Ex-Rugby Football Union boss Martyn Thomas has voiced his dismay at the decision to only shortlist three rugby stadiums as venues for RWC 2015.
Thomas believes that tournament organisers had a "moral obligation" to utilise more homes of the Aviva Premiership sides at the upcoming event.
Instead only Kingsholm, the Millennium Stadium and Twickenham have been included on the list of venues, with Welford Road a surprise exclusion.
"It's a great shame, I'm very disappointed," Thomas told BBC Sport.
"There was a moral obligation to use more rugby stadiums."
Thomas, who was chairman when the RFU won the hosting rights, has since stepped down and disagrees with Leicester City's Soccer Stadium being preferred over Welford Road.
"Welford Road is a great venue and I think we've lost the chance to develop rugby clubs," he added.
"We wanted rugby stadiums. The great thing about Welford Road is that the Leicester faithful would have turned out even to watch a game between minnows.
"For a game such as Japan against Fiji for example, there's not a lot of point putting it in a stadium with a capacity over 20,000."
Critics of the plans think more rugby grounds should be utilised but organisers need to sell 2.9 million tickets in order to raise the £80m they have guaranteed to the IRB, with RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie saying Welford Road had not met the necessary criteria to host games.
"They do a great job, they are a fantastic club," he said.
"I can understand their disappointment but I think you've got to look at what were the facts of the review and the audit that went on."
Comments
porridge_time says...
Waz4before says... I actually agree with with what rugby_rockstar is saying.
The RFU need to sell the country... NZRFU done it brilliantly with the Stadium of Four Million. Yes the Olympics were successful, but look at the money that was thrown at it... lets just hope that the locals the length and breadth of the England get in behind the RWC 2015 in the same way the the New Zealanders did.
Posted 03:48 11th October 2012
jamesliveinhope says...
@porridge_time - I hope that the porridge reference doesn't refer to Scotland - if it does that must be one of the most hypocritical remarks I've heard this year, half full would be a right result up there.
as far as Martyn Thomas is concerned, there's nothing worse than a bitter ex.
I'm not sure what the selection criteria was but would assume that transport infrastructure would be one of them, one would assume that the bulk of additional visitors would be attending from out of town. You also have to consider the economics, I would imagine that a 28,000 ticket sale with spare seats would be better economically that an oversubscribed Welford Road.
Posted 21:41 10th October 2012
bigb6969 says...
England as always trying to make hosting events harder to hold with a bit of controversy thrown into the mix
Posted 21:13 10th October 2012
APV1 says...
@ pierredelot1 - there are also some rugby teams which share their stadium with football teams. Good Lord, what a terrible thing!
I'd prefer them to be held in rugby stadia, if (and only if) they are big enough and suitable. Generally the soccer ones are better. So let's use them.
But not Cardiff. It may be a Principality, but it's certainly not England. I may have to head over to Offa's Dyke with a bow and arrow...
Posted 17:50 10th October 2012
LondonWasp says...
can someone please explain why the millenium stadium is being used?
Posted 15:18 10th October 2012
pierredelot1 says...
The French had to use a lot of Football Stadia for hosting the world cup. Why / Because there wasn't the capacity in Rugby grounds. Whenever British people discuss these points, the old snobbery between football and rugby raises it's ugly head. If numbers and money have to be the order of the day then choose the biggest stadium available to match the demand, that way you maximise revenue. No doubt some would be moaning if Rugby League grounds were chosen too. (Don't you just love that old chestnut) Thankfully in France most of the stadia are owned by the local councils and available for all sports. Damn Toulouse Leicester this week is in a football stadium, what a disaster, won't be a good game and Toulouse are moaning all the way to the bank.
Posted 14:52 10th October 2012
APV1 says...
@ rugby_rockstar & melkdave - Hear! Hear!
"...we got awesomeness coming out of our ears..."
Posted 14:51 10th October 2012
melkdave says...
@Rugby_Rockstar
You have it so right in your post here,and yes the women who ran London 2012 is now in charge of the RWC commitee ,so the RFU is using her skills and knowlege ,to hopefully make a great successof 2015 .It isnt just about the rugby,but the cultural events going on beside it ,like the pop concerts during the olympics ect.Maybe the RSC doing 12th night in Hyde Park is an idea and would showcase english culture very well,and give more reasons for visators to vist our shores,apart from hopefully some great rugby. .
Posted 12:35 10th October 2012
rugby_rockstar says...
You've got to look at it from a travelling rugby supporter's point of view. If you are going to spend thousands of Dollars / Euros on a trip of a life time then are you going to want to go to spend a day in Leicester or Manchester or Liverpool??? Common sense really.
I toured NZ with a brilliant extreme sports company called Haka Tours who followed England around the south island and then moved up to the north island for the final three weeks. I think the bench mark has been set at a very high standard. and the RFU need to approach this in the same way. It's about showing off our country's selling points. The olympics did it wonderfully so the RFU should be talking to the olympic organisiers and soaking up their knowledge like a sponge.
we want to sell our coastline and the sea. Our countryside like the lake district. Our history and our culture in the cities. We need to work with tourism to put together two months of awesomeness. We do awesomeness well, we got awesomeness coming out of our ears, we just got to lead the horse to water and it will drink. The Stadiums are your rest stops on an adventure, spending a day quad biking in Devon or horsetreking in the Peak district are the things that'll make the RWC a memory of a lifetime. Don't get hung up on whether Welford road is hosting a match, its not what'll make or break this opportunity. the rugby at a world cup takes care of itself. if you base a France game at Old Trafford then french fans will flock to manchester.
Posted 11:52 10th October 2012
Waz4before says...
Ohhh @ porridge-time ... You must be delighted - it's months since you've been able to post things like this hey, only spoliled by the Olympics going on to be a great success. Damn it. Still, RWC is on the horizon, time to dust off those "doom and gloom" statements and repost anywhere you can ..
Better to have bigger stadiums half full with 30,000+ in there than a rugby ground full with 15,000 or maybe 23,000 ... But they won't be, 90% of tickets will sell out and it will be a great success
Posted 10:56 10th October 2012
APV1 says...
"Ex-Rugby Football Union boss Martyn Thomas" - there's a reason you're the ex-...
If he'd bothered to help with investments and upgrades of rugby stadia (not just at AP level), then we'd have more choice.
"For a game such as Japan against Fiji for example, there's not a lot of point putting it in a stadium with a capacity over 20,000." Sell them at £5 a ticket and you probably will. For those who just want to attend a RWC match because of the opportunity (much like London 2012), rather than for a particular love of the sport, Japan : Fiji would be great. Both teams love to run and throw it about. Both teams have passionate and loyal supporters. What a great game to see!
Of course we'd love them to all be at rugby stadia. But, especially as a Bath fan, we have to admit that some are not up to scratch. See Chubbylegs' post on the other thread, as he made some very good and valid points about them not being upgraded for years. I'd rather we spread the rugby word far-and-wide and those new to the experience enjoyed it. Getting p!ss-wet through in a windy, rickety stand is not going to attract any but the rugby faithful.
Posted 10:40 10th October 2012
melkdave says...
What an idiot ,there just isnt the capacity in most rugby stadiums to make the tickets viable .Doesnt he realise the RFU has to recoup £80million by selling 2.9 million tickets Thats alot of tickets ,and even using football stadia with 40-60K capacity its going to be a close run thing.Do the math 3 million tickets and £80million works out around £26.67 a ticket ,not that cheap for a family day out,and if just using rugby stadia you can double that average price for a ticket.
Posted 09:17 10th October 2012
RugbyRefs says...
"RFU chief executive Ian Ritchie saying Welford Road had not met the necessary criteria to host games."
So Invercargill in New Zealand was a higher standard stadium than Welford Road? Considering it must have met the criteria as it hosted four games.
I don't believe so.
Posted 08:35 10th October 2012
porridge_time says...
This has half full stadiums written all over it.
Posted 06:40 10th October 2012