The 2021 Rugby World Cup will now take place in 2022 in New Zealand; the competition has been extended to give longer rests between games for player welfare; Eden Park to make history as the first venue to host both men's and women's Rugby World Cup finals.
Tuesday 11 May 2021 23:08, UK
New dates for the postponed 2021 Rugby World Cup have been announced, with the women's tournament now to be held in New Zealand from October 8-November 12 2022.
The tournament had originally been scheduled for September and October this year, but was postponed in March with World Rugby citing the "uncertain and challenging global COVID-19 landscape".
The rescheduled edition has had its tournament window extended by World Rugby from 35 to 43 days to ensure five-day rest periods between game, bringing it in line with the men's World Cup.
The format has also been slightly revamped with all fixtures played on weekends, with triple-header matches and no overlap between games. The original fixture schedule had seen six games per matchday.
Both the bronze final and final will be played on Saturday November 12, when Eden Park will make history by becoming the first stadium to have hosted both the men's and women's finals.
The pool phase will be played on the weekends of October 8-9, 15-16 and 22-23 2022 at Eden Park, Northlands Events Centre in Whangarei and Waitakere Stadium.
The quarter-finals will take place on October 29-30 followed by semi-finals on Saturday November 5.
World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: "We are fully committed to accelerating the women's game at all levels and while the postponement was disappointing for everyone, it has provided the unique opportunity to review every aspect of the event to ensure it is the best it can be for the players, fans around the world and the wonderful and enthusiastic New Zealanders.
"Longer rest periods between matches for all teams is further commitment to delivering comprehensive player welfare standards at RWC 2021.
"I would like to thank all stakeholders for their support and open-minded approach to this process and we can now look forward to a truly spectacular Rugby World Cup 2021, playing in 2022."
Tournament director Michelle Hooper said: "The momentum for women's sport is continuously building and we look forward to demonstrating this to the world through the unstoppable energy that will be on display during Rugby World Cup in 2022."
