Women’s World Cup Countdown – One Year To Go
Thursday marked one year until the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup gets underway in Paris, with Ireland having booked their place at the tournament courtesy of their performances over the past two Six Nations Championships.
The pinnacle of the Women’s fifteens game will kick off in Marcoussis on August 1 next year, with the final to be played at Stade Jean Bouin on August 17 in the French capital.
Ten teams have already qualified for the tournament. Defending champions New Zealand, 2010 runners-up England, Australia, hosts France, USA, and Canada qualified automatically from the last World Cup.
2013 Grand Slam winners Ireland and Wales qualified courtesy of their placing over the 2012 and 2013 Six Nations, while Spain and Samoa booked their place at France 2014 through the Women’s Rugby World Cup qualifier in Madrid in April.
The Asian and African qualifiers have yet to be played, with South Africa and Uganda battling it out on September 7 to see who will emerge from Africa.
The Asian qualifiers will also be decided on the same day when the winners of Kazakhstan v Singapore and Japan v Hong Kong meet at the Almaty Stadium in Kazakhstan.
With the prestigious tournament just one year away, excitement is building and preparations are on track in the French capital.
“We believe the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup will inspire even more participation in one of the world’s fastest-growing team sports,” said IRB Chairman Bernard Lapasset.
“With the milestone of the 1,000th Women’s Test match just passed, we believe next year’s World Cup is the next major landmark for the game which has more than one million women and girls playing around the globe.”
The 2014 World Cup pool matches will take place at the Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) headquarters in Marcoussis and Marcoussis Rugby Club.
The knockout stages of the tournament will also see matches played in Marcoussis, with the semi-finals, bronze final and Final taking place at Stade Jean Bouin.
The matches will take place on August 1, 5, 9 and 13, with the final played on August 17.
France captain Marie Alice Yahé said the focus of the coming year for her team will be on the tournament. “Our families and friends will be in the stands to wish us well, and we really will not want to disappoint,” she insisted.
“One year is both a lot and a little at the same time. We have big challenges in the meantime, like the Six Nations, but this Women’s Rugby World Cup is already a major target for us in 2014.”
For more information on #WRWC2014, keep an eye on www.rwcwomens.com – there you will find all the information on remaining qualifiers, the pool allocation draw and all you need to know in the build-up to this showpiece event in Paris.
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