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2011 Rugby World Cup

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2011 Rugby World Cup
Tournament details
Host nation New Zealand
Dates9 September – 23 October
No. of nations20 (91 qualifying)
Tournament statistics
Matches played48

The 2011 Rugby World Cup will be the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. At a meeting of the International Rugby Board (IRB) held in Dublin on 17 November 2005, New Zealand was selected as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa. There were two rounds of voting by the IRB Council to decide the host nation, with South Africa eliminated in the first round.

The event is expected to cost about NZ$310 million to run and to generate NZ$280 million in ticket sales.[1] It will be the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup, 2003 America's Cup and 2005 British and Irish Lions tour to New Zealand.[citation needed] Around 70,000 visitors from overseas are expected to travel to New Zealand for the associated games and events.[2]

The event is scheduled to be played over seven weekends from the weekend starting 10 September and culminating the weekend starting 22 October 2011.[3] The weekend of the final was chosen so it falls on a long weekend caused by the New Zealand public holiday of Labour Day (Monday, 24 October 2011).[4] The final is scheduled to be played in Auckland at Eden Park.[3]

As of 19 February 2008, New Zealand's progress in preparing and implementing plans for the event received an A+ rating from the International Rugby Board's chairman and chief executive.[5]

After speculation that the number of participating teams would be reduced to 16, the IRB announced on Friday, 30 November 2007 that the 2011 tournament would again feature 20 teams.[6] Twelve teams qualified as a result of finishing in the top three in each pool in the 2007 tournament. The remaining eight berths will be determined by regional qualifying tournaments.[7]

Bids

New Zealand co-hosted the first Rugby World Cup with Australia in 1987. Originally set to co-host the 2003 tournament with Australia, a disagreement over ground signage rights saw the New Zealand games dropped and Australia became the sole host. Prior to the 2005 Lions tour to New Zealand, critics doubted that New Zealand had the infrastructure to host an event of this size. The 2011 New Zealand bid contained plans to enlarge the size of Eden Park and other stadia to help increase the commercial viability of the bid.

Of the three candidates, Japan was widely expected to win hosting rights. It was believed to be the desire of the IRB to move the tournament from the traditional rugby nations such as New Zealand and South Africa. If it were to have been held in Japan it would be the first time a Rugby World Cup had taken place in Asia. With stadiums from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, it had the necessary infrastructure already in place. Japan would eventually succeed in its aim to host a World Cup in 2009, when it was awarded the 2019 Rugby World Cup.

The South African bid, led by former national captain François Pienaar, had strong support from their government. It successfully hosted the tournament in 1995. There was belief throughout the rugby union community that the organisation of the Rugby World Cup would be overshadowed by the organisation for the 2010 FIFA World Cup.[citation needed]

The New Zealand bid was led by the New Zealand Rugby Union (at the time of bidding known as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union) and supported by the New Zealand Government, through the Prime Minister and current players, represented by the All Black captain. After winning the bid, the NZRFU expressed extreme disappointment towards their Australian counterparts who voted against New Zealand hosting the event, due to the NZRFU's misplaced expectation that the "ANZAC spirit" would result in a vote for New Zealand. After South Africa was voted out of the running for the hosting rights, their rugby union stated that they voted for New Zealand, as they remembered the anti-apartheid sentiment that average New Zealanders had demonstrated during the 1981 South African tour.[citation needed]

After an IRB inspection of each applicant host nation during June and July 2005, the winning bid of New Zealand was announced during the IRB Council meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005.

Concerns

Some concerns over New Zealand's readiness for the Rugby World Cup have been raised. The process of upgrading Eden Park to expand the capacity to the 60,000+ figure required by the IRB was characterised in late 2008 by the Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully as needing legislative abolishment of the consent process to be completed on time.[8] A July 2009 report by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, released under the Official Information Act, warned of lack of readiness and complacency, despite the fact that "the levels of patron movement and operational standard [needed for the RWC] are in reality significantly above what is currently delivered."[9] The report was dismissed by Michael Barnett, the Auckland Chamber of Commerce CEO and planning co-coordinator for RWC events in Auckland, who characterised it as a case of "a Wellington media organisation us[ing] an outdated report".[10] The nation's largest hospitality workers' union, Unite, which represents 25% of hotel, restaurant and casino workers in New Zealand, has floated the idea of a strike during the RWC "to get some of that wealth and share it around a bit."[11]

The construction of Dunedin's Forsyth Barr Stadium has also been a source of concern as the project is operating within a tight time frame. An April 2010 progress report stated that the project remained on target for completion prior to the Rugby World Cup, however there is a medium level of risk with some significant and potentially damaging concerns.[12] If the project is not completed on time, organisers will revert to the backup option of Carisbrook Stadium. The Dunedin stadium is running ahead of schedule and is well on target to meet its opening date.

Qualification

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying

Twenty teams will compete in the 2011 World Cup. The following twelve teams qualified for the 2011 World Cup by finishing in the top three of their group in the 2007 Rugby World Cup:[7][13]

The remaining eight teams qualified for the 2011 World Cup through regional qualifying competitions:

Russia will be the only country making its World Cup debut in 2011.

Venues

The 13 venues for the 2011 Rugby World Cup were confirmed on 12 March 2009.[14]

A number of the venues announced are undergoing redevelopment to increase capacity for the event. Dunedin is currently building a new stadium named Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza, due for completion in August 2011. If completed on schedule, it will be used instead of Carisbrook.[15]

Due to damage suffered to Stadium Christchurch and many of the services in the city following the 2011 Christchurch earthquake on 22 February 2011, it was announced on 16 March that Christchurch would lose its Rugby World Cup games. The two quarter-finals scheduled would be moved to Auckland, while the five group matches will move to other centres.[16]

Auckland Wellington Rotorua Dunedin Hamilton
Eden Park Westpac Stadium1 Rotorua International Stadium Forsyth Barr Stadium2 Waikato Stadium
Capacity: 60,000 Capacity: 36,000 Capacity: 34,000 Capacity: 30,500 Capacity: 25,800
World Cup Matches: 9 World Cup Matches: 7 World Cup Matches: 3 World Cup Matches: 3 World Cup Matches: 3
Auckland Whangarei New Plymouth Napier Nelson Palmerston North Invercargill
North Harbour Stadium Okara Park Yarrow Stadium McLean Park Trafalgar Park Arena Manawatu Rugby Park Stadium
Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 25,000 Capacity: 22,000 Capacity: 20,080 Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 17,000
World Cup Matches: 3 World Cup Matches: 2 World Cup Matches: 3 World Cup Matches: 2 World Cup Matches: 2 World Cup Matches: 2 World Cup Matches: 2
  • ^1 As Wellington Regional Stadium
  • ^2 Subject to the stadium being completed on time

Auckland options

On 10 November 2006, the New Zealand Government announced plans for Stadium New Zealand for the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The proposal was to build the new stadium seating 70,000 on the Auckland waterfront. After much public outcry, and lack of support from the Auckland Regional Council, the proposal was dropped in favour of the redevelopment of Eden Park.

The redevelopment of Eden Park's Southern and South Western stands was completed during 2010.

Some consents are still to be approved but the Government has announced it is considering passing a law bypassing the consent process to allow all the stadiums' redevelopment to be completed in time for the Rugby World Cup.[17]

Warm-up matches

For Australia, South Africa and New Zealand, the 2011 Tri Nations Series will serve as the primary preparation for the tournament. In the northern hemisphere, a series of friendlies played in August 2011 replace the annual tours to the southern hemisphere.

Draw

Seeding of teams for the 2011 World Cup was based on their respective IRB World Rankings.[18] The top four at the 2007 Rugby World Cup (South Africa, England, Argentina, and France) were not therefore allocated top pool spots, but "the rankings are now very well established and provide us with a credible and succinct way of seeding teams for the rugby World Cup pool draw", according to Rugby World Cup Ltd (RWCL) chairman Syd Millar.[18]

The draw was conducted in December 2008 and used the World Rankings as of 1 December 2008,[19] after the Northern Hemisphere Autumn internationals.[20] The teams were placed into three bands depending on their seedings at the time, with one team from each band in each of the groups.[18] The rankings and bands were therefore: New Zealand (1), South Africa (2), Australia (3) and Argentina (4); Wales (5), England (6), France (7) and Ireland (8); Scotland (9), Fiji (10), Italy (11) and Tonga (13).[19]

The full draw and venues for the tournament were announced on 12 March 2009.[21]

The opening match will see the hosts, New Zealand, take on Tonga. This will be the first World Cup since 1995 in which the opening match does not involve Argentina.

Pool stage

All dates and times are local New Zealand time - New Zealand Standard Time (UTC+12) until Saturday 24 September, and New Zealand Daylight Time (UTC+13) from Sunday 25 September onwards.
Key to colours in group tables
Advanced to the Quarter-finals and qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
Eliminated

Pool A

Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD T B Pts Qualification
1  New Zealand 4 4 0 0 240 49 +191 36 4 20 Advanced to the quarter-finals and
qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2  France 4 2 0 2 124 96 +28 13 3 11
3  Tonga 4 2 0 2 80 98 −18 7 1 9 Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4  Canada 4 1 1 2 82 168 −86 9 0 6
5  Japan 4 0 1 3 69 184 −115 8 0 2
Source: [citation needed]
9 September 2011
20:30
New Zealand v Tonga
Eden Park, Auckland
10 September 2011
18:00
France v Japan
North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
14 September 2011
17:00
Tonga v Canada
Northland Events Centre, Whangarei
16 September 2011
20:00
New Zealand v Japan
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
18 September 2011
20:30
France v Canada
McLean Park, Napier
21 September 2011
19:30
Tonga v Japan
Northland Events Centre, Whangarei
24 September 2011
20:30
New Zealand v France
Eden Park, Auckland
27 September 2011
17:00
Canada v Japan
McLean Park, Napier
1 October 2011
18:00
France v Tonga
Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
2 October 2011
15:30
New Zealand v Canada
Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington

Pool B

Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD T B Pts Qualification
1  England 4 4 0 0 137 34 +103 18 2 18 Advanced to the quarter-finals and
qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2  Argentina 4 3 0 1 90 40 +50 10 2 14
3  Scotland 4 2 0 2 73 59 +14 4 3 11 Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4  Georgia 4 1 0 3 48 90 −42 3 0 4
5  Romania 4 0 0 4 44 169 −125 3 0 0
Source: [citation needed]
10 September 2011
13:00
Scotland v Romania
Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
10 September 2011
20:30
Argentina v England
TBA
14 September 2011
19:30
Scotland v Georgia
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
17 September 2011
15:30
Argentina v Romania
Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
18 September 2011
18:00
England v Georgia
TBA
24 September 2011
18:00
England v Romania
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin
25 September 2011
20:30
Argentina v Scotland
TBA
28 September 2011
19:30
Georgia v Romania
Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
1 October 2011
20:30
England v Scotland
Eden Park, Auckland
2 October 2011
13:00
Argentina v Georgia
Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North

Pool C

Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD T B Pts Qualification
1  Ireland 4 4 0 0 135 34 +101 15 1 17 Advanced to the quarter-finals and
qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2  Australia 4 3 0 1 173 48 +125 25 3 15
3  Italy 4 2 0 2 92 95 −3 13 2 10 Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4  United States 4 1 0 3 38 122 −84 4 0 4
5  Russia 4 0 0 4 57 196 −139 8 1 1
Source: [citation needed]
11 September 2011
15:30
Australia v Italy
TBA
11 September 2011
18:00
 Irelandv United States
Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
15 September 2011
19:30
Russia v United States
Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
17 September 2011
20:30
Australia v Ireland
Eden Park, Auckland
20 September 2011
19:30
Italy v Russia
Trafalgar Park, Nelson
23 September 2011
20:30
Australia v United States
Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
25 September 2011
18:00
Ireland v Russia
Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
27 September 2011
19:30
Italy v United States
Trafalgar Park, Nelson
1 October 2011
15:30
Australia v Russia
TBA
2 October 2011
20:30
Ireland v Italy
Forsyth Barr Stadium, Dunedin

Pool D

Pos Team
 Pld W D L PF PA PD T B Pts Qualification
1  South Africa 4 4 0 0 166 24 +142 21 2 18 Advanced to the quarter-finals and
qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2  Wales 4 3 0 1 180 34 +146 23 3 15
3  Samoa 4 2 0 2 91 49 +42 9 2 10 Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4  Fiji 4 1 0 3 59 167 −108 7 1 5
5  Namibia 4 0 0 4 44 266 −222 5 0 0
Source: [citation needed]
10 September 2011
15:30
Fiji v Namibia
Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
11 September 2011
20:30
South Africa v Wales
Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
14 September 2011
14:30
Samoa v Namibia
Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
17 September 2011
18:00
South Africa v Fiji
Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington
18 September 2011
15:30
Wales v Samoa
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
22 September 2011
20:00
South Africa v Namibia
North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
25 September 2011
15:30
Fiji v Samoa
Eden Park, Auckland
26 September 2011
19:30
Wales v Namibia
Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
30 September 2011
20:30
South Africa v Samoa
North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
2 October 2011
18:00
Wales v Fiji
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton

Knockout stage

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
8 October 18:00 - Westpac Stadium, Wellington
 
 
Winner Pool C
 
15 October 21:00 - Eden Park, Auckland
 
Runner-up Pool D
 
Winner QF1
 
8 October 20:30 - Eden Park, Auckland
 
Winner QF2
 
Winner Pool B
 
23 October 21:00 - Eden Park, Auckland
 
Runner-up Pool A
 
Winner SF1
 
9 October 18:00 - Westpac Stadium, Wellington
 
Winner SF2
 
Winner Pool D
 
16 October 21:00 - Eden Park, Auckland
 
Runner-up Pool C
 
Winner QF3
 
9 October 20:30 - Eden Park, Auckland
 
Winner QF4Third place
 
Winner Pool A
 
21 October 20:30 - Eden Park, Auckland
 
Runner-up Pool B
 
Loser SF1
 
 
Loser SF2
 

Media

Broadcasting

New Zealand's subscription television provider SKY Network Television will be the host broadcaster for the Rugby World Cup. All matches will be available in high definition where available.

List of television broadcasters of the tournament:

References

  1. ^ "World Cup 2011 tickets won't come cheap". nzherald.com. 2007-08-24.
  2. ^ City hits the heights to house visitors - New Zealand Herald, Tuesday 30 November 2007, Page A7
  3. ^ a b "RWC 2011 & RNZ 2011 FACT SHEET". irb.com. International Rugby Board. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  4. ^ "Final date for RWC 2011 revealed". allblacks.com. 2007-07-24. Retrieved 2007-07-25.
  5. ^ "NZ given A+ grade for Rugby World Cup plans". nzherald.co.nz. 19 February 2008. Retrieved 11 April 2008.
  6. ^ "Twenty teams to compete at Rugby World 2011". rugbyworldcup.com. International Rugby Board. 30 November 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  7. ^ a b "Qualifying changes for 2011 RWC". bbc.co.uk. 2007-05-10. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  8. ^ "Deadline fears for stadium", December 13, 2008, NZ Herald
  9. ^ "Fears Auckland won't cope with World Cup", 2/2/2010, Stuff
  10. ^ "Auckland Transport "Will Be Ready" For Rugby World Cup 2011", Tuesday, 2 February, 2010, Voxy.co.nz
  11. ^ "Rugby World Cup strike risk", June 2010, NZ Herald
  12. ^ "STADIUM STAKEHOLDERS GROUP REPORT", Athol Stephens, Dunedin City Council, Acting Chief Executive, 26 April 2010
  13. ^ "RWC 2007 - Standings". irb.com. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  14. ^ "RWC 2011 fixtures and pool venues announced". rugbyworldcup.com. International Rugby Board. 12 March 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  15. ^ "Carisbrook 'on track' for cup games". Otago Daily Times. 4 March 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  16. ^ "Rugby World Cup press release on Christchurch matches". Television New Zealand. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 16 March 2011.
  17. ^ "Deadline fears for stadium". New Zealand Herald. 2008-12-13. Retrieved 2009-01-29.
  18. ^ a b c "Rankings to determine RWC pools". bbc.co.uk. 2008-02-22. Retrieved 2008-08-24.
  19. ^ a b IRB World Rankings at at 1 December 2008
  20. ^ "IRB World Rankings used for RWC 2011 draw" (Press release). International Rugby Board. 22 February 2008. Retrieved 28 February 2008.
  21. ^ "RWC 2011 pools and match schedule". rugbyworldcup.com. International Rugby Board. 12 March 2009. Retrieved 12 March 2009.
  22. ^ "La televisión que viene". www.revistadebate.com.ar. 2011-02-25. Retrieved 2011-03-12.
  23. ^ "RTÉ Sport awarded Irish free-to-air rights". rugbyworldcup.com. 2010-12-21. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
  24. ^ "SKY Italia appointed Italy rights holders". rugbyworldcup.com. 2009-11-24. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
  25. ^ "JSPORTS appointed Japan rights holders". rugbyworldcup.com. 2009-11-16. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
  26. ^ "RWC 2011 NZ free-to-air broadcasters revealed". rugbyworldcup.com. 2010-03-03. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
  27. ^ "RWC UK Broadcast details announced". rugbyworldcup.com. 2010-07-28. Retrieved 2011-01-13.
  28. ^ "Universal Sports, NBC to broadcast Rugby World Cup". Universal Sports. 2010-06-12. Retrieved 2011-01-13.


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