Rugby World Cup 2021: New Zealand

The Rugby World Cup 2021 will feature 12 of the best women’s rugby teams in the world in New Zealand. The tournament was postponed until 2022 due to the global pandemic and the new dates are 8 October – 12 November 2022.

UPDATE*

It was announced in March 2021 that the tournament was postponed until 2022, with the news confirmed on March 9, 2021. The new dates and format were confirmed on May 12th 2021.

Why was the RWC 2021 Postponed?

World Rugby claims that it felt there were too many uncertainties about providing safe and reliable travel as well as high-performance training environments for the teams. There were also issues with finalising the remaining qualifiers and ensuring the safe attendance of fans for the global event.

Rugby World Cup 2021

TheRugby World Cup 2021 will be the ninth Rugby World Cup for women and the first to be held in the southern hemisphere.

Where will Rugby World Cup 2021 matches be played?

Auckland, Northland and Waitakere were confirmed to host games in New Zealand.

Eden Park in Auckland, which also hosted the men’s RWC final in 2011, has been confirmed as the venue for the World Cup 2021 semi-finals and final.

RWC 2021 match schedule

The Rugby World Cup 2021 also announced the dates for the pool games and knockout stages for the RWC.

*New dates confirmed following the news of the tournament’s postponement until 2022. Pool matches will be played on the weekends of 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23 October 2022 at Eden Park, Northlands Events Centre in Whangārei and Waitakere Stadium

• Round 1 Pool matches: 8-9 October 2022.
• Round 2 Pool matches: 15-16 October 2022.
• Round 3 Pool matches: 22-23 October 2022.
• Quarter-finals: 29-30 October – Waitakere Stadium and Northland Events centre.
• Semi-finals: 5 November 2022 – Eden Park (Auckland).
• Bronze match + Final: 12 November 2022 – Eden Park (Auckland).

Asia Qualifier Pool Matches RWC 2021

• Sunday 9 October 2022: Japan vs Canada
• Sunday 15 October 2022: USA vs Japan
• Sunday 23 October 2022: Japan vs Italy

You can read more about the initially planned RWC 2021 Match schedule here and the final full match schedule can be seen on the RWC 2021 website.

Qualified Teams: RWC 2021

• New Zealand
• England
• USA
• France
• Canada
• Australia
• Wales
• South Africa
• Fiji
• Japan
• Italy
• Scotland

All of the 12 nations competing at the RWC 2021 have confirmed their playing squads – you can see all of the squad announcements here.

RWC 2021 Pools

For more information on the draw see our article here.

Pool A RWC 2021

• New Zealand
• Australia
• Wales
• Scotland

Pool B RWC 2021

• Canada
• USA
• Italy
• Japan

Pool C RWC 2021

• England
• France
• South Africa
• Fiji

What Asian teams will play at RWC 2021?

Three teams from Asia were in with a chance of qualifying for RWC 2021. Hong Kong was scheduled to host the Asia Rugby Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 qualifiers and take on Japan and Kazakhstan but due to COVID-19, this was delayed a number of times.

UPDATED (October 20 2021)

World Rugby confirmed that Japan automatically qualified for Rugby World Cup 2021 as the highest-ranked team in the region.

This should have meant that Kazakhstan and Hong Kong would compete in play-off matches to determine the RWC 2021 Asia Qualification and which team would progress to the Final Qualification Tournament (this did not materialise due to the effects of COVID).

RWC 2021 Match Officials

World Rugby announced that a group of all-female match referees, and in total, an 18-strong team selected from 11 unions – will officiate the rugby matches at the RWC 2021 (playing in 2022) in New Zealand.

• Referees (nine): Aimee Barrett-Theron (South Africa), Maggie Cogger-Orr (New Zealand), Sara Cox (England), Hollie Davidson (Scotland), Aurélie Groizeleau (France), Lauren Jenner (New Zealand), Clara Munarini (Italy), Amber McLachlan (Australia), Joy Neville (Ireland).
• Assistant referees (five): Doriane Domenjo (France), Tyler Miller (Australia), Nikki O’Donnell (England), Kat Roche (USA), Julianne Zussman (Canada).
• TMOs (four): Chris Assmus (Canada), Lee Jeffrey (New Zealand), Ian Tempest (England), Ben Whitehouse (Wales).

Rugby World Cup 2021 Tickets

World Rugby announced the first tickets for Rugby World Cup 2021 went on sale in October 2021.

World Rugby confirmed that a limited release of the Mastercard RWC 2021 Tournament Pass for Rugby World Cup 2021, were on sale from 8 October 2021.

• Mastercard cardholders had exclusive access to 100 passes via an official Mastercard RWC 2021 Tournament Pass pre-sale on 8 October 2021 from 12-noon NZST (GMT +13).
• General access sale commenced on 19 October 2021 at 12 noon NZST (GMT +13) with a further 100 passes available.

How much do the RWC 2021 Tickets cost?

Mastercard RWC 2021 Tournament Pass adult stand tickets were orignally priced at NZ$100 (valued at NZ$250), while children’s stand tickets are NZ$35 (valued at $65). Tickets will be available via the official Rugby World Cup 2021 ticketing platform, provided by Ticketek.

On June 30th 2022, all match-day tickets went on sale for RWC 2021.

Where Can You Watch the RWC 2021?

• World Rugby announced the Rugby World Cup 2021 broadcaster will be TF1 who will provide free-to-air coverage of the women’s tournament.
• Dutch pay-television broadcaster Ziggo Sports agreed on a rights deal for the Rugby World Cup 2021. Ziggo signed the deal for exclusive rights in the Netherlands in February 2022.

Here is the full list of where you can watch the Rugby World Cup 2021 – TV, Livestreams and more.

Rugby World Cup 2021 Coaching Internship Programme

World Rugby has confirmed it will be running a Coaching Internship Programme to provide female coaches with a unique 12-month placement opportunity with a team competing at Rugby World Cup 2021 in New Zealand. Applicants have to come from one of the RWC 2021 participating unions.

Confirmed:

• Canada – Maria Gallo: Former Canadian 15s and 7s international, Rugby Canada Hall of Fame inductee, former head coach of UBC (University of British Columbia) Thunderbirds women’s rugby programme and current Canada Women’s 15s assistant coach.
• France – Céline Allainmat: Former France 15s and 7s international, current coach at Stade Rennais Rugby.
• USA – Kate Daley: Former USA 15s international, head coach of Penn State Women’s Rugby and assistant coach of USA Women’s 15s team.
• England – Amy Turner: Former England 15s and 7s international and current RFU Professional Pathway Officer and Women’s Performance Pathway coach.
• South Africa – Laurian Johannes: Former South Africa 15s international and current South Africa Women’s U20 head coach.
• Australia – Inge Visser: Former Netherlands 15s and 7s international, former head coach University of New England Rugby Lions.
• Fiji – Lailanie Burnes
• Italy – Michela Tondinelli
• Japan – Aya Nakajima
• Scotland – Claire Cruikshank

RWC 2021 Volunteers

Rugby fans can register their interest in joining the team behind the tournament by becoming official volunteers of the Rugby World Cup 2021. The RWC 2021 website said, “Volunteers will play a key role in delivering the tournament and across a range of roles including hosting and way-finding, accreditation and team liaison.”

Fans can register via the Rugby World Cup 2021 website.

ChildFund – RWC 2021 Principal Charity Partner

World Rugby announced on 26 May 2021, that the delayed Rugby World Cup 2021 had appointed ChildFund as the tournament’s principal charity partner.

Rugby fans will be able to support the work of ChildFund Rugby via an opt-in mechanism to donate when purchasing match day tickets for RWC 2021.

In September 2022, ChildFund Rugby launched the Play for ImpACT campaign which urges the global rugby community to “support women and girls to have equal opportunities to play, learn, and lead on and off the pitch.”

ChildFund Rugby Ambassadors

ChildFund Ambassadors include New Zealander Honey Hireme-Smiler and Australian Emily Chancellor, as well as former and current international rugby players.

Women’s Rugby World Cup winners

• 1991: USA
• 1994: England
• 1998: New Zealand
• 2002: New Zealand
• 2006: New Zealand
• 2010: New Zealand
• 2014: England
• 2017: New Zealand
• 2021: ?

RWC 2021 Articles

• Japan vs USA RWC 2021 – Pool B Match Preview
• Japan vs Canada – RWC 2021 Match Review
• Japan vs Canada RWC 2021 – Pool B Match Preview
• Rugby Development Programs RWC 2021 – ChildFund Rugby & Get Into Rugby
• RWC 2021 Tournament Opening Press Conference – What You Need to Know
• Rugby World Cup 2021 – Captains Photocall and Team Welcome
• Two Weeks Until RWC 2021 Kicks Off.
• ChildFund Rugby Launches Play for ImpACT Campaign.
• Japan Sakura XV Confirm RWC 2021 Squad.
• Rugby World Cup 2021 Match-day tickets on sale – 100 Days to go.
• Canon signs on for RWC 2021 & 2023.
• Team of All-Female Match Referees Take Charge of RWC 2021.
• Race To Rugby World Cup – The Positive Ripple Effects.
• Rugby World Cup 2021 Trophy Tour: April-September 2022.
• DHL Announced Official Logistics Partner of RWC 2021.
• HBS to broadcast men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups.
• First Tickets For Rugby World Cup 2021 Announced.
• Rugby World Cup 2021 Match Schedule Released.
• Rugby World Cup 2021 Appoints ChildFund as Principal Charity Partner.
• Rescheduled Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 Dates Confirmed.
• Rugby World Cup 2021 to take place in 2022.
• Rugby World Cup 2021 postponed until 2022?
• Rugby World Cup 2021 Match Schedule.
• Rugby World Cup 2021 Pools Confirmed.
• Rugby World Cup 2021 draw date confirmed.
• Official Gilbert Rugby World Cup 2021 match ball.
• Rugby World Cup 2021 Coaching Internship Programme.
• New Rugby World Cup selection process.
• World Rugby launches search for global rugby fan panel.
• Rugby World Cup 2021.