Americas Rugby News Rugby news from across the Americas!
World Rugby on Thursday confirmed a number of changes to the format for the 2021 Women’s World Cup. Following a comprehensive review of the tournament structure following last year’s record-setting event in Ireland, the next edition of the competition will feature the following alterations:
– tournament length increased from 23 to 35 days
– minimum 4 days rest between pool matches
– squad size increased from 28 to 30 players
– removal of classification (i.e. consolation) matches
– addition of Quarter Finals to knock-out stage
All of the changes will be viewed as positive though there will be one disappointment – the retention of just 12 teams instead of 16. Tournament General Manager Katie Sadler told the BBC that the gap in quality at the lower end of the participants remains too great to increase team participation in 2021.
“We know we have some work to do, closing the gap between the bottom six and the top six. So let’s focus the next four years on improving the capability of those programmes. If and when that is successful we would look at expanding the competition. It will be reviewed again in the next cycle.”
The tender process for hosting the 2021 tournament has officially opened, with May 31 the deadline for expressions of interest. Official bid submissions are due August 10, with World Rugby to decide on the 2021 Women’s World Cup host on November 14.
