Wednesday 17 December 2014 10:12, UK
Wales will face a testing double-header against Six Nations holders Ireland as part of their World Cup preparations next year.
Warren Gatland’s men also take on Italy at the Millennium Stadium as well as undergoing intensive training camps in Switzerland, Qatar and Poland.
The matches against Ireland will take place in Cardiff on August 8 and Aviva Stadium in Dublin on August 29, before Italy visit the Welsh capital on September 5.
Gatland will announce an extended training squad in early June, with the players meeting at the National Centre of Excellence.
Their first camp will see them travel to Fiesch in Switzerland in early July and have a fortnight there living at high altitude while training at low altitude.
Later that month, they will spend nine days in Doha, being pushed in extreme Qatar heat that can exceed 40 degrees.
After the first Ireland fixture, Gatland and his men will travel to north Wales for a training camp at Parc Eirias before going to Spala in Poland for eight days, the venue for the bulk of their preparation for the 2011 World Cup.
His 31-man squad for the World Cup will subsequently be announced, following the second Ireland match, on August 31.
"We are delighted at our schedule for next year,” Gatland said. "We have home and away ties against Ireland as an extended squad and will face Italy with our final World Cup party.
"The training camps have been designed to push the limits of the squad and ensure we peak at the tournament. We were very pleased with the results of the 2011 preparation and this schedule not only uses what we learnt back then but builds upon it."
Wales have been drawn in group A, alongside hosts England, Australia, Uruguay and Fiji. During the tournament they will be based at the Vale Resort on the outskirts of Cardiff and at London Irish for their games in London.
