World Cup dates confirmed

Just over 18 months out from the tournament, the event in Auckland confirmed that matches will be played across three venues - Waitakere Stadium, Whangarei’s Northland Events Centre and Auckland’s Eden Park.

The pool stage of the competition will be contested across three match days – Saturday 18, Thursday 23 and Tuesday 28 September – and will be hosted at the Waitakere Stadium and Northland Events Centre.The quarter-finals, which are a new addition to the women’s competition for 2021, will take place on Sunday 3 October at the same venues and then Eden Park will host the semi-finals on Saturday 9 October before the bronze match and RWC 2021 final will be held on Saturday 16 October.A new tournament brand was also unveiled and at its heart and features the ‘Ngaru’ – a symbol of the ocean’s waves that surround New Zealand and the many shores that teams will travel from to compete in the tournament.World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said: "Women’s rugby is the single-biggest opportunity to grow the global game, and we are confident that New Zealand 2021 will be one of the great Rugby World Cups, attracting a new fan and player base for the sport."RWC 2021 follows a hugely successful 2017 event in Ireland which broke attendance and broadcast records, having a hugely positive impact on women’s rugby. Last year we successfully launched ‘Try and Stop Us’, a campaign that aims to drive increased participation and engagement among fans, audiences, players and investors in the women’s game."It is a privilege to be here in New Zealand and to see the huge amount of work that has already gone into ensuring this will be another spectacular tournament for the world’s best women’s teams."