This year’s Women’s Rugby World Cup is set to be postponed until 2022 due to the implications of the coronavirus pandemic, World Rugby has announced.
World Rugby said the “challenging global Covid-19 landscape” had led them to recommend a delay in the tournament, which is due to take place in New Zealand from September 18 to October 16.
The decision appears to already be beyond the formalities, with many stars posting their disappointment.
World Rugby said in a statement: “The recommendation is based on the evolution of the uncertain and challenging global Covid-19 landscape.
“It has become clear in recent discussions with key partners including New Zealand Rugby, the New Zealand Government and participating unions, that, given the scale of the event and the COVID-19-related uncertainties, it is just not possible to deliver the environment for all teams to be the best that they can be on the sport’s greatest stage.”
Auckland recently went into lockdown for a short-period after authorities detected a positive case of coronavirus. New Zealand sports minister Grant Robertson gave the reasoning why the position of the country’s government was focussed on managing Covid-19.
“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,” Robertson said.
“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.”
