The complex replaces Bisham Abbey in Buckinghamshire, which was used during the autumn Test campaign earlier this season.

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.

Bath's sports village includes grass and synthetic pitches, indoor and outdoor athletics tracks, four indoor sports halls, two swimming pools, a sports injury clinic and video analysis facilities.

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.'