give us unique opportunities to grow the game and deliver a lasting legacy for our sport. It has been a fantastic and inspiring bidding process and we have been extremely impressed with the quality, detail and diverse nature of the host bids received.”
Full List Stadiums
Avignon, Bristol, Halifax, Huddersfield, Hull (KC Stadium and Craven Park), Leeds, Leigh, Limerick, Perpignan, Neath, Rochdale, Salford, St Helens, Warrington, Whitehaven, Wigan, Wrexham
Hosting Locations
Bolton, Bradford, Manchester, Preston, Widnes and Workington will act as hosts, providing training camps.
Woods also added: “There are 14 great nations competing in this World Cup and two of those; Italy and the USA, have only qualified in the last month or so. The fact those two teams beat countries like Lebanon, Serbia, South Africa and Jamaica to qualify demonstrates the benchmark at entry level is pretty high. It is the essence of sport that you will get a few surprise results in the competition, that would be terrific.”
