The New Zealand selection will prepare the facilities of the LOU club.
New Zealand has chosen to establish its base camp in Lyon during the 2023 Rugby World Cup (8 September-28 October) in France, Lyon mayor Grégory Doucet said on Friday.
The All Blacks will train on the facilities of the LOU Rugby club (Top 14) and the Gerland playground, where an investment of 500,000 euros will be necessary to completely renovate the changing rooms.
They will also be able to benefit from the annex gymnasium of the Palais des Sports de Gerland.
The New Zealand team will reside in the Lyon region in a location yet to be defined, for four and a half weeks, the duration of the group stage.
However, the hotel could be located on the site of the Gerland stadium, which will be inaugurated in January 2023.
The All Blacks will face Italy on 29 September 2023 and Uruguay on 5 October 2023 in Lyon, where three other World Cup matches are also scheduled to be played: Wales-Australia on 24 September 2023, Uruguay-South Africa on 27 September 2023, and France-Italy on 6 October 2023.
Several teams qualified for the World Cup have already chosen their base camp, such as Scotland in Nice, Wales in Versailles, Australia in Saint-Étienne, and Fiji in Libourne.
Host Country France is not expected to reside in its National Rugby Centre in Marcoussis (Essonne) for fairness concerns. At the same time, South Africa, the reigning world champions, has not yet announced its decision.
Read Also:
