Hamilton to host five Rugby World Cup 2011 teams
18th December 2009 03:24PM
The Hamilton community will get a great chance to share in the excitement of Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011) when the city hosts five teams in September and October 2011.
Team Hosting arrangements for RWC 2011 were announced at a function in Auckland this morning.
“I am confident Rugby fans in the Waikato will really get behind this exciting Tournament and show their support for the five teams they will host,” said Rugby New Zealand 2011 Ltd (RNZ 2011) CEO Martin Snedden.
New Zealand, Wales, Samoa, Fiji and an Asian qualifier will stay in Hamilton while they prepare for three matches on September 16, 18 and October 2. The Asian team will be known after qualifying matches next year.
| TEAM | NO.OF NIGHTS | DATES | TRAINING VENUE |
| New Zealand | 7 | Sept 10-16 | St Peter's College |
| Asia 1 | 3 | Sept 14-16 | St Paul's College |
| Samoa | 2 | Sept 17-18 | St Paul's College |
| Wales | 13 | Sept 17-23, Sept 27-Oct 2 | St Peter's College |
| Fiji | 2 | Oct 1-2 | St Paul's College |
“I know the Waikato community loves its Rugby so I am sure the teams will get a fantastic taste of the region’s strong Rugby culture. It’s great that we can also take the teams to train at the excellent facilities of St Peter’s College and St Paul’s which have a long tradition of school boy Rugby.
“Hamilton will be a superb host city and I know it has great plans to help its community celebrate this Rugby experience of a lifetime.
“We have said all along that we wanted as many communities as reasonably possible to get a first hand taste of this exciting Tournament. Today’s announcement is a really important component in bringing to life New Zealand’s Stadium of Four Million.
“Today we are also announcing that teams will use a total of 47 training grounds across the country for the duration of RWC 2011. This mixture of Rugby club, school and public training facilities will help many communities get even closer to Rugby’s showpiece Tournament as well as giving teams an outstanding platform for their preparations.
“What is really fantastic is that teams and fans can experience our passion for the Game in Rugby’s grassroots where our traditions are strongest.
“For example, Tonga and Samoa will train at one of the oldest clubs in the country, the Ponsonby Rugby Club. Ponsonby boasts an honours board stacked with All Blacks such as Bryan Williams, Andy Haden, Joe Stanley and Carlos Spencer as well as first class facilities at its Western Springs ground.
“Teams will also train at several schools which have a proud tradition of Rugby such as Southland Boy’s High, Christ’s College, New Plymouth Boy’s High and Rotorua Boy’s High.”
“I am confident that all of the hosting communities will take advantage of this once-in-a-lifetime opportunity and give teams and fans a friendly welcome, great service and a Kiwi experience they will treasure forever,” concluded Martin Snedden.
Each of the host centres will also be integrated into the RWC 2011 Festival to be wrapped around the Tournament which aims to ensure people around the country have the opportunity to take part in the RWC 2011 experience.
Rugby World Cup Ltd Chairman Bernard Lapasset said the team hosting announcement was another important milestone towards making RWC 2011 an outstanding Tournament.
“I have no doubt RWC 2011 will be a great success because teams will receive wonderful support from the hosting communities which I know are passionate about Rugby.”
