2011 Rugby World Cup

"Rugby World Cup 2011" redirects here. For the video game based on the rugby event, see Rugby World Cup 2011 (video game).
See also: Rugby World Cup hosts

2011 Rugby World Cup
Tournament details
Host nation New Zealand
Dates9 September – 23 October
No. of nations20 (91 qualifying)
Final positions
Champions  New Zealand (2nd title)
Runner-up  France
Third place  Australia
Tournament statistics
Matches played48
Attendance1,477,294 (30,777 per match)
Top scorer(s)South Africa Morné Steyn (62)
Most tries
(6 tries each)
← 2007
2015 →

The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was 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 tournament was won by New Zealand, who defeated France 8–7 in the final.[1] The defending champions, South Africa, were eliminated by Australia 11–9 in the quarter-finals.[2] The result marked the third time that the tournament was won by the country that hosted the event (following New Zealand in 1987 and South Africa in 1995).

It was the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand,[3] eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup and the 2003 America's Cup.[4] Overseas visitors to New Zealand for the event totalled 133,000, more than the 95,000 that the organisers expected. However, there was a drop in non-event visitors, meaning the net increase in visitors over the previous year was less than 80,000.[5][6]

The games ran over six weeks, commencing on 9 September 2011 with the opening ceremony showcasing New Zealand's history and diverse cultures. The final was played at Eden Park in Auckland on 23 October 2011, a date chosen because it fell on a long weekend of New Zealand's Labour Day holiday.[7]

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.[8] 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.[9] Of the 20 countries that competed in the previous World Cup in 2007, there was only one change – Russia replaced Portugal.

  1. ^ "All Blacks survive scare to clinch Cup". rugbyworldcup.com. International Rugby Board. 23 October 2011. Archived from the original on 24 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
  2. ^ "2011 Rugby World Cup Results". ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 20 February 2013.
  3. ^ "Christchurch loses all RWC games". The New Zealand Herald. 16 March 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  4. ^ "Rugby World Cup 2011". New Zealand Ministry of Foreign Affairs and Trade. Archived from the original on 7 October 2011. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  5. ^ Dickison, Michael (23 November 2011). "Rugby World Cup visitor numbers put at 133,000". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 23 November 2011.
  6. ^ Hembry, Owen (20 August 2011). "Here come the Cup fans". The New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 1 September 2011.
  7. ^ "Final date for RWC 2011 revealed". allblacks.com. 24 July 2007. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 25 July 2007.
  8. ^ "Twenty teams to compete at Rugby World 2011". rugbyworldcup.com. International Rugby Board. 30 November 2007. Archived from the original on 26 July 2010. Retrieved 24 August 2008.
  9. ^ "Qualifying changes for 2011 RWC". BBC. 10 May 2007. Retrieved 24 August 2008.