New Zealand to host 2021 Women’s World Cup

Rugby update

New Zealand will host Women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 after being awarded the hosting rights for the prestigious tournament by World Rugby.

It will be the first the Women’s Rugby World Cup is held in the southern hemisphere. With women’s rugby continuing to experience record global growth and participation levels at an all-time high, the world’s top female players will head to Auckland and Whangarei on New Zealand’s North Island for the ninth Women’s Rugby World Cup. The two cities will provide teams with an exceptional, world-class hosting experience during the six-week tournament.

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.

Following extensive hosting interest, the selection process saw New Zealand and Australia submit strong and compelling bids. A comprehensive evaluation report was produced for World Rugby Council to consider based on agreed hosting criteria. The tournament follows the very special and record-breaking Women’s Rugby World Cup 2017 in Ireland which had a hugely positive impact on women’s rugby.

It was the best attended Women’s Rugby World Cup to date with a record total attendance of 45,412, the most viewed with Ireland, France, the UK and USA all recording unprecedented viewing figures, and also the most socially engaged, generating 45 million views across official tournament platforms. 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.”