Women's World Cup Info and FAQs

The Rugby World Cup 2021 will take place in New Zealand from Saturday 8th October 2022 to Saturday 12th November 2022.

The 2021 Rugby World Cup will be played on New Zealand’s North Island, the first time the tournament has been hosted in the Southern Hemisphere.

The tournament was originally planned to take place in 2021 but was delayed a year due to the coronavirus pandemic.

The final of the 2021 Rugby World Cup will be played at Eden Park in Auckland on Saturday 12th November 2022, 19:30 local time.

The next Women’s Rugby World Cup will take place in England in 2025.

The Women’s Rugby World Cup has been hosted in the UK on three occasions with the 2017 World Cup Final taking place in Belfast, Northern Ireland. The 2021 (2022) tournament will be the first time the tournament has been hosted in the southern hemisphere. No hosting nation has ever won the World Cup on home soil.

Past Tournaments: Host nations and winners
2017 Host nation – Ireland
Final – New Zealand 41-32 England

2014 Host nation – France
Final – England 21-9 Canada

2010 Host nation – England
Final – New Zealand 13-10 England

2006 Host nation – Canada
Final – New Zealand 25-17 England

2002 Host nation – Spain
Final – New Zealand 19-9 England

1998 Host nation – The Netherlands
Final – New Zealand 44-12 United States

1994 Host nation – Scotland
Final – England 38-23 United States

1991 Host nation – Wales
Final – United States 19-6 England

New Zealand has won the World Cup a record five times (1998, 2022, 2006, 2010, 2017) with England having won the World Cup twice (1994 and 2014). The USA won the first ever Women’s Rugby World Cup in 1991.

There are 12 teams taking part in Rugby World Cup 2021.

New Zealand’s team the Black Ferns has won the Rugby World Cup a total of five times (1998, 2022, 2006, 2010 and 2017). The Black Ferns have never been in a Rugby World Cup final and not won. England have been tournament runners up five times.

The first Women’s Rugby World Cup was held in 1991 in Wales. This tournament was won by The USA.

For the first time in the tournament’s history, quarter-finals will be played at the 2021 Rugby World Cup.

In previous years it was the teams who finished seventh and above in the tournament standings who automatically qualified for the next Women’s Rugby World Cup.

However, with the number of teams expanding to 16 for RWC 2025, qualification for the tournament will include the host nation, RWC 2021 semi-finalists and the new WXV global women’s competition will form a key part of the RWC 2025 qualification process.