Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host
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THE REIGNING CHAMPIONS New Zealand have won the bid to host the next World Cup in 2021, World Rugby has announced.
This will be the first time the tournament will be held in the southern hemisphere, and follows on from a record-breaking World Cup which took place in Ireland last year.
It was the best attended Women’s Rugby World Cup to date with a record total attendance of 45,412.
There were strong broadcast figures in Ireland and the USA, while the tournament set new records in France and the UK.
It was a disappointing campaign for the host nation as the Black Ferns came out top, defeating the then-reigning World Cup champions England in the final to win the title for the fifth time.
New Zealand edged out Australia to win the hosting rights for the ninth edition of the tournament, and the games will be held across Auckland and Whangarei in July and August of 2021.World Rugby Chair Bill Beaumont said:
“Congratulations to New Zealand on being elected Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 host. They presented a very strong and compelling bid and we look forward to working with New Zealand Rugby to host a successful and inspiring tournament.
“Women’s rugby continues to grow with more than 2.4 million women and girls playing rugby at all levels, accounting for more than a quarter of players globally.
“With Women’s Rugby World Cup attracting record crowds and broadcast audiences in each of the last three tournaments – Ireland 2017, France 2014 and England 2010 – I am in no doubt that the 2021 tournament, the first to be held in the southern hemisphere, will continue this record-breaking trend.
“I would also like to thank Australia for their exceptional bid. We hope to welcome Australia back to bid again in the future.”
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Although I don't agree with the chosen locations, this is great news! New Zealand has contributed way more to the growth of women's rugby than Australia, if only due to the performance of the Black Ferns, with their 5 World Cup victories. It will be awesome for the Ferns to be able to play a World Cup at home. I only doubt/wonder whether we can match the viewing and crowd numbers from last year's WRWC, due to the time difference with the largest viewing audience (which is in Europe) and - generally and in women's rugby - smaller crowd attendance here in NZ. But that wouldn't have been any different/better if they had picked Australia for the next WRWC.
Definitely going to try getting tickets for the final and semi-finals!
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Awesome that they're also working on organising a women's Pacific Nations Cup! It will be difficult to match the quality of the Women's Six Nations, due to the fact that currently only 4 of the Pacific Nations (NZ, Canada, USA and Australia) are in the top (6) of the women's world rankings and there's quite a drop in strenght of teams, but it will be great to have more test matches in our region.
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@stargazer what’s wrong with the chosen locations?
Not Napier?
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@gunner I'm not going to repeat what I said when the bids were announced, but in short, I find it too much concentrated in the North. I'd have preferred South of Auckland, for example, Hamilton and Rotorua. I know Rotorua made a bid (IIRC Tauranga, too). But yeah, Napier would have been great
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@jegga said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
Do we need a separate thread for photos of hot female rugby players or is this one all good?
It would be a short thread on its own.
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@stargazer said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@gunner I'm not going to repeat what I said when the bids were announced, but in short, I find it too much concentrated in the North. I'd have preferred South of Auckland, for example, Hamilton and Rotorua. I know Rotorua made a bid (IIRC Tauranga, too). But yeah, Napier would have been great
Fair enough, but then I’d have to complain that it was too concentrated in the upper central North Island 😉
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@stargazer said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@gunner I'm not going to repeat what I said when the bids were announced, but in short, I find it too much concentrated in the North. I'd have preferred South of Auckland, for example, Hamilton and Rotorua. I know Rotorua made a bid (IIRC Tauranga, too). But yeah, Napier would have been great
Similar venues to when we hosted the IRB U20 world cup. Which were Eden Park, Albany and Pukekohe. The crowds were absolutely atrocious.
Only difference here is the addition of Whangarei.
How is it funded? Personally hoping NZRU don't get taken to the cleaners hosting this, because ticket sales won't cover much.
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@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@stargazer said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@gunner I'm not going to repeat what I said when the bids were announced, but in short, I find it too much concentrated in the North. I'd have preferred South of Auckland, for example, Hamilton and Rotorua. I know Rotorua made a bid (IIRC Tauranga, too). But yeah, Napier would have been great
Similar venues to when we hosted the IRB U20 world cup. Which were Eden Park, Albany and Pukekohe. The crowds were absolutely atrocious.
Only difference here is the addition of Whangarei.
How is it funded? Personally hoping NZRU don't get taken to the cleaners hosting this, because ticket sales won't cover much.
I don't see this being any different. I'm all for equity and opportunity, but who seriously wants to watch a WRWC? It's bad enough Namibia etc. are in the RWC...
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Govt on board with funding, which is fair enough.
Government commits to help finance women's Rugby World Cup
The government is committed to lifting the profile of women's sport and will contribute financially to New Zealand hosting the women's rugby world cup, but sports minister Grant Roberston won't reveal how much.
Note: For 2011 RWC govt agreed to cover 2/3rd of any shortfall (covered $20m of the $30m shortfall with NZRU covering $10m).
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@antipodean we had reasonable crowds up here for the U20 Soccer WC with Myanmar here twice.
I assume we wont get a Black Ferns game here, but hopefully we will get Samoa or Tonga which will see big crowds travel like they did in the RWC for Tonga.
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Looking at the NZRU 2015 annual report, which covers the 2014 year when we hosted the 2014 JWC.
Junior World Championship hosting:
- income: $96,000
- expenditure: $4,225,000
- loss: $4,427,000
Auckland just won't watch this stuff.
Not sure how much more expensive the hosting would be if it was Dunedin based or Christchuch based. Or if a Dunedin based tournament would have the hotelier capacity
But if it was:
- Christchurch
- Timaru
- Blenheim
- Nelson
or
- Dunedin
- Invercargill
- Queenstown
- Oamaru
I'd back them to sell more than $96k of tickets.
Assume someone has run the numbers and investigated the infrastructure capacities though.
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@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
Other thing to bear in mind, from a big picture perspective, that hosting IRB tournaments , (JWCs, 7s world series, women's world cups, 7s world cups), is a pre-requisite to bidding for the big one.
And being a Tier One Rugby Nation, which Australia isn't.
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@nta said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
Other thing to bear in mind, from a big picture perspective, that hosting IRB tournaments , (JWCs, 7s world series, women's world cups, 7s world cups), is a pre-requisite to bidding for the big one.
And being a Tier One Rugby Nation, which Australia isn't.
I almost miss the days when you guys had a bit of backbone.
Agent Robbie is probably the greatest saboteur the world has ever known.
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@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
Assume someone has run the numbers and investigated the infrastructure capacities though.
Playing the majority of the games in Auckland will reduce costs for domestic travel and accommodation won't be a problem. The WR suits will prefer staying in 5-star Auckland hotels too.
I would also assume there will be a lot of double-headers or triple-headers as Eden Park isn't cheap to use (refer to test cricket for an example).
They need to make the ticket prices really cheap to get punters through the gates. An empty Eden Park won't be a good look on TV.
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@bovidae said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
Assume someone has run the numbers and investigated the infrastructure capacities though.
Playing the majority of the games in Auckland will reduce costs for domestic travel and accommodation won't be a problem. The WR suits will prefer staying in 5-star Auckland hotels too.
I would also assume there will be a lot of double-headers or triple-headers as Eden Park isn't cheap to use (refer to test cricket for an example).
They need to make the ticket prices really cheap to get punters through the gates. An empty Eden Park won't be a good look on TV.
None of that stopped the 2014 U20 world cup being a $4m sink hole.
I assume govt is picking up the cost this time though.
It's probably a moot point until Chch has a stadium. But next time they host this or the U20 JWC I'd like them to investigate Chch as the hub combined with small regional grounds within a a few hours drive.
Aucklanders can't even get home for dinner on time on a Wednesday night, let alone go across town to watch a rugby game. It's the worst choice as a hub.
The JWC in 2014 had 24 games and they sold $96k worth of tickets.
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@bovidae said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
The JWC in 2014 had 24 games and they sold $96k worth of tickets.
Where were the games played? I honestly don't even remember the tournament.
Eden Park, Albany, Pukekohe.
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@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@bovidae said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
The JWC in 2014 had 24 games and they sold $96k worth of tickets.
Where were the games played? I honestly don't even remember the tournament.
Eden Park, Albany, Pukekohe.
I was going to say South Africa won with Handre Pollard as the star. But I just looked up wiki and England pipped SAF in the final.
NZ lost to SAF twice (in pool and in semi).
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@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
I was going to say South Africa won with Handre Pollard as the star. But I just looked up wiki and England pipped SAF in the final.
NZ lost to SAF twice (in pool and in semi).
Ah, now I remember. I watched the NZ games on TV, as I'd likely do for this tournament.
Using the U20s football WC as an example, taking games to the provinces worked (I went to games myself) but I'm not sure if that tournament made a profit despite very good crowds. FIFA has more money.
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@mariner4life said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
I almost miss the days when you guys had a bit of backbone.
Almost.
Agent Robbie is probably the greatest saboteur the world has ever known.
Agent Raelene is carrying on the legacy brilliantly.
Might be a reason to get back to NZ in 2021.
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@antipodean said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
IRB U20 world cup
I don't really see why you can't put one pool in Auckland, one pool in South Island and one pool in central North Island. I think people would like to go to a game for novelty reasons but I don't think many people will go to multiple games. I can imagine the New Zealand games getting some decent crowds but people won't bother with the others.
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@hydro11
NZR has obviously crunched the numbers and decided only using Auckland and Whangarei is the most cost-effective model to use. Tew said they only expect modest ticket sales and have worked on breaking even. I note that all pool games will be triple-headers so this is about reducing operational costs.Interesting also that the Home Nations all voted for Australia, NZ relied on SH votes, many of which won't be participating at the WC.
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@bovidae just listening to RS and a guy (Graham Beazley from Sportsfreak?) there just saying there is a distance requirement in that all games need to be within 120km (I assume he meant miles as Whangarei is over 120km away) apparently some age group Tournaments use this model?
That said, that doesnt stack up cos Hamilton.
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@taniwharugby They will be busing teams up to Whangarei I would assume so could just have easily done the same to Hamilton.
Looking at the WR website, games will be played in multiple venues in Auckland. In July and August 2021.
Matches will be played at the 5,000 capacity Waitakere Stadium in Auckland and the Northland Events Centre in Whangarei, with a capacity of up to 20,000, as well as the 25,000 capacity Albany Stadium and Eden Park, which hosted the Rugby World Cup 2011 final.
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IMO, They'd be better doing Wellington, Levin, Masterton, Petone Rec.
A bit of a blow to the prestige of the tournament using Petone Rec, though.
Or Rotorua as the base (hotels). Using Rotorua, Tauranga, Taupo, Hamilton.
Auckland is dysfunctional. It takes a big event (or a compulsion to go earn yor money) to brave the drudge of moving about in Auckland.
The most successful WRWC yet (the last one in Ireland)
Used:
Billings Park UCD: https://c8.alamy.com/comp/JXT4W9/dublin-ireland-17th-aug-2017-womens-rugby-world-cup-at-billings-park-JXT4W9.jpgUCD Bowl: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/File:Belfield_Bowl.jpg
and then Kingspan Stadium, Belfast for the big games.
The 2017 tournament set attendance records for a Women’s World Cup. The tournament drew 45,412 fans over 30 matches. The final was played in front of a crowd of 17,115, and the pool matches sold out.
37% of the entire tournament crowd was made up of the grand final.
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@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
The 2017 tournament set attendance records for a Women’s World Cup. The tournament drew 45,412 fans over 30 matches. The final was played in front of a crowd of 17,115, and the pool matches sold out.
37% of the entire tournament crowd was made up of the grand final.
Pool matches sold out? All of them? But that was 28,000 people? Confused ....
I remember the World Cup final was an excellent game, I reckon with some good marketing and a successful NZ run, the crowds could actually be OK.
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@kiwipie said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
@rapido said in Womens RWC 2021 -NZ to host:
The 2017 tournament set attendance records for a Women’s World Cup. The tournament drew 45,412 fans over 30 matches. The final was played in front of a crowd of 17,115, and the pool matches sold out.
37% of the entire tournament crowd was made up of the grand final.
Pool matches sold out? All of them? But that was 28,000 people? Confused ....
I remember the World Cup final was an excellent game, I reckon with some good marketing and a successful NZ run, the crowds could actually be OK.
Yes, confusing.
All of the pool games were played at University playing fields. We'd be talking attendances in the 100s. It could also just be bollocks that pool matches were sold out, as its wikipedia.
Kingspan wasn't used until the semis and final, and also for Ireland's game in the 5th to 8th playoffs. These matches, e.g the semifinals, were also double headers at same stadium.
Kingspan used for 6 games over 5 matchdays. The
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World Rugby announces new Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 Qualification Pathway
* Women’s Rugby World Cup to host a Repechage tournament for the first time in its history * Process offers more unions qualification opportunities including an exciting new European and expanded Oceania competition * The top seven placed teams from WRWC 2017 have already secured automatic qualification * Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 is the ninth edition of the tournament * The 12-team competition will be hosted by New Zealand, marking the first time it will take place in the Southern HemisphereRegional Women’s Rugby World Cup qualification pathway tournaments; * Oceania: The expanded Oceania Women’s Rugby Championship 2019 will act as the WRWC 2021 qualifier with the winner qualifying directly to WRWC 2021 * Rugby Europe: For the first time in Europe, a standalone qualification tournament will be held in September 2020. Ireland, Italy and Scotland will be joined by the winner of the 2020 Rugby Europe women’s championship with the winner qualifying directly to WRWC 2021 * Asia Rugby: The existing Asia Rugby Women’s Championship 2020 will act as the WRWC 2021 qualifier with the winner qualifying directly to WRWC 2021 * Rugby Africa: A new women’s competition to be held in August 2019 will act as the WRWC 2021 qualifier with the winner qualifying directly to WRWC 2021 * South America: A WRWC 2021 qualification competition will be held in 2020. The winner will progress to a play-off between the second-placed team from the Africa regional tournament to determine the fourth team to compete in the Repechage. The final team to qualify for WRWC 2021 will be decided via the new Repechage tournament, which will take place in 2020. The tournament will comprise of the second placed teams in the Asia, Europe and Oceania regional tournaments and the winner of the play-off between South America and second-placed team from the Africa regional qualifier.Last year World Rugby announced a progressive remodelling of Women’s Rugby World Cup format ahead of 2021 to boost team and fan experience alike which included: * A revised match schedule guaranteeing longer rest periods which will greatly benefit player welfare * The addition of the quarter-final stage to allow teams a further opportunity to play for a higher position. * With the longer rest periods and additional play-off stage, the total tournament window will increase from 23 to 35 days * Furthering World Rugby’s commitment to prioritising player welfare by increasing tournament squad sizes from 28 to 30 players. The schedule of regional qualification tournaments and the Women’s Rugby World Cup Repechage will be announced later this year. -
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@Stargazer and @other womens rugby followers does NZR release the 7s players for the RWC? You'd want that talent, especially in the backs when going for the cup.
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@Nepia Yes. A good number of the BF 7s team were involved in the last RWC team.
I will be interested in how many from outside the upper NI travel to watch games.
Edit: Here was the team for the 2017 final. Bolded are current/former sevens players.
Selica Winiata; Portia Woodman, Stacey Waaka, Kelly Brazier, Renee Wickliffe; Victoria Subritzky-Nafatali, Kendra Cocksedge; Toka Natua, Fiao'o Faamausili (capt), Aldora Itunu, Eloise Blackwell, Charmaine Smith, Charmaine McMenamin, Sarah Goss, Aroha Savage.
Replacements: Te Kura Ngata-Aerengamate, Sosoli Talawadua, Aleisha Nelson, Rebecca Wood, Lesley Ketu, Kristina Sue, Theresa Fitzpatrick, Carla Hohepa
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@Stargazer When is the team being named?
