The IRB World Cup, held every four years, is the third largest sporting event in the world behind the Olympic Games and Socer's world cup.
Matches to Cover the Length of the Country
The 2011 tournament is to be played in New Zealand and will cover almost the entire length of the country with games as far north as Whangarei and as far south as Invercargill.
In all, 13 Cities will host matches -- more venues than were used in either Australia in 2003 or in France in 2007.
Of the 48 matches played 34 will take place in the North Island and 14 in the South Island with at least two matches played at each venue.
Possible New Stadiums and Redevelopment
A number of stadiums will lose their corporate branding for the tournament and there will be modifications or redevelopment at others. Eden Park in Auckland will have a new South Stand and temporary seating to increase the venue's capacity to 60,000, Christchurch will have a major redevelopment, and Dunedin and Whangarei may have new stadiums.
The final, the bronze final (to establish the third placed team) and both of the semi final matches will be played at Auckland's upgraded Eden Park, while the quarter finals will be shared between Wellington and Christchurch.
The Full List of Venues
North Island Venues:
- Eden Park, Auckland (9 games)
- Westpac Stadium, Wellington ( to be renamed Stadium Wellington) (7 games)
- Waikato Stadium, Hamilton (3 games)
- North Harbour Stadium, Albany, Auckland (3 games)
- Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua (3 games)
- Yarrow Stadium, New Plymouth (Stadium Taranaki) (3 games)
- Arena Manawatu, Palmerston North (2 games)
- McLean Park, Napier (2 games)
- Northland Events Centre, Whangarei (2 games)
South Island Venues:
- AMI Stadium, Christchurch (Stadium Christchurch) (7 games)
- Carisbrook Stadium, Dunedin (or maybe a new stadium) (3 games)
- Rugby Park Stadium, Invercargill (2 games)
- Trafalgar Park, Nelson (2 games)
New Zealand Tourism Initiatives
The New Zealand Rugby Union has labeled their approach to the tournament as “A Stadium of Four Million”, to emphasize the way in which they would like the whole country to be involved.
Tourism New Zealand has also launched a series of marketing initiatives involving Television personalities and former All Blacks to help fans who come to New Zealand see as much of the country as possible.
The “Front Row Rugby Club”, begun in 2006 is a plan to build a worldwide community of rugby fans who will be encouraged to travel to New Zealand for the 2011 World Cup and the giant rugby ball venue that was used in Paris in 2007 will feature again.
Stuart Duncan - My interests have always been wide, but when later in life I turned to writing as a career it was sports writing that I initially fell ...
