London
Twickenham
Capacity 81,605 Built 1907
What it’s like A cathedral of rugby. One of those rare stadiums that is pretty much universally loved.
Home to … England and the RFU. But also: Lady Gaga, Bon Jovi and Rihanna in recent years.
Key fact The RFU bought the land for £5,500 in 1907 when the area was a cabbage patch. Property prices have risen a little since then.
Brighton
Brighton Community Stadium
Capacity 30,750 Built 2011
What it’s like Nestled next to the university in Falmer, the Community Stadium – stripped of its Amex branding for the duration – is a classic, medium-large new-build ground. The three-tiered West Stand dominates, dwarfing the ends behind the posts. White-seat seagulls soar amid the blue.
Home to… Championship football side Brighton and Hove Albion, and, later this year, to a series of Christmas party nights featuring Motown, Rhythm of the 90s and a Freddie Mercury tribute act.
Key fact The Amex has cycle parking for 220 bikes.
Gloucester
Kingsholm
Capacity 16,500 Built 1891
What it’s like Affectionately known as Castle Grim, after the name of the estate where it was built in 1891. The Showers Stand is the ground’s largest but the Shed – the standing terrace that runs the length of the pitch – contains all the character.
Home to … Premiership side Gloucester, but also earlier this year to Madness. And two years ago it had the honour of hosting the popular beat combo McFly.
Key fact There has been a hostelry on the site of the Kingsholm Inn, opposite the ground, since the 1600s. A proper rugby pub.
Manchester
Manchester City Stadium
Capacity 47,800 Built 2002
What it’s like Tends to split opinion. Some see it as a prime example of a soulless, character-free new-build, while others rather like the gently curving lines. Like the Amex and the Walkers, the “Manchester City Stadium” is liberated of its regular Etihad branding for the tournament.
Home to … Man City these days, but the stadium was built for the 2002 Commonwealth Games. City fans Oasis have, predictably enough, also played here.
Key fact Due to state-of-the-art smart card technology, 1,200 fans can enter the ground every minute.
Birmingham
Villa Park
Capacity 42,682 Built 1897
What it’s like Stately, with the Holte End a claret and blue colossus at one end. The former Trinity Road Stand was designed by football ground architect-without-compare Archibald Leitch. It was a gem.
Home to … Aston Villa, and, before a fellow Rugby World Cup venue in north London started hoovering them up, FA Cup semi-finals. It also hosted the last ever European Cup-Winners’ Cup final, in 1999 – Lazio beating Mallorca 2-1.
Key fact Until 1914 there was a banked cycling track around the pitch.
Exeter
Sandy Park
Capacity 12,300 Built 2006
What it’s like Five miles from the city centre, Sandy Park sits in a choice spot next to junction 30 of the M5. The large West Grandstand provides seating but most of the ground is terracing. The capacity is set to almost double over the next two years to 20,600.
Home to … Since 2006, Exeter Chiefs. Only two club rugby grounds are hosting at the tournament – here and Kingsholm.
Key fact The County Ground, the Chiefs’ historic old ground, and also former home to speedway and greyhound racing, is now a housing estate.
Milton Keynes
Stadium MK
Capacity 30,717 Built 2007
What it’s like A blend of black seats and concrete gives the ground some character. Otherwise, exactly what you would expect of a 2007-vintage, purpose-built stadium next to a retail park and an Asda. Could expand to a 45,000 capacity in future, should the need arise.
Home to … MK Dons.
Key facts The ground’s record attendance is for a rugby match: 27,411 for Northampton v Saracens earlier this year. And the south stand is known as the Cowshed by home fans, in tribute to the town’s defining Concrete Cows.
London
The Stadium, Queen Elizabeth Olympic Park
Capacity 54,000 Built 2011
What it’s like Formerly London’s glittering, taxpayer-funded Olympic Stadium, it’s now well on the way to becoming West Ham’s glittering, taxpayer-funded “The Stadium” – pending a naming rights deal.
Home to … Three years ago, Britain’s golden boys and girls. Now, no one, until next season.
Key fact The next sporting fixture at The Stadium after the World Cup is over is another rugby fixture – a rugby league international between England and New Zealand.
Leeds
Elland Road
Capacity 37,914 Built 1897
What it’s like The massive East Stand looms over the rest. It’s what you might call a Proper Football Ground.
Home to … Leeds United on a weekly basis, but the England team have also played here, and the ground was a host for Euro 96. Rugby has a history here too, though predictably it’s the league variety – Hunslet Hawks were tenants during the 1980s and Holbeck rugby club were the first occupants in the 19th century.
Key fact The only rugby union game played at the ground until now was South Africa versus a North of England XV in 1992.
Leicester
Leicester City Stadium
Capacity 32,312 Built 2002
What it’s like Just down the road from Welford Road, the neat and tidy stadium, formerly known as the Walkers and now known as the King Power when the RWC isn’t in town, is a fairly standard new-build affair.
Home to … Claudio Ranieri’s Leicester City. But Leicester Tigers have also played at the ground six times.
Key fact When they signed their 10-year sponsorship deal with Walkers in 2002 Leicester agreed to call the ground The Walkers Bowl. A fans’ protest soon kicked that into touch.
Cardiff
Millennium Stadium
Capacity 74,154 Built 1999
What it’s like Most fans on the English side of the border wish Wembley had turned out like this. Huge, vertiginous stands amplify rather than deaden the noise. And the WRU has banned horns from the stadium. What’s not to love?
Home to …The Wales national side, who bagged Six Nations grand slam wins at the ground in 2005, 2008 and 2012. Plus six FA Cup finals and Joe Calzaghe’s 2007 super-middleweight world title fight against Mikkel Kessler.
Key fact There are 760 toilets – one for every 98 fans if the stadium is sold out. So don’t all rush at once.
London
Wembley Stadium
Capacity 90,000 Built 2007
What it’s like Hmm. Opinions vary. Seats in the upper tier seem so much further away from the pitch than they do at the Millennium Stadium – and the acoustics in the lower section mean even the loudest fans struggle to whip up noise. Definitely not a cauldron.
Home to … 1966 and all that, the FA Cup final, NFL matches, Live Aid, the 1948 Olympic opening cermony, Henry Cooper v Cassius Clay, England internationals, overpriced lager and … Ed Sheeran.
Key fact The rebuilt stadium has 98 kitchens, 2,618 toilets and a circumference of 1km.
Newcastle
St James’ Park
Capacity 52,405 Built 1892
What it’s like Incredibly lop-sided with three massive stands dwarfing the smaller East Stand. Its cantilever roof is the largest in Europe.
Home to … Newcastle United. But the stadium has also been used as an audition venue for the X-Factor, a concert venue for the Rolling Stones, Queen, Bruce Springsteen and Bob Dylan, and it was a location for the 2005 movie Goal!, starring Hollywood’s Anna Friel and Alan Shearer.
Key fact The stadium was built on the site of the city’s gallows – hence the Gallowgate end.
