2011 Rugby World Cup

2011 Rugby World Cup

Tournament details
Host nation	Neuseeland
Dates	9 September – 23 October
No. of nations	20 (91 qualifying)
Tournament statistics
Matches played	40
Attendance	1,067,486 (26,687 per match)

The 2011 Rugby World Cup is the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005. The IRB Council eliminated South Africa in the first of two rounds of voting.

It is the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup and the 2003 America's Cup. The organisers expect 95,000 visitors from overseas to travel to New Zealand for the event.

The schedule of games runs over seven weeks starting on 9 September 2011. The final will be played on Sunday 23 October 2011, a date chosen because it falls on a long weekend caused by the New Zealand public holiday of Labour Day (Monday, 24 October 2011). The final is scheduled to be played in Auckland at Eden Park.

After speculation that the number of participating teams would be reduced to 16, the IRB announced on 30 November 2007 that the 2011 tournament would again feature 20 teams. Twelve teams qualified as a result of finishing in the top three in each pool in the 2007 tournament. The remaining eight berths were determined by regional qualifying tournaments. Of the 20 countries that competed in the previous World Cup in 2007, there was only one change – Russia replaced Portugal.

Host selection

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 stadia from the 2002 FIFA World Cup, it had the necessary infrastructure already in place. Japan eventually succeeded 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.

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 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.

Preparations

Costs

The event is expected to cost about NZ$310 million to run and to generate NZ$280 million in ticket sales. In Auckland, the city where many of the most important games will take place, the costs to the local ratepayers alone has been estimated at $102 million.

Concerns

In the years between winning the bid and the staging of the event, New Zealand news media and social agencies cast aspersions on the nation's readiness and appropriate use of national funds for sports infrastructure, as has happened with most large, international, quadrennial, multi-location sporting events of recent decades such as the 2012 Olympics, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 Commonwealth Games. Concerns were raised about the process of upgrading Eden Park to expand the capacity to the 60,000 required by the IRB. In late 2008 Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully said the remaining consent process might need to be overridden by legislation for the work to be completed on time.

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." 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".

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.

The construction of Dunedin's Otago Stadium was a source of concern as the project was 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, although there was a medium level of risk with some significant and potentially damaging concerns. If the project had not been completed on time, organisers would have reverted to Carisbrook as the backup option. Forsyth Barr Stadium was officially opened on 6 August 2011.

Warm-up matches

The 2011 Tri Nations Series was shortened to include only six games instead of the usual nine. It served as the primary preparation for the tournament for Australia, South Africa and New Zealand. In the northern hemisphere, a series of friendlies played in August 2011 replaced the annual tours to the southern hemisphere. North American entrants Canada beat USA in two warm-up friendlies in August 2011.

Qualification

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup qualifying

Twenty teams are competing in the 2011 World Cup. Twelve of these teams qualified for the 2011 World Cup by finishing in the top three of their pool in the 2007 Rugby World Cup:

Africa	Americas	Asia	Europa	Oceania
Namibia Südafrika (WC)	Argentinien (AQ) Kanada Vereinigte Staaten	Japan	England (AQ) Frankreich (AQ) Irland (AQ) Italien (AQ) Rumänien (QPO) Scotland (AQ) Georgien Russland Wales (AQ)	Australien (AQ) Fidschi (AQ) Neuseeland (AQ) Samoa Tonga (AQ)

• (AQ) - Automatic Qualifier
• (QPO) - Qualified via Play-Off
• (WC) - World Champions

Twelve of the twenty nations at this tournament have competed in every previous Rugby World Cup – Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Romania, Scotland, and Wales. All the other sides also have previous World Cup experience, except for Russia who are appearing in a Rugby World Cup for the first time.

Venues

The 13 venues for the 2011 Rugby World Cup were confirmed on 12 March 2009. A number of the venues were redeveloped to increase capacity for the event. The Government considered passing a law bypassing the consent process to allow all the stadiums' redevelopment to be completed in time.

Due to damage to Stadium Christchurch and many other facilities in Christchurch caused by the earthquake on 22 February 2011, it was announced on 16 March that the matches to be played in the city would be relocated. The two quarter-finals scheduled would be moved to Auckland, while the five group matches will move to other centres.

On 10 November 2006, the New Zealand Government announced plans for Stadium New Zealand in Auckland. The proposal was to build the new stadium seating 70,000 on the 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.

Dunedin's new stadium, named Forsyth Barr Stadium at University Plaza, was completed in August 2011 and will be used instead of Carisbrook.

Auckland	Wellington	Dunedin	Auckland
Eden Park	Westpac Stadium (Wellington Regional Stadium)	Forsyth Barr Stadium (Otago Stadium)	North Harbour Stadium
36°52′30″S 174°44′41″E	41°16′23″S 174°47′9″E	45°52′9″S 170°31′28″E	36°43′37″S 174°42′6″E
Capacity: 60,000	Capacity: 40,0001	Capacity: 30,000	Capacity: 30,000
Hamilton	Okara Park North Harbour Stadium Eden Park Waikato Stadium Rotorua Int'l Stadium Yarrow Stadium McLean Park Arena Manawatu Wellington Regional Stadium Trafalgar Park Otago Stadium Rugby Park Stadium class=notpageimage| Location of the 12 stadia to host matches at the 2011 Rugby World Cup		Rotorua
Waikato Stadium			Rotorua Int'l Stadium
Capacity: 30,000			Capacity: 26,000
37°46′52″S 175°16′6″E			38°9′21″S 176°13′27″E
New Plymouth			Nelson
Yarrow Stadium			Trafalgar Park
39°4′13″S 174°3′54″E			41°16′1″S 173°16′59″E
Capacity: 26,000			Expansion to 18,000
Invercargill	Whangarei	Napier	Palmerston North
Rugby Park Stadium	Northland Events Centre	McLean Park	Arena Manawatu
Capacity: 17,000	Capacity: 18,000	Expansion to 22,000	Expansion to 15,000
46°25′1″S 168°21′46″E	35°43′56″S 174°19′44″E	39°30′7″S 176°54′46″E	40°21′24″S 175°36′4″E

• ^1 with temporary seating

Draw

Seeding of teams for the 2011 World Cup was based on their respective IRB World Rankings. 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.

The draw was conducted in December 2008 and used the World Rankings as of 1 December 2008, after the Northern Hemisphere Autumn internationals. 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. 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 (12).

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

The opening match saw the hosts, New Zealand, take on Tonga.

Squads

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup squads

Each country was allowed a squad of 30 players for the tournament. These squads were to be submitted to the International Rugby Board by a deadline of 22 August 2011. Once the squad was submitted a player could be replaced if injured, but would not be allowed to return to the squad. There is also a stand-down period of 72 hours before the new player is allowed to take the field. Hence, a replacement player called into a squad on the eve of a game will not be permitted to play in that game.

Match officials

On 8 April 2011, the IRB named ten referees, seven assistant referees and four television match officials to handle the group stage games. Two of the seven assistants will also be reserve referees if required.

Referees

• Wayne Barnes
• George Clancy
• Craig Joubert
• Jonathan Kaplan
• Bryce Lawrence
• Nigel Owens
• Dave Pearson
• Romain Poite
• Alain Rolland
• Steve Walsh

Reserve and assistant referees

• Jérôme Garcès
• Chris Pollock

Assistant referees

• Carlo Damasco
• Tim Hayes
• Simon McDowell
• Vinny Munro
• Stuart Terheege

Television match officials

• Giulio De Santis
• Matt Goddard
• Graham Hughes
• Shaun Veldsman

Pool stage

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
Neuseeland Frankreich Kanada Tonga Japan	Argentinien England Scotland Georgien Rumänien	Australien Irland Italien Vereinigte Staaten Russland	Südafrika Wales Samoa Fidschi Namibia

The first round, or pool stage, saw the twenty teams divided into four pools of five teams using the same format that was used in 2003 and in 2007. Each pool was a round-robin of ten games, where each team played one match against each of the other teams in the same pool. Teams were awarded four points for a win, two points for a draw and none for a defeat. A team scoring four or more tries in one match scored a bonus point, as did a team losing by seven or fewer points.

The teams finishing in the top two of each pool advanced to the quarterfinals. The top three teams of each pool have automatically qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

If two or more teams were tied on match points, the following tiebreakers would have applied:

1. The winner of the match between the two teams (would not apply if more than two teams were tied);
2. Difference between points scored for and points scored against in all pool matches;
3. Difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all pool matches;
4. Points scored in all pool matches;
5. Most tries scored in all pool matches;
6. Official IRB World Rankings as of 3 October 2011.

Pld = matches played, W = matches won, D = draws, L = losses, TF = tries for, PF = match points for, PA = match points against, +/− = sum total of points for/against, BP = bonus points, Pts = pool points

Pool A

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool A

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Neuseeland	4	4	0	0	240	49	+191	36	4	20	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2	Frankreich	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	Kanada	4	1	1	2	82	168	−86	9	0	6
5	Japan	4	0	1	3	69	184	−115	8	0	2

Source:

9 September 2011	Neuseeland	41 – 10	Tonga	Eden Park, Auckland
10 September 2011	Frankreich	47 – 21	Japan	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
14 September 2011	Tonga	20 – 25	Kanada	Northland Events Centre, Whangarei
16 September 2011	Neuseeland	83 – 7	Japan	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
18 September 2011	Frankreich	46 – 19	Kanada	McLean Park, Napier
21 September 2011	Tonga	31 – 18	Japan	Northland Events Centre, Whangarei
24 September 2011	Neuseeland	37 – 17	Frankreich	Eden Park, Auckland
27 September 2011	Kanada	23 – 23	Japan	McLean Park, Napier
1 October 2011	Frankreich	14 – 19	Tonga	Regional Stadium, Wellington
2 October 2011	Neuseeland	79 – 15	Kanada	Regional Stadium, Wellington

Pool B

Georgia vs Romania at the Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North. Georgia won 25–9.

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup 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	Argentinien	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	Georgien	4	1	0	3	48	90	−42	3	0	4
5	Rumänien	4	0	0	4	44	169	−125	3	0	0

Source:

10 September 2011	Scotland	34 – 24	Rumänien	Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
10 September 2011	England	13 – 9	Argentinien	Otago Stadium, Dunedin
14 September 2011	Scotland	15 – 6	Georgien	Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
17 September 2011	Argentinien	43 – 8	Rumänien	Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill
18 September 2011	England	41 – 10	Georgien	Otago Stadium, Dunedin
24 September 2011	England	67 – 3	Rumänien	Otago Stadium, Dunedin
25 September 2011	Argentinien	13 – 12	Scotland	Regional Stadium, Wellington
28 September 2011	Georgien	25 – 9	Rumänien	Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North
1 October 2011	England	16 – 12	Scotland	Eden Park, Auckland
2 October 2011	Argentinien	25 – 7	Georgien	Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North

Pool C

Australia vs USA at the Regional Stadium, Wellington. Australia won 67-5.

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Irland	4	4	0	0	135	34	+101	15	1	17	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2	Australien	4	3	0	1	173	48	+125	25	3	15
3	Italien	4	2	0	2	92	95	−3	13	2	10	Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4	Vereinigte Staaten	4	1	0	3	38	122	−84	4	0	4
5	Russland	4	0	0	4	57	196	−139	8	1	1

Source:

11 September 2011	Australien	32 – 6	Italien	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
11 September 2011	Irland	22 – 10	Vereinigte Staaten	Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
15 September 2011	Russland	6 – 13	Vereinigte Staaten	Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
17 September 2011	Australien	6 – 15	Irland	Eden Park, Auckland
20 September 2011	Italien	53 – 17	Russland	Trafalgar Park, Nelson
23 September 2011	Australien	67 – 5	Vereinigte Staaten	Regional Stadium, Wellington
25 September 2011	Irland	62 – 12	Russland	International Stadium, Rotorua
27 September 2011	Italien	27 – 10	Vereinigte Staaten	Trafalgar Park, Nelson
1 October 2011	Australien	68 – 22	Russland	Trafalgar Park, Nelson
2 October 2011	Irland	36 – 6	Italien	Otago Stadium, Dunedin

Pool D

South Africa vs Fiji at the Regional Stadium, Wellington. South Africa won 49-3

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool D

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Südafrika	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	Fidschi	4	1	0	3	59	167	−108	7	1	5
5	Namibia	4	0	0	4	44	266	−222	5	0	0

Source:

10 September 2011	Fidschi	49 – 25	Namibia	International Stadium, Rotorua
11 September 2011	Südafrika	17 – 16	Wales	Regional Stadium, Wellington
14 September 2011	Samoa	49 – 12	Namibia	International Stadium, Rotorua
17 September 2011	Südafrika	49 – 3	Fidschi	Regional Stadium, Wellington
18 September 2011	Wales	17 – 10	Samoa	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton
22 September 2011	Südafrika	87 – 0	Namibia	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
25 September 2011	Fidschi	7 – 27	Samoa	Eden Park, Auckland
26 September 2011	Wales	81 – 7	Namibia	Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
30 September 2011	Südafrika	13 – 5	Samoa	North Harbour Stadium, Auckland
2 October 2011	Wales	66 – 0	Fidschi	Waikato Stadium, Hamilton

Knockout stage

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup knockout stage

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	8 October 18:00 (05:00 UTC) – Wellington
	Irland
					15 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
	Wales
					Winner QF1
	8 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
					Winner QF2
	England
									23 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
	Frankreich
									Winner SF1
	9 October 18:00 (05:00 UTC) – Wellington
									Winner SF2
	Südafrika
					16 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
	Australien
					Winner QF3
	9 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
					Winner QF4				Third place
	Neuseeland
									21 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
	Argentinien
									Loser SF1
									Loser SF2

Quarter-finals

Ireland vs Wales

8 October 2011 18:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Irland	v	Wales

Regional Stadium, Wellington Referee: Craig Joubert

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England vs France

8 October 2011 20:30 NZDT (UTC+13)

England	v	Frankreich

Eden Park, Auckland Referee: Steve Walsh

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South Africa vs Australia

9 October 2011 18:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Südafrika	v	Australien

Regional Stadium, Wellington Referee: Bryce Lawrence

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New Zealand vs Argentina

9 October 2011 20:30 NZDT (UTC+13)

Neuseeland	v	Argentinien

Eden Park, Auckland Referee: Nigel Owens

Semifinals

Winner Q1 vs Winner Q2

15 October 2011 21:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Winner Q1	v	Winner Q2

Eden Park, Auckland

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Winner Q3 vs Winner Q4

16 October 2011 21:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Winner Q3	v	Winner Q4

Eden Park, Auckland

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Bronze Final

Loser SF1 vs Loser SF2

21 October 2011 20:30 NZDT (UTC+13)

Loser SF1	v	Loser SF2

Eden Park, Auckland

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Final

Winner SF1 vs Winner SF2

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup Final

23 October 2011 21:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Winner SF1	v	Winner SF2

Eden Park, Auckland

Point scorers

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup statistics

Correct as of Ireland vs Italy

Broadcasting

Sky Network Television, New Zealand's largest subscription television provider, is the host broadcaster for the Rugby World Cup with matches being transmitted in high definition where available. Games will also be available on free to air networks in New Zealand but not all Pool Matches will be screened live. Broadcasting rights have been given through out the world by the IRB, including highlights, free to air and pay per view.

Criticism

An incident involving Quade Cooper kneeing the head of All Blacks captain Richie McCaw in a match in August 2011 prior to the World Cup led to the New Zealand crowd becoming aggressive towards other nations, particularly Australian supporters, with some fans claiming to have been spat on by supporters of the All Blacks.. The Sydney Morning Herald, which claimed that the "Kiwi hate vibe is marring World Cup" also reported that the hatred had spread beyond that of the Australian supporters, with one man claiming his wife was abused for nothing more than supporting the Springboks.

References

Allgemein

• "An anatomy of the World Cup vote". New Zealand Herald. 20 November 2005.
• "Govt: We want waterfront, tell us your views". NZPA. 10 November 2006.
• IRB announce Rugby World Cup match officials
• . The Sydney Morning Herald. 3 Octorber 2011 http://www.smh.com.au/rugby-union/rugby-world-cup/ugly-turn-kiwi-hate-vibe-is-marring-world-cup-20110921-1kkc8.html. {{cite news}}: Check date values in: |date= (help); Missing or empty |title= (help)

Specific

External links

• Official website