Everything you need to know about Rugby World Cup 2021

The wait for the women’s Rugby World Cup 2021 is almost over with only one day left until the tournament gets underway.

Hosts New Zealand head into RWC 2021 as defending champions and on a high, having beaten Japan 95-12 at Eden Park in their final warm-up for the delayed showpiece.

RWC 2017 runners-up England, meanwhile, are the in-form team in world rugby and secured a record 25th consecutive test victory last month, beating Wales 73-7 in Bristol.

They are among the teams who will hope to navigate a path to the final, which will be played at Eden Park on 12 November. Here is a lowdown on RWC 2021.

HOW MANY TEAMS HAVE QUALIFIED?

Twelve teams. Seven teams made sure of their place in New Zealand with their performance at RWC 2017, including the hosts, who won the tournament in Belfast. Runners-up England, France, the USA, Canada, Australia and Wales also made sure of qualification in Ireland.

Four further teams – Japan, Fiji, Italy and South Africa – booked their tickets to New Zealand through regional qualifying, while Scotland became the 12th and final nation to confirm their place when they won the Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai earlier this year.

HOW WILL RWC 2021 BE WON?

The 12 competing nations have been drawn into three pools, with the pool-stage matches being played across six matchdays between 8-23 October.

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Whoever finishes first and second in each pool will qualify for the quarter-finals, along with the two best third-placed teams.

The quarter-finals will be played on 29 and 30 October, with the winners advancing to the semi-finals, which will both be played at Eden Park on 5 November.

Seven days later, the eyes of the rugby world will once again be on the famous stadium in Auckland as the destiny of the trophy is decided.

WHEN WAS THE FIRST WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP PLAYED?

The inaugural women’s Rugby World Cup was played across eight days in South Wales in April 1991.

New Zealand and the USA both topped their pools and met in the first semi-final at Cardiff Arms Park, Women’s Eagles captain Barb Bond scoring the decisive try to send her team to the final.

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England provided the opposition, having beaten France in the second semi-final. Gill Burns then converted a penalty try to give the English a 6-0 lead in the first half of the final.

However, the USA replied with three tries after half-time, through Clare Godwin (two) and Patty Connell, to claim a 19-6 win and become the first women’s Rugby World Cup champions.

WHO WINS IT?

New Zealand did not compete at the second women’s Rugby World Cup in 1994, which was won by England, but returned four years later to win their first title – beating the USA in the final.

That was the start of a remarkable run of dominance for the Black Ferns, who won four Rugby World Cups in a row between 1998-2010.

England won their second title at RWC 2014, beating Canada 21-9 in the final. Five years ago, the Black Ferns claimed their fifth Rugby World Cup with a 42-31 defeat of England in the final in Belfast.

Pools

Group A; New Zealand, Scotland, Wales, Australia

Group B: Canada, Italy, USA, Japan

Group C:England, France, South Africa, Fiji

© World Rugby