2010 Women's Rugby World Cup

2010 Women's Rugby World Cup
Tournament details
Host nation	England
Dates	Friday 20 August 2010 – Sunday 5 September 2010
No. of nations	12
Champions	New Zealand
Tournament statistics
Matches played	30
Top scorer(s)	Kelly Brazier (48)
Most tries	Carla Hohepa (7) Heather Moyse (7)
← 2006 2014 →

The 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was the sixth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was being held in England.^[1] The International Rugby Board Executive Committee selected the host union following a recommendation from the Rugby World Cup Limited board after considering bids from the Rugby Football Union and the German Rugby Union – it had been England's third successive bid after being rejected in 2002 and 2006. The tournament was again being organised by the International Rugby Board (IRB) as opposed to the host union, and included five matches for all teams played on 20, 24, 28 August and 1 and 5 September. In May 2009 it was announced that the semi final, 3rd place play off and final would take place at The Stoop and not Twickenham as had previously been suggested. Pool games were held at the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford.

Interest in the tournament was far higher than had been anticipated. It was broadcast to 127 countries and all 2,500 seats at the opening two days of pool games were sold out, as was the third day despite the capacity being raised to 3,200. The semi-finals attracted over 6,000 spectators, while the final drew a crowd of 13,253^[2] – a world record for a women's rugby international – and well as a worldwide TV audience of (according to IRB figures^[3]) half a million.

The competition was won by New Zealand who beat England 13–10 in the final.^[4]

Three tries from the tournament were shortlisted for the IRB's "Try of the Year" award.^[5]

Qualification process

When the winning bid to host the World Cup was announced in September 2008, Bernard Lapasset (Rugby World Cup Limited Board Chairman) promised that:

"These two tournaments [the Sevens and XVs World Cups], in conjunction with a global qualification process and existing tournament structures, will guarantee an unprecedented level of elite Women's competition for around 90 Unions over the next two years. This expanded competition pathway underpinned by the Women's Strategic Plan point to what promises to be the most competitive Women's Rugby World Cup ever in 2010".^[6]

However, when details of the qualification process were released in March 2009 it was revealed that most IRB members would not be given an opportunity to compete for a place. Qualification tournaments took place in two regions – Europe and Asia – while in Oceania two nations played off in a single game for one place. Elsewhere the IRB nominated the "qualifying" nation, all other nations in these regions were excluded. Even where qualification tournaments took place the majority of rugby playing countries did not take part.

No official explanation was given by the IRB, but at the time of the Oceania qualifier it was reported that the non-participation of some nations – including Fiji and Papua New Guinea – was due to financial difficulties.

The process was:

Europe: 6 representatives

England and France qualified directly as runner-up and third place in the WRWC 2006
Wales and Ireland qualified for the Tournament as second and third in the 2009 RBS 6 Nations
Scotland and Sweden, qualify as top two teams from the 2009 FIRA-AER Women's European Trophy, held in Sweden from 17–23 May 2009. This competition was made up of the 5th and 6th placed six nations teams (Scotland and Italy) as well as Spain, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Germany and Belgium

Americas: 2 representatives

USA and Canada qualified directly

Africa: 1 representative

South Africa qualified directly

Asia: 1 representative

Kazakhstan won the ARFU Women's XV Tournament, defeating Japan in the final, to qualify as the Asia representative

Semi-finals

[773]
	4 November 2009	Singapore	11–35	Japan	Republic Polytechnic, Singapore	[10/24/3]

[774]
	4 November 2009	Hong Kong	14–58	Kazakhstan	Republic Polytechnic, Singapore	[13/42/1]

Third place final

[775]
	6 November 2009	Singapore	3–16	Hong Kong	Padang, Singapore	[11/13/5]

Final

[776]
	6 November 2009	Japan	5–43	Kazakhstan	Padang, Singapore	[25/43/4]

Oceania: 2 representatives

New Zealand qualified directly as winner of the WRWC 2006
Australia beat Samoa in a one off match to determine the second FORU representative at the WRWC 2010. A four team tournament had been planned with Fiji as the proposed host, but Fiji declined invitations to host or enter the tournament, citing the size of the entry fee (A$36,000),^[7] though the women's association president, Adi Vela Naucukidi, complained that the Fiji RFU had taken the decision without consulting them, or giving them an opportunity to raise the money. Shortly afterwards Papua New Guinea also withdrew for financial reasons

[760]
	8 August 2009	Samoa	0–87	Australia	Samoa	[14/27/1]

Nations

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C
Australia New Zealand South Africa Wales	England Ireland Kazakhstan United States	Canada France Scotland Sweden

Tickets and sponsorship

Tickets had been available since 22 March 2010 and they could be purchased online at Ticketmaster or by phone, with an innovative ticketing structure based on some tournament passes and individual match day tickets.^[8]
Thirteen matches were broadcast live through a platform provided by host broadcaster Sky Sports in 127 territories to a potential audience of 227 million homes, smashing the 2006 World Cup benchmark in Canada (75 territories and a potential reach of 97 million homes). The programming hours was increased from 60 in 2006 to 220 in this edition.^[9]
The commercial partners of the tournament were Nike, Heineken, the Coca-Cola Company's sports drink Powerade, Holiday Inn, British rugby equipment supplier Rhino Rugby, University of Surrey and UK National Lottery.

Squads

Main article: 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup squads

Match officials

In December 2009, the IRB announced a panel of 14 match officials for the tournament, including seven world's leading female referees and three specialist assistant referees with previous Women's Rugby World Cup experience.^[10]
England's Clare Daniels officiated the opening match between Canada and Scotland, while Australian Sarah Corrigan refereed the final between England and New Zealand.^[11]^[12]

Sarah Corrigan
Clare Daniels
Gabriel Lee
Barbara Guastini
Joyce Henry

Debbie Innes
Nicky Inwood
David Keane
Kerstin Ljungdahl
Javier Mancuso

Andrew McMenemy
Sébastien Minery
Dana Teagarden
Sherry Trumbull

Format

The competition was contested over 16 days and 30 matches between 12 nations, divided into three pools of four teams. The tournament began on 20 August at Surrey Sports Park with a match between Canada and Scotland and ended with the final held at Twickenham Stoop on 5 September between England and New Zealand.

Pool stage

Women's Rugby World Cup – Guildford 2010

Defending champions New Zealand, hosts and 2006 runners-up England and 2006 bronze winners France all ranked top seeds in their pool.^[13] Teams played each other in each pool on a round robin basis, while match points were awarded according to the international standards: 4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, 1 point for scoring 4 or more tries or for losing by 7 or less than 7 points.
At the end of the pool stage, the teams in a pool were ranked according to their cumulative match points. If two or more teams had been level, the following criteria would have been used in this order until one of the teams could be determined as the higher ranked:

the winner of the match between the two tied teams;
the team with the best points difference;
the team with the best tries difference;
the team with more scored points;
the team with more scored tries;
a toss of coin.^[14]

Ranking finals

The teams were seeded based on the position in which they finished in their respective pools and the points scored during the pool stage. The three pool winners and the best runner-up went through to the semi-finals. The other two runners-up and the best two 3rd-place finishers went into a sort of a competition for 5th place, whilst the bottom three teams competed for 9th place.
The ranking finals were set as it follows:

1st seed vs 4th seed;
2nd seed vs 3rd seed;
5th seed vs 8th seed;
6th Seed vs 7th seed;
9th seed vs 12th seed;
10th seed vs 11th seed.^[14]

Finals

If teams had been tied at full-time, the winner would have been determined through a 10-minutes extra time (the first team to score any points would have been declared the winner) or eventually a kicking competition (five players from each team would have kicked from three different points on the 22 metre line).^[14]

World Cup tournament

Pool stage

Qualified for rankings 1–4 semi-finals
Qualified for rankings 5–8 semi-finals
Qualified for rankings 9–12 semi-finals

Pool A

Main article: 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup Pool A

Po	Nation	Pl	Wo	Lo	Pf	Pa	Pd	Tf	Ta	Bp	Tp
1	New Zealand	3	3	0	128	16	+112	22	2	3	15
2	Australia	3	2	1	93	44	+49	14	8	2	10
3	South Africa	3	1	2	18	127	−109	3	19	0	4
4	Wales	3	0	3	30	82	−52	4	14	1	1

Test no. 835 20 August 2010	Australia	26–12	Wales	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Javier Mancuso (Argentina)
	Tries: Nicole Beck 6' Sharni Williams 16' Cobie-Jane Morgan 23' Tricia Brown 79' Cons: Nicole Beck 6', 16', 23'	Report	Tries: Penalty try 4' Lowri Harries 70' Con: Non Evans 4'

Test no. 837 20 August 2010	New Zealand	55–3	South Africa	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
	Tries: Carla Hohepa 4', 17', 54' Fiao'o Fa'amausili 7' Kelly Brazier 12' Huriana Manuel 22', 32' Renee Wickliffe 44' Casey Robertson 68' Cons: Kelly Brazier 5', 8', 13', 23', 69'	Report	Pen: Zandile Nojoko 65'

Test no. 841 24 August 2010	South Africa	15–10	Wales	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Joyce Henry (Canada)
	Tries: Namhla Siyolo 30' Charmaine Kayser 40' Zandile Nojoko 65'	Report	Try: Ceri Redman 78' Con: Non Evans 79' Pen: Non Evans 71'

Test no. 844 24 August 2010	Australia	5–32	New Zealand	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Dana Teagarden (USA)
	Try: Lindsay Morgan 48'	Report	Tries: Fiao'o Fa'amausili 14' Carla Hohepa 20' Justine Lavea 22', 29' Victoria Blackledge 41' Huriana Manuel 62' Con: Rebecca Hull 21'

Test no. 848 28 August 2010	New Zealand	41–8	Wales	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Clare Daniels (England)
	Tries: Kelly Brazier 6', 20', 45' Rebecca Hull 23' Victoria Grant 49' Halie Hurring 51' Cons: Rebecca Hull 24' Kelly Brazier 50' Kendra Cocksedge 70'	Report	Try: Caryl James 38' Pen: Non Evans 12'

Test no. 850 28 August 2010	Australia	62–0	South Africa	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: David Keane (Ireland)
	Tries: Kristy Giteau 5' Tricia Brown 18' Debby Hodgkinson 26' Lindsay Morgan 29', 53' Alexandra Hargreaves 43' Sharni Williams 48', 80' Cobie-Jane Morgan 62' Cons: Nicole Beck 6', 19', 27', 30', 44', 49', 80' Pen: Nicole Beck 15'	Report

Pool B

Main article: 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup Pool B

Po	Nation	Pl	Wo	Lo	Pf	Pa	Pd	Tf	Ta	Bp	Tp
1	England	3	3	0	146	10	+136	22	2	3	15
2	Ireland	3	2	1	59	42	+17	11	6	2	10
3	United States	3	1	2	73	59	+14	11	10	1	5
4	Kazakhstan	3	0	3	3	170	−167	0	26	0	0

Test no. 836 20 August 2010	Kazakhstan	0–51	United States	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Nicky Inwood (New Zealand)
		Report	Tries: Nathalie Marchino 5', 73' Christy Ringgenberg 44', 68' Ashley Kmiecik 51' Phaidra Knight 59' Amy Daniels 70' Cons: Christy Ringgenberg 6', 45', 52', 69', 74' Pens: Christy Ringgenberg 4', 35'

Test no. 839 20 August 2010	England	27–0	Ireland	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Sarah Corrigan (Australia)
	Tries: Fiona Pocock 9' Katherine Merchant 37' Amy Turner 56' Margaret Alphonsi 79' Cons: Katy McLean 10', 80' Pen: Katy McLean 75'	Report

Test no. 845 24 August 2010	Ireland	22–12	United States	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Sébastien Minery (France)
	Tries: Joy Neville 6', 45' Niamh Briggs 35' Tania Rosser 53' Con: Niamh Briggs 54'	Report	Tries: Jamie Burke 17' Venesha McGee 73' Con: Melissa Kanuk 18'

Test no. 846 24 August 2010	England	82–0	Kazakhstan	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Javier Mancuso (Argentina)
	Tries: Fiona Pocock 4', 54', 63' Charlotte Barras 10', 22', 79' Sarah Beale 25' Katherine Merchant 34' Rachael Burford 38' La Toya Mason 44' Rosemarie Crowley 67' Amber Penrith 74' Cons: Katy McLean 5', 11', 22', 26', 35', 39', 45' La Toya Mason 55', 64', 67', 75'	Report

Test no. 851 28 August 2010	Ireland	37–3	Kazakhstan	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Andrew McMenemy (Scotland)
	Tries: Niamh Briggs 2' Joy Neville 16', 68' Louise Beamish 24' Orla Brennan 32' Eliza Downey 42' Kate O'Loughlin 63' Con: Niamh Briggs 17'	Report	Pen: Aigerym Daurembayeva 49'

Test no. 852 28 August 2010	England	37–10	United States	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Nicky Inwood (New Zealand)
	Tries: Danielle Waterman 4', 38' Katherine Merchant 30' Emily Scarratt 51' Amber Penrith 68' Margaret Alphonsi 76' Cons: Katy McLean 39', 77' Pen: Katy McLean 9'	Report	Tries: Nathalie Marchino 18' Kim Magrini 24'

Pool C

Main article: 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup Pool C

Po	Nation	Pl	Wo	Lo	Pf	Pa	Pd	Tf	Ta	Bp	Tp
1	France	3	3	0	55	24	+31	10	2	1	13
2	Canada	3	2	1	85	43	+42	12	7	2	10
3	Scotland	3	1	2	49	59	−10	8	9	1	5
4	Sweden	3	0	3	24	87	−63	2	14	1	1

Test no. 834 20 August 2010	Canada	37–10	Scotland	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Clare Daniels (England)
	Tries: Barbara Mervin 10' Mandy Marchak 21', 41' Maria Gallo 38' Heather Moyse 51' Cons: Anna Schnell 22', 39', 52' Pens: Anna Schnell 7', 18'	Report	Tries: Lucy Millard 49' Lindsay Wheeler 64'

Test no. 838 20 August 2010	France	15–9	Sweden	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Sherry Trumbull (Canada)
	Tries: Sandra Rabier 8' Claire Canal 31', 68'	Report	Pens: Ulrika Anderson Hall 21', 27', 40'

Test no. 842 24 August 2010	France	17–7	Scotland	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: David Keane (Ireland)
	Tries: Élodie Poublan 4' Marie-Charlotte Hebel 14' Sandrine Agricole 36' Con: Aurélie Bailon 37'	Report	Try: Lucy Millard 41' Con: Nicola Halfpenny 42'

Test no. 843 24 August 2010	Canada	40–10	Sweden	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Gabriel Lee (Hong Kong)
	Tries: Mandy Marchak 1' Ashley Patzer 11', 41' Heather Moyse 16', 23', 72' Cons: Anna Schnell 2', 12', 17', 42', 73'	Report	Try: Charlotta Westin Vines 34' Con: Ulrika Andersson Hall 35' Pen: Ulrika Andersson Hall 21'

Test no. 847 28 August 2010	Scotland	32–5	Sweden	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Sarah Corrigan (Australia)
	Tries: Lindsay Wheeler 2' Lucy Millard 13', 55' Donna Kennedy 21' Katy Green 47' Cons: Nicola Halfpenny 14', 56' Pen: Nicola Halfpenny 27'	Report	Try: Johanna Norberg 72'

Test no. 849 28 August 2010	Canada	8–23	France	Surrey Sports Park, Guildford, South East England Referee: Dana Teagarden (USA)
	Try: Kelly Russell 36' Pen: Anna Schnell 14'	Report	Tries: Lucille Godiveau 9', 70' Cyrielle Bouisset 29' Claire Canal 45' Pen: Aurélie Bailon 20'