The Women’s Rugby World Cup kicks off in New Zealand tonight when South Africa face France in Auckland.
The 2021 tournament, delayed due to the pandemic, has holders New Zealand and England as favourites, with Canada and USA also looking strong.
How it works
The 12 teams are divided into three pools of four, with the top two from each pool progressing to the quarter-finals, alongside the two best third-placed nations.
The pools the third-placed teams come from will determine who they play, with teams from the same pool, and all pool winners being kept apart for the quarter-finals, which take place on the final weekend of October.
Semi-finals are a week later, with the final and the third-place play-off on 12 November.
Grounds
The 2021 Rugby World Cup will be played across three venues, two in Auckland and one in Whangarei.
A day’s action, featuring three matches, will all take place in the same stadium.
The historic Eden Park, New Zealand’s biggest stadium, with a capacity of approximately 44,000, will host the opening game, as well as the final and semi-finals.
Also in Auckland, the Waitakere Stadium, with a capacity of almost 5,000, will host eight games, including two of the quarter-finals.
The Northlands Event Centre in Whangarei, with a 30,000 capacity, will host the other quarter-finals, alongside several pool matches.
All venues are within three-hours drive of each other, to the north of the island.
Tickets
Tickets, which grant access to all matches at that ground that day, start from $10 (£5) for adults and $5 (£2.50) for children.
More than 30,000 have already been sold for the curtain-raiser at Eden Park.
Additionally, one ticket grants access to all matches at that ground that day.
How to watch
UK viewers will be able to watch all the games live in the early hours on ITV and ITV4, or listen on BBC Radio.
All participating nations have broadcast deals, and games will be streamed live on the tournament website for those without coverage.
Check out the rest of our Women’s Rugby World Cup content here.
Featured image credit: Hagen Hopkins – World Rugby/World Rugby via Getty Images
