2011 Rugby World Cup
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| 2011 Rugby World Cup | |
|---|---|
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| Host nation |  New Zealand |
| No. of nations | 20 |
| Preceded by | 2007 Rugby World Cup |
| Succeeded by | 2015 Rugby World Cup |
The 2011 Rugby World Cup will be the seventh staging of the tournament. 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$310.0 million to run and will 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, 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 final will be played in Auckland on Sunday October 23, 2011, at Eden Park. The date was chosen so it falls on the long weekend caused by the New Zealand public holiday of Labour Day (Monday October 24, 2011). [3]
As of February 19, 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. [4]
After months of speculation that the number of participating teams would be reduced to 16, the IRB announced on Friday 30th November 2007 that the 2011 tournament would again feature 20 teams. 12 teams have already qualified as a result of finishing in the top 3 in each pool in the 2007 tournament, leaving 8 qualifying berths up for grabs.
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[edit] Qualified Teams
The following teams have already qualified for the 2011 World Cup by finishing in the top 3 of their group in the 2007 Rugby World Cup [1]:
[edit] Stadium
The NZRU has confirmed that the location of both semi-finals and the final will be at an upgraded Eden Park. Other stadiums in Auckland (Mt Smart Stadium and/or North Harbour Stadium), along with Christchurch's AMI Stadium and Wellington's Westpac Stadium are likely to host other knockout matches. Pool matches are likely to be played at these stadia, along with various venues throughout the country. [5]
Stadiums almost certain to receive games:
| City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Auckland | Eden Park | 60,000* |
| Christchurch | AMI Stadium | 43,000* |
| Wellington | Westpac Stadium | 39,000 |
| Dunedin | Carisbrook | 32,000* |
| Hamilton | Waikato Stadium | 30,000 |
| Auckland | Mount Smart Stadium | 28,000 |
* capacity due to be increased. In the case of Carisbrook, a new Dunedin stadium has been proposed which - if built - should be ready for use prior to the 2011 cup.
Possible venues to receive games:
| City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| Rotorua | Rotorua International Stadium | 31,000 |
| North Shore City | North Harbour Stadium | 25,000 |
| New Plymouth | Yarrow Stadium | 26,000 |
| Tauranga | BlueChip Stadium | 19,000 |
| Invercargill | Rugby Park | 17,000 |
| Napier | McLean Park | 18,000 |
| Palmerston North | Arena Manawatu | 14,000 |
Many of the other smaller stadiums, like Blenheim's Landsdowne Park and Nelson's Trafalgar Park, are undergoing major revamps.
[edit] Auckland Options
On November 10, 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 plans for the Eden Park redevelopment are progressing smoothly, with almost all funding secured and construction schedules indicating that the redevelopment will be completed comfortably before the start of the 2011 World Cup. [6]
[edit] Bids
New Zealand co-hosted the first Rugby World Cup with Australia in 1987. However, its lack of accommodation and sporting stadiums were speculated as impediments to future chances. Originally set to co-host the 2003 tournament with Australia, but 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 New Zealand bid contained plans to enlarge the size of Eden Park 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. The Japanese bid also had the support of World Cup winning players (Martin Johnson, Nick Farr-Jones, Toutai Kefu, Matt Cockbain, and John Kirwan) and coaches (Eddie Jones, Rob Andrew). However opinions of ex-players and coaches are not taken into consideration during the voting process, so these personal opinions had no affect on the final decision.
The Japan Rugby Football Union had never hosted a major rugby tournament before. The biggest factor in preventing Japan winning the bid was believed to be its leaving important bid details until its final presentation in Dublin. Many delegates had been instructed who to vote for prior to the final bid presentations.
The South African bid, led by former national captain Francois 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.
The New Zealand bid was lead by 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, despite the expectation amongst many New Zealander's 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 openly stated that they voted for New Zealand, as they remembered the anti-aparthied sentiment that average New Zealander's had demonstrated during the 1981 Springbok Tour.
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 November 17, 2005.
[edit] Pools
For the first time in the history of the World Cup, seeding of teams for the 2011 World Cup will be based on their respective IRB World Rankings. [2] The draw, to be conducted in December 2008, will use the World Rankings as of 1 December 2008, after the Northern Hemisphere autumn internationals.[7] Previously it was thought that the top four at the 2007 Rugby World Cup (South Africa, England, Argentina, and France) were to have been 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 [3].
[edit] References
- "NZ to host 2011 World Cup", NZPA, 18 November 2005.
- "Big plans following big decision", NZPA, 18 November 2005.
- "Up to 11 stadiums will host matches", The Dominion Post, 19 November 2005.
- "Christchurch aims to host world cup semifinal", The Press, 19 November 2005.
- "An anatomy of the World Cup vote", New Zealand Herald, 20 November 2005.
- "World Cup voting system uncovered", NZPA, 25 November 2005.
- "IRB: Japan left its run too late", Dominion Post, 26 November 2005.
- "Argentina spills the beans on 2011", PlanetRugby.com, 10 January 2006.
- "World Cup dates unknown", Sportal.com.au, 5 March 2006.
- "Govt: We want waterfront, tell us your views", NZPA, 10 November 2006.
- ^ "World Cup 2011 tickets won't come cheap", nzherald.com, 2007-08-24.
- ^ City hits the heights to house visitors - New Zealand Herald, Tuesday 30 November 2007, Page A7
- ^ "Final date for RWC 2011 revealed", allblacks.com, 2007-07-24. Retrieved on 2007-07-25.
- ^ "NZ given A+ grade for Rugby World Cup plans", www.nzherald.co.nz, 2008-02-19. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- ^ "Rugby: Auckland unites in bid for World Cup games", New Zealand Herald, 2008-04-06. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- ^ "Rugby: Eden Park close to kick-off", New Zealand Herald, 2008-02-24. Retrieved on 2008-04-11.
- ^ International Rugby Board (2008-02-22). "IRB World Rankings usef for RWC 2011 draw". Press release. Retrieved on 2008-02-28.
[edit] External links
- Official home page of the Japan bid
- Official home page of the South Africa bid
- NZRFU's announcement of their bid for RWC2011
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