Rugby Workd Cup final: All Blacks move into England's base

The All Blacks team on the bus as they leave the Oatlands Park Hotel in Sunbury to move to their new hotel Pennyhill Park. Photo / Brett Phibbs

The All Blacks have rubbed salt into England rugby's wounds by moving into their national team's plush headquarters and squad hotel for the final week of the Rugby World Cup.

England had hoped it would still be occupying the Pennyhill Park complex in Surrey in London at this stage of the tournament it is hosting - especially after pouring almost $NZ6 million in investment in accompanying state-of-the-art training facilities over the past four years, all designed to ensure Stu Lancaster's team reached the final of the tournament set for Twickenham on Sunday morning NZ time.

But instead it is Richie McCaw and the All Blacks players who are enjoying the five-star hotel, purpose-built gymnasium and pool and massive training fields which has a surface designed to replicate Twickenham's.

The South Africans had originally supplanted the English who had to vacate the hotel and training complex after they failed to make it beyond the pool stages of the event following losses to Wales and Australia.

But with the All Blacks going deeper into the tournament, they and the Australians had first call on the hotels and training facilities organised by World Rugby for the final week of the tournament.

The Australians opted to stay in Middlesex at the Lensbury Hotel which was the base for the All Blacks when they played their opening two pool matches in London against Argentina and Georgia.

When they returned to London for the semi-final against the Springboks, the All Blacks opted to stay at the Oatlands Hotel which was once used as a hospital for soliders including Kiwis recovering from World War II.

But with the chance to move to Pennyhill Park on the edge of Bagshot, which is only 30 minutes drive from Twickenham, the All Blacks opted to head for the England headquarters.

They will also hold their pre-match day Captain's Run at the training ground rather than Twickenham.

Intriguingly, the Wallabies checked out of Pennyhill Park during the pool stages after only one week when players complained "there wasn't enough to do" in the quiet area.