2015 World Cup schedule revealed

England will play at Manchester City Stadium for the first time with their three other Rugby World Cup 2015 pool matches taking place at Twickenham Stadium.
The match schedule and venues for the tournament announced today show that England will open the tournament against the Oceania qualifier on Friday, September 18, 2015, before facing Pool A rivals Wales (September 26) and Australia (October 3).
Then they head to the North West and take on the qualifying play-off winners at the 47,800-seater home of Manchester City FC on October 10.
England will be making their third appearance in Manchester in 18 years following previous games staged at Old Trafford. They were defeated 25-8 by New Zealand in 1997 and beat Argentina 37-15 there in 2009.
Before facing England, Wales will open their campaign at the Millennium against the play-off winner.
After their England clash at HQ, the Six Nations champions take on the Oceania qualifier in Cardiff and Australia at Twickenham.
The 48 Rugby World Cup 2015 matches encompass 13 venues across the length of the country from Exeter to Newcastle.
However, out of the 13 venues only Gloucester's Kingsholm and Exeter's Sandy Park will represent the current Aviva Premiership venues
Four matches will be staged at Kingsholm including a Scotland and Argentina game while Sandy Park will host three including a Tonga and Italy game.
“Kingsholm is one of the most famous rugby stadiums in the world while Sandy Park has proved to be an impressive stage for the Exeter Chiefs, a venue that will have an increased capacity by 2015,” said Premiership Rugby Chief Executive Mark McCafferty.
“They are also both passionate rugby cities where the people will get right behind a World Cup that the whole country can be proud of.
Rugby Football Union CEO Ian Ritchie welcomed the venue selections as well as the wider opportunities to grow the game in this country.
He said: “This is a very exciting next phase in the lead up to hosting the tournament in 2015, which we hope will have a huge impact on the game in England. Not only is there a wide geographical spread of venues, enabling more people to watch rugby than ever before, but it is truly a national event that the game and the country will feel a part of.”
“We need to seize the opportunity to bring the whole country together, to inspire a new generation of players, supporters and volunteers from new communities across the length and breadth of the land.”
And England Head Coach Stuart Lancaster added: ”Now we know the shape the tournament will take, it brings everything into a sharp focus with less than two and a half years to go before the Rugby World Cup kicks off on English soil.
“We always get terrific support at Twickenham Stadium so we're looking forward to the three big games there as well as playing at the Manchester City Stadium against the eventual play-off winners which will conclude our Pool A matches.
“Taking England to the North is something we'll relish. It's an area that's full of passion and pride with huge numbers of people playing and involved in the game, and I know we'll get great support.
England's Rugby World Cup 2015 match schedule:
September 18: England v Oceania 1 (Twickenham Stadium, 8pm)
September 26: England v Wales (Twickenham Stadium, 8pm)
October 3: England v Australia (Twickenham Stadium, 8pm)
October 10: England v Play Off Winner (City of Manchester Stadium, 8pm)
Venues: Twickenham  Stadium (London), Wembley Stadium (London), Olympic Stadium (London),  Millennium Stadium (Cardiff),  Manchester City Stadium (Manchester), St James' Park (Newcastle), Elland Road (Leeds), Leicester City Stadium (Leicester), Villa Park (Birmingham), Kingsholm Stadium (Gloucester), Stadium MK (Milton Keynes), Brighton Community Stadium (Brighton) and Sandy Park (Exeter).