Govt committed to hosting Rugby World Cup

Sport and Recreation

The Government remains committed to hosting the Women’s Rugby World Cup in New Zealand in 2022 should a decision be made by World Rugby this weekend to postpone this year’s tournament.

World Rugby is recommending the event be postponed until next year due to COVID-19, with a final decision to be made at the World Rugby Board meeting on Monday 8 March.

“We all wanted the tournament to go ahead as planned this year, but we also accept that the current COVID-19 constrained circumstances are not ideal for high performance athletes in a tournament situation.

“Also, preparation for the tournament in many countries has been limited, and some qualifying matches have not been able to be played. This means that many athletes in other countries will not be getting the training or the game time they need in the lead up to this major tournament.

“Ultimately this is a decision for World Rugby to make. If they do postpone we are fully committed to hosting the event next year.

“The Government is supporting NZ Rugby’s hosting of the tournament with financial contributions through the Major Events Development Fund and Sport New Zealand. That support will remain in place for 2022.

“I want to acknowledge that this will be a particularly disappointing outcome for all the players if the tournament is postponed, particularly our own Black Ferns. We want to work with them to make sure they ready for the Women’s Rugby World Cup here in 2022 as they have this year,” Grant Robertson said.