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This page contains information regarding the 2011 Rugby World Cup.
We will be updating this information regularly, however if you have a
specific question, please contact us.
Latest News
Rugby World Cup Qualifying Begins
Caribbean nations are the first to begin the qualification process for the 2011 Rugby World Cup with
their first match of the 2008 Caribbean Championship on April 20.
The Caribbean Championship consists of a six day knock-out tournament involving Bahamas, Bermuda,
Cayman Islands, Guyana, Jamaica, Mexico and Trinidad & Tobago. The winner of this tournament will
progress on to play the winner of the South American Division B Championship, involving Brazil, Colombia,
Paraguay, Peru and Venezuela.
These qualification tournaments are part of the new-look global regional qualifying system which by 2010 will
produce eight teams that will join the other twelve automatic qualifying nations in competing for the 2011 Rugby
World Cup in New Zealand.
Of the eight qualification places still available, two each will be allocated to Europe and the Americas, one each to Africa, Asia
and Oceania, and the last place determined by a play-off.
19/04/2008
Rankings will determine seeding for 2011 Rugby World Cup
Tournament seeding for 2011 Rugby World Cup will for the first time be based on rankings. The cut-off
date for rankings will be December 1st 2008, and during December the twelve automatic qualifying teams
will be placed into pools based on these rankings. Other teams will be allocated into pools during the
first quarter of 2009.
22/02/2008
Eden Park to host Final and Semi-Finals
It was confirmed today that Auckland's Eden Park will host both semi-finals and the grand final of
the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Eden Park is New Zealand's largest stadium and will seat 62,000 spectators.
22/02/2008
20 Teams Confirmed for the 2011 Rugby World Cup
The IRB has announced that 20 teams will compete for the Rugby World Cup in 2011. This will be the same
number of teams that competed in the last three tournaments. The IRB has previously stated that a review
of the number of teams would take place to ensure that the tournament remains competitive and commercially
attractive in the future. The decision that 20 teams will compete in 2011 follows recent impressive performances
by developing nations at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.
30/11/2007
Rugby World Cup Final Date Announced
The 2011 Rugby World Cup final will be played on the weekend of the 22-23 October, 2011. It has not yet
been confirmed whether the match will be on the Saturday or Sunday. The match will be held at Eden Park,
Auckland, New Zealand. This will ensure that the tournament will finish on a long weekend here in New Zealand,
with Monday 24 October being a public holiday.
25/07/2007
Tickets
Much of the information regarding tickets has not been released yet. However, it is
known that ticket prices for the 2011 Rugby World Cup will be set in the first quarter
of 2009. Allocations of individual ticket sales are likely, and tickets will also be available
within organised tour packages once released. It is not yet known where individual tickets
sales will be available for purchase.
As a rough guide on ticket price, tickets for the 2011 Rugby World Cup are likely to span a
similar price range as the tickets for the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France, where prices ranged
from 100 Euros (200 NZD) up to 800 Euros (1500 NZD). At this stage you could expect the price
range for 2011 in New Zealand to be similar.
Last Updated 19/04/2008
Tours
At this stage we are not yet aware of any tour packages that have been established and made
available for purchase, so it is a little too early for any detail on tour packages. However,
we will update this as soon as more is known...
Last Updated 19/04/2008
Match Schedule
The full match schedule for the 2011 Rugby World Cup is still to be released, so at
this stage it is too early to say where or when all pool games will be played. It is
known however, that the semi-finals and grand final will be held at Eden Park in Auckland.
The tournament will span seven weeks, with the grand final held on the weekend of 22-23 October 2011. Full match schedule
information is expected to be released in the first quarter of 2009, and will be made available
right here as soon as it is known.
Historically, pool allocation (seeding) for a Rugby World Cup has been based on the results of
the previous tournament. However, tournament seeding for 2011 Rugby World Cup will for the first
time be based on international rankings. The cut-off date for rankings will be December 1st 2008,
and during December the twelve automatic qualifying teams will be placed into pools based on their
rankings at the cut-off date. All other teams will be allocated into pools during the first quarter
of 2009.
Last Updated 20/04/2008
Stadiums
Eden Park in Auckland is New Zealand's largest stadium, and has been confirmed to host both the
semi-finals and the grand final of the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Eden Park will seat 62,000 spectators.
Hosting both semi-finals and grand final at Eden Park ensures minimal logistical challenges to
visitors. The semi-finals will also be played on consecutive days.
The venue for the quarter-finals, and third/fourth play-off matches will be confirmed later this year.
The stadiums hosting all other matches will only be known once the full match schedule is released
in the first quarter of 2009.
The following map identifies all major sporting stadiums in New Zealand. All of
these stadiums are possibilities for hosting games during the 2011 Rugby World
Cup. Click on the Stadium icons  for
further information on specific stadiums.
represents a sports stadium
in New Zealand.
Last Updated 19/04/2008
General Information
The IRB has announced that 20 teams will compete for the Rugby World Cup in
2011. This will be the same number of teams that competed in the last three
tournaments.
The IRB has previously stated that a review of the number of teams would take
place to ensure that the tournament remains competitive and commercially
attractive in the future. The decision that 20 teams will compete in 2011
follows recent impressive performances by developing nations at the 2007 Rugby
World Cup in France.
Up to 70,000 overseas visitors are expected to visit New Zealand for the seven-week 2011 Rugby World Cup tournament.
New Zealand's accommodation industry will need more than 160,000 bed nights for the fans arriving in official tour groups, and a
further 40,000 for VIP's, players and officials. These numbers don't include independant travellers and fans. Williment Travel
Group has been awarded the contract to secure the accomodation requirements to meet the official obligations of the tournament hosts.
Last Updated 20/04/2008
Dates
The tournament will occur during September and October of 2011. The selection of
September and October, as opposed to a mid-year tournament, is positive news for
rugby fans as this will ensure the tournament occurs during a more stable climate
in New Zealand.
The tournament will span seven weeks with the grand final to be held on the weekend of 22-23 October 2011. This will ensure
that the tournament will finish on a long weekend here in New Zealand, with Monday 24
October being a public holiday. It has not yet been confirmed whether this match will
be on the Saturday or Sunday.
The dates for all other matches are due to be released with the full match schedule
in the first quarter of 2009.
Last Updated 20/04/2008
Teams
The IRB has announced that 20 teams will compete for the Rugby World Cup in 2011.
This will be the same number of teams that competed in the last three tournaments.
The IRB had previously stated that a review of the number of teams would take place
to ensure that future tournaments remain competitive and commercially attractive in
the future. Since then, the decision that 20 teams will compete in 2011 follows recent
impressive performances by developing nations at the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France.
New Zealand's bid for the 2011 Rugby World Cup was based on 20 teams.
The number of automatic qualifiers for the 2011 tournament has increased from 8 to 12 places.
Therefore the following teams have automatically qualified for the 2011 tournament
as the top three teams in each pool in 2007:
Australia
Argentina
England
Fiji
France
Ireland
Italy
New Zealand
Scotland
South Africa
Tonga
Wales
The qualification process for the 2011 Rugby World Cup kicks off with the 2008 Caribbean Championship on April 20.
The winner of Caribbean Championship will progress on to play the winner of the South American Division B Championship.
These qualification tournaments are part of the new-look global regional qualifying system which by 2010 will
produce eight teams that will join the other twelve automatic qualifying nations in competing for the 2011 Rugby
World Cup in New Zealand.
Of the eight qualification places still available, two each will be allocated to Europe and the Americas, one each to Africa, Asia
and Oceania, and the last place determined by a play-off.
Last Updated 19/04/2008
Rugby World Cup History
The Rugby World Cup is now one of the largest sporting competitions in the
world. This competition involves sixteen of the world's best rugby nations
competing for the William Webb Ellis trophy. This trophy is named after the man
who "invented" the sport of Rugby in the early 19th century, when he picked up
the ball and ran with it while playing a game of football.
The next Rugby World Cup in September and October 2007 is to be hosted by
France, and will be the 6th time the William Webb Ellis trophy is up for grabs
since the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987.
The inaugural Rugby World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and was
won by New Zealand. Australia and South Africa are the only nations to win the
competition more than once.
The final match results of the previous Rugby World Cup tournaments are as
follows:
1987
Winner: New Zealand
Location: Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Final Score: New Zealand 29, France 9
1991
Winner: Australia
Location: Twickenham, London, England
Final Score: Australia 12, England 6
1995
Winner: South Africa
Location: Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
Final Score: South Africa 15, New Zealand 12
1999
Winner: Australia
Location: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
Final Score: Australia 35, France 12
2003
Winner: England
Location: Telstra Stadium, Sydney, Australia
Final Score: England 20, Australia 17
2007
Winner: South Africa
Location: Stade de France, Paris, France
Final Score: South Africa 15, England 6
2011
Winner: ?
Location: Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Final Score: ?
The New Zealand Rugby Union won the rights to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup after
going head-to-head with Japan in the final round of voting on the 18th of
November 2005. Japan were firm favourites leading into the final round, however
New Zealand came away with a remarkable victory for the small nation of just
four million people.
Last Updated 19/04/2008
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