Triple treat to kickstart women's Rugby World Cup

WELLINGTON: A mouthwatering triple header at Auckland's Eden Park will open this year's women's Rugby World Cup in September, culminating in a clash between hosts New Zealand and arch-rivals Australia.

Hoping to attract record crowds in the mostly virus-free nation, tournament organisers have scheduled three high-profile pool matches on September 18 at the Auckland venue, the spiritual home of New Zealand rugby.

South Africa face France first up, followed by England against debutants Fiji, then five-time champions New Zealand take on Australia.

The tournament, which runs until October 16, features 12 teams in three pools of four and is being hosted in the southern hemisphere for the first time.

Matches will be played in Auckland and Whangarei.

Other notable pool matches include France against England on September 28, in a replay of their 2017 semi-final won by France.

World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont said the tournament would continue to grow rugby for women, who now account for more than a quarter of the 9.6 million registered players around the globe.

"There is a very real, unstoppable momentum building behind the rise of women in rugby now and 2021 will be a year like no other, providing a unique opportunity to continue to accelerate the growth and profile of the sport," the former British and Irish Lions captain said.

"Women's rugby rightly is set to own centre stage this year."

Matches will have unrestricted crowds thanks to New Zealand's success in containing coronavirus.

England coach Simon Middleton hoped the event would be a morale booster for sports fans around the globe affected by the pandemic.

"We all know there's an even bigger picture outside of rugby and sport at the moment but the World Cup is a huge opportunity for not only the worldwide rugby community, but everyone to come together and celebrate a great event at a time when the world is struggling," he said.