newy.com.au – At least one international rugby squad will prepare for next year’s Men’s Rugby World Cup at Gateshead’s Ernie Calland Fields, with the possibility of a second team using the venue.
Tournament organisers announced the Lake Macquarie ground’s selection as an outdoor training venue on Friday. Details of which nation will train there are expected in early October.
The recently upgraded ground has two floodlit rugby fields, a clubhouse and changerooms. Its selection will bring World Cup preparations to a community sporting venue, with the council arranging alternative grounds where possible for clubs that normally use the fields.
Lake Macquarie City Council’s manager of community partnerships, Matt Holloway, said the tournament schedule could allow two nations to train at Ernie Calland Fields one after the other.
“We’re excited to be hosting one nation but crossing our fingers it could be two,” he said.
The World Cup will run from 1 October to 13 November 2027, with an expanded field of 24 teams playing 52 matches. The Gateshead venue’s role is to provide training facilities in the lead-up to the competition.
Council said arrangements had been made with club administrators to minimise disruption during the training and preparation periods. Nearby alternative venues would be used wherever possible, although the clubs’ usual ground would be hosting an international squad.
“We are working with the clubs to ensure our city’s junior and senior sport fixtures can still go ahead as usual,” Mr Holloway said.
Mayor Adam Shultz said delegations from countries in Asia, the Pacific, Europe and South America had visited the venue and given positive feedback. He said the visiting squad and its entourage would bring spending to the city, as well as exposure from hosting a World Cup team.
Southern Beaches Rugby Football Club president Wayne Goodchild welcomed the selection and hoped it would encourage more people to take up the sport.
“Hopefully it will attract players new to rugby to Southern Beaches,” he said.
