Hon Grant Robertson

Minister for Sport and Recreation

15 November 2018

PĀNUI PĀPĀHO

MEDIA STATEMENT

Women’s Rugby World Cup hosting rights a win for the local game

New Zealand’s successful bid to host the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup will raise the profile of the game locally and provide a valuable economic boost for the game, Minister for Sport and Recreation Grant Robertson says.

“Congratulations to NZ Rugby for their successful bid, announced this morning. This shows the strength of the case put forward for the Black Ferns to defend the World Cup on home soil, in front of our passionate home crowds,” Grant Robertson said.

“Hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup will provide a valuable platform to showcase and grow opportunities for women in sport at all levels, from participation to leadership.

“One of the goals of our recently launched strategy for Women and Girls in Sport and Active Recreation is to raise the value and visibility of women’s sport. Hosting this tournament gives young New Zealanders an opportunity to watch the world’s best women’s players in action will hopefully inspire many more to give rugby a go.

“The Government is supporting NZ Rugby’s hosting of the tournament with a financial contribution through the Major Events Development Fund.

“The tournament provides another opportunity to reaffirm our capability and experience in delivering major sporting events. The Government is proud to support NZ Rugby to deliver an amazing tournament,” Grant Robertson said.

Notes to editors:

· The Women’s Rugby World Cup (WRWC) is the premier international rugby competition for women. The tournament is organised by World Rugby and is held every four years to avoid conflict with the Olympics and the Women’s World Cup Sevens.

· The first WRWC was held in 1991 and won by the USA. The 1991 and 1994 competitions where not officially sanctioned by World Rugby, and later received retrospective endorsement in 2009, with the 1998 tournament in the Netherlands receiving official World Rugby backing.

· This is the first time the tournament will be hosted in the southern hemisphere. Countries which have hosted the WRWC to date are Wales (1991), Scotland (1994), Netherlands (1998), Spain (2002), Canada (2006), England (2010), France (2014), Ireland (2017).

· New Zealand have won the tournament five times: 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010 and 2017.

ends

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