2007 Rugby World Cup - Hosting

Hosting

See also: Rugby union in France and France at the Rugby World Cup

France won the right to host the 2007 World Cup in 2003, and it was subsequently announced that four matches would be held in Wales, at Cardiff's 74,500 seat Millennium Stadium (two Pool B games involving Wales, the match between Fiji and Canada, and a quarter-final). Ireland was to have hosted matches at Lansdowne Road, Dublin, but opted out because the stadium was being redeveloped.

Two of Scotland's Pool C matches were played at Murrayfield Stadium in Scotland. The Scottish Rugby Union was reportedly having doubts in early 2006 about hosting these games and whether Scotland would generate enough market demand, but confirmed in April 2006 that the games would be played at Murrayfield. In the end, the Scotland v. New Zealand match failed to sellout, and the stadium was less than half-full for the Scotland v. Romania match.

There was a substantial increase in the overall capacity of stadiums compared to the 2003 Rugby World Cup – the smallest venue at the 2007 tournament could seat 33,900 people. The French venues were the same as those used for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Around 6,000 volunteers helped to organise the competition.

Although the 2007 tournament was the first to be hosted primarily by France, a number of matches during the 1991 and 1999 tournaments were played in France. In 1991, matches in Pool D (which included France) were played in Béziers, Bayonne, Grenoble, Toulouse, Brive and Agen, while Parc des Princes and Stadium Lille-Metropole each hosted a quarter-final. Similarly, in 1999, fixtures in Pool C (which included France) were played in Béziers, Bordeaux and Toulouse, Stade Félix-Bollaert was the venue for one of the quarter-final play-offs, and the Stade de France hosted a quarter-final.

City Country Stadium Capacity Further reading
Saint-Denis France Stade de France 80,000 Overview
Cardiff Wales Millennium Stadium 73,350 Overview
Edinburgh Scotland Murrayfield 68,000 Overview
Marseille France Stade Vélodrome 59,500 Overview
Paris France Parc des Princes 47,870 Overview
Lens France Stade Félix-Bollaert 41,400 Overview
Lyon France Stade de Gerland 41,100 Overview
Nantes France Stade de la Beaujoire 38,100 Overview
Toulouse France Stadium de Toulouse 35,700 Overview
Saint-Étienne France Stade Geoffroy-Guichard 35,650 Overview
Bordeaux France Stade Chaban-Delmas 34,440 Overview
Montpellier France Stade de la Mosson 33,900 Overview

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