England set up base in Bath

England will base themselves at Bath University’s sports training village for their 2007 RBS 6 Nations Championship campaign.

The complex replaces Bisham Abbey in Buckinghamshire, which was used during the autumn Test campaign earlier this season. England will stay at the city’s luxurious Bath Spa Hotel until Thursday of each Test week.

They have three Six Nations games at Twickenham, starting on February 3 against Scotland, plus appointments with Ireland in Dublin and Wales at the Millennium Stadium.

England head coach Brian Ashton has first-hand experience of the facilities, because he was based there during a three-year stint as Rugby Football Union national academy manager.

Ashton said: “The set-up at the university is outstanding. I would like to thank Bisham Abbey and the Crowne Plaza Marlow for their help in the autumn, but I felt that we needed a change.”

Ged Roddy, the university’s director of sport, added: “We know we can provide a base for all their [England’s] needs. This has been a fabulous week for Bath, with the RFU making this choice just a day after we were announced in Great Britain’s short-list to host the Olympic team in the run-up to 2012.”