The Rugby World Cup host nation for both men and women is selected by

World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

at a meeting six years before each tournament. Each of the Men's Rugby World Cups from 1987 to 2015 were hosted by countries that are considered the traditional powers in World Rugby. The first non Rugby Championship or Six Nations country to host a Rugby World Cup was Japan in

2019 This was the year in which the first known human case of COVID-19 was documented, preceding COVID-19 pandemic, the pandemic which was declared by the World Health Organization the following year. Up to that point, 2019 had been described as ...

, after failed bids for the

2011 The year marked the start of a Arab Spring, series of protests and revolutions throughout the Arab world advocating for democracy, reform, and economic recovery, later leading to the depositions of world leaders in Tunisia, Egypt, and Yemen ...

(awarded to New Zealand) and

2015 2015 was designated by the United Nations as: * International Year of Light * International Year of Soil __TOC__ Events January * January 1 – Lithuania officially adopts the euro as its currency, replacing the litas, and becomes ...

(awarded to England) tournaments. The women's version of the Rugby World Cup, which is known as the Women's Rugby World Cup, was first held in 1991, alternating with even-numbered non-leap years from 1994 to 2014 before switching to odd-numbered years from 2017 onwards.

Current criteria

World Rugby requires a country to possess the necessary facilities to host a Rugby World Cup. Stadiums must have a capacity at least 15,000, with the stadium for the final having a capacity of at least 60,000. The stadiums have other requirements, such as pitch size and floodlighting. World Rugby also looks for hosts that will either generate significant revenue or hosts that will spread the geographic reach of the sport. According to World Rugby Chairman Bernard Lapasset in 2008: "As the revenue generation is vital to our ongoing development plans, we recognise that the World Cup has to be held in one of our senior core markets on a regular basis . . . However, the commercial success of the tournament also means we can now consider placing the tournament in new developing markets to assist the game's strategic growth." World Rugby also tends to rotate continents, with no continent to date hosting two consecutive World Cups.

List of Rugby World Cup hosts

Men's

Women's

Hosts by tournament for both men and women

1987: New Zealand and Australia (Men)

The first Men's Rugby World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand after the

Australian Rugby Union Rugby Australia Ltd, previously named Australian Rugby Union Limited and Australian Rugby Football Union Limited, is an Australian company operating the premier rugby union competition in Australia and teams. It has its origins in 1949. It is a ...

and the

New Zealand Rugby Union New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...

each independently wrote to the International Rugby Board seeking to conduct a World Cup tournament. The final was played in

Auckland Auckland ( ; ) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. It has an urban population of about It is located in the greater Auckland Region, the area governed by Auckland Council, which includes outlying rural areas and ...

, New Zealand, at

Eden Park Eden Park is a sports venue in Auckland, New Zealand. It is located three kilometres southwest of the Auckland CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and Kingsland. The main stadium has a nominal capacity of 50,000, and is s ...

and won by New Zealand.

1991: Wales (Women)

The first Women's Rugby World Cup was hosted by Wales and there were 12 nations. The final was played in

Cardiff Cardiff (; ) is the capital city, capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of Wales. Cardiff had a population of in and forms a Principal areas of Wales, principal area officially known as the City and County of Ca ...

, Wales at

Cardiff Arms Park Cardiff Arms Park (), also known as The Arms Park, is primarily a rugby union stadium, and also has a bowling green. It is situated in Cardiff, Wales, next to the Millennium Stadium. The Arms Park was host to the 1958 British Empire and Common ...

and won by the United States.

1991: England, Ireland, Wales, France and Scotland (Men)

Shortly after the inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup was held, the 1991 Rugby World Cup was jointly hosted by the

Five Nations Championship The Six Nations Championship (known as the Six Nations, branded as Guinness M6N) is an annual international rugby union competition by the teams of England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales. It is the oldest sports tournament contes ...

countries (England, Ireland, Wales, France and Scotland), with games played all over these five European nations. Pool A, in which England played, saw half of the matches played in London, though games were also in

Leicester Leicester ( ) is a city status in the United Kingdom, city, Unitary authorities of England, unitary authority area, and the county town of Leicestershire in the East Midlands of England. It is the largest city in the East Midlands with a popula ...

Gloucester Gloucester ( ) is a cathedral city, non-metropolitan district and the county town of Gloucestershire in the South West England, South West of England. Gloucester lies on the River Severn, between the Cotswolds to the east and the Forest of Dean ...

and

Otley Otley is a market town and civil parish at a bridging point on the River Wharfe, in the City of Leeds metropolitan borough in West Yorkshire, England. Historically a part of the West Riding of Yorkshire, the population was 13,668 at the 2011 c ...

. Pool B games involved European nations Scotland and Ireland, which had all their games in either

Dublin Dublin is the capital and largest city of Republic of Ireland, Ireland. Situated on Dublin Bay at the mouth of the River Liffey, it is in the Provinces of Ireland, province of Leinster, and is bordered on the south by the Dublin Mountains, pa ...

Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland and one of its 32 Council areas of Scotland, council areas. The city is located in southeast Scotland and is bounded to the north by the Firth of Forth and to the south by the Pentland Hills. Edinburgh ...

; one game was played in

Belfast Belfast (, , , ; from ) is the capital city and principal port of Northern Ireland, standing on the banks of the River Lagan and connected to the open sea through Belfast Lough and the North Channel (Great Britain and Ireland), North Channel ...

. Pool C included Wales, whose games were all played in

, with the other games in

Pontypool Pontypool ( ) is a town and the administrative centre of the county borough of Torfaen, within the Historic counties of Wales, historic boundaries of Monmouthshire (historic), Monmouthshire in South Wales. , it has a population of 29,062. Locat ...

Pontypridd Pontypridd ( , ), Colloquialism, colloquially referred to as ''Ponty'', is a town and a Community (Wales), community in Rhondda Cynon Taf, South Wales, approximately 10 miles north west of Cardiff city centre. Geography Pontypridd comprises the ...

, and

Llanelli ; ) is a market town and community (Wales), community in Carmarthenshire and the Preserved counties of Wales, preserved county of Dyfed, Wales. It is on the estuary of the River Loughor and is the largest town in the Principal areas of Wales, ...

. Pool D, of which France were a part, saw games played in

Agen Agen (, , ) is the prefecture of the Lot-et-Garonne department in Nouvelle-Aquitaine, Southwestern France. It lies on the river Garonne, southeast of Bordeaux. In 2021, the commune had a population of 32,485. Geography The city of Agen l ...

Bayonne Bayonne () is a city in southwestern France near the France–Spain border, Spanish border. It is a communes of France, commune and one of two subprefectures in France, subprefectures in the Pyrénées-Atlantiques departments of France, departm ...

Béziers Béziers (; ) is a city in southern France. It is a Subprefectures in France, subprefecture of the Hérault Departments of France, department in the Occitania (administrative region), Occitanie Regions of France, region. Every August Béziers ho ...

Brive,

Grenoble Grenoble ( ; ; or ; or ) is the Prefectures in France, prefecture and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of the Isère Departments of France, department in the Auvergne-Rhône-Alpes Regions of France, region ...

, and

Toulouse Toulouse (, ; ; ) is a city in southern France, the Prefectures in France, prefecture of the Haute-Garonne department and of the Occitania (administrative region), Occitania region. The city is on the banks of the Garonne, River Garonne, from ...

. None of the quarter-finals or semi-finals was played in England. The final was played at the

Rugby Football Union The Rugby Football Union (RFU) is the Sports governing body, national governing body for rugby union in England. It was founded in 1871, and was the sport's international governing body prior to the formation of what is now known as World Rugby ...

Twickenham Twickenham ( ) is a suburban district of London, England, on the River Thames southwest of Charing Cross. Historic counties of England, Historically in Middlesex, since 1965 it has formed part of the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames, who ...

1994: Scotland (Women)

Originally scheduled to be held in Amsterdam, Netherlands but cancelled only weeks before, the second Women's Rugby World Cup was hosted by Scotland and once again, there were 12 nations. The final was played in

, Scotland at the

Edinburgh Academicals Edinburgh Academical Football Club, also known as Edinburgh Accies, is a rugby union club in Edinburgh, Scotland. The club is currently a member of the Scottish Premiership (rugby union), Scottish Premiership, the top tier of Scottish club rugby ...

and England became the first British women's rugby union team to win the Women's Rugby World Cup.

1995: South Africa (Men)

The 1995 World Cup was hosted and won by South Africa. The IRB broke new ground by awarding the tournament to an African nation, making it the first major sporting event ever held on the continent. This was also the first Rugby World Cup to be played entirely in one country. The tournament is most remembered for two moments—the emergence of

Jonah Lomu Jonah Tali Lomu (12 May 1975 – 18 November 2015) was a New Zealand professional rugby union player. He is widely regarded as one of the greatest and most influential players in the history of the sport, and as one of the most talented sportsm ...

as a rugby superstar, and the trophy presentation. In one of the most emotional moments in sports history, President

Nelson Mandela Nelson Rolihlahla Mandela ( , ; born Rolihlahla Mandela; 18 July 1918 – 5 December 2013) was a South African Internal resistance to apartheid, anti-apartheid activist and politician who served as the first president of South Africa f ...

wore a

Springbok The springbok or springbuck (''Antidorcas marsupialis'') is an antelope found mainly in south and southwest Africa. The sole member of the genus (biology), genus ''Antidorcas'', this bovid was first Species description, described by the Germa ...

jersey and matching baseball cap when presenting the trophy to the team's

Afrikaner Afrikaners () are a Southern African ethnic group descended from predominantly Dutch settlers who first arrived at the Cape of Good Hope in 1652.Entry: Cape Colony. ''Encyclopædia Britannica Volume 4 Part 2: Brain to Casting''. Encyclopæd ...

captain

Francois Pienaar Jacobus Francois Pienaar (born 2 January 1967) is a retired South African rugby union player. He played flanker for South Africa (the Springboks) from 1993 until 1996, winning 29 international caps, all of them as captain. He is best known for ...

. Mandela's jersey had Pienaar's number 6 on the back. The presentation was widely seen as a sign of reconciliation between South Africa's black and white communities.

1998: Netherlands (Women)

This was the first Women's Rugby World Cup to be fully sanctioned by the

International Rugby Board World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competit ...

and also the first Women's Rugby World Cup to be held outside the British Isles. The number of teams increased from 12 to 16. New Zealand became the first Australasian women's rugby union to win the Women's Rugby World Cup.

1999: Wales (Men)

The 1999 World Cup was hosted by

Wales Wales ( ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by the Irish Sea to the north and west, England to the England–Wales border, east, the Bristol Channel to the south, and the Celtic ...

with some matches spread across

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

, England, Ireland and France. The format of the pool games was similar to the 1991 World Cup in England. All Pool A games were held in Scotland, Pool B games in England, Pool C games in France, Pool D games were all held in Wales and Pool E games were all held in Ireland. Second round play-offs and the quarter-finals were held a variety of European venues, the semi-finals were held at

Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium (; usually known as Twickenham, and for sponsorship purposes known as the Allianz Stadium Twickenham) is a rugby union stadium in Twickenham, London, England. It is owned by the Rugby Football Union (RFU), the English rugby u ...

, London. The third place play-off and the final were held at the new

Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium (), known since 2016 as the Principality Stadium () for sponsorship reasons, is the national stadium of Wales. Located in Cardiff, it has a retractable roof and is the home of the Wales national rugby union team; it has ...

in Cardiff.

2002: Spain (Women)

This was the second Women's Rugby World Cup to be fully sanctioned by the

and all six teams from the

Women's Six Nations Championship The Women's Six Nations Championship, known as the Guinness Women's Six Nations for sponsorship purposes, is an international rugby union competition featuring six European women's national teams. It started in the 1995–96 season as the Home ...

England, Scotland, Wales, France, Ireland and Italy competed for the first time The final was staged at Barcelona. New Zealand won for the second time.

2003: Australia (Men)

The 2003 Cup was intended to be held jointly by Australia and New Zealand, but disagreements between the International Rugby Board and the

NZRU New Zealand Rugby (NZR) is the Sports governing body, governing body of rugby union in New Zealand. It was founded in 1892 as the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU), 12 years after the first provincial unions in New Zealand. In 1949 it b ...

, over sponsorship, advertising and ticketing, saw the competition played solely in Australia. This was the first and only tournament to date to be won by a team from the northern hemisphere. The 2003 World Cup saw matches played in eleven stadia in ten Australian cities. Coupe du monde rugby - tour Eiffel

2006: Canada (Women)

This was the first Women's Rugby World Cup to be played in North America and also the first Women's Rugby World Cup to held outside Europe. New Zealand won for the third time.

2007: France (Men)

Unlike the previous tournaments in 1991 and 1999 where five countries in Europe hosted matches, the IRB decided to award the right to host the 2007 tournament to one country. Both England and France bid to host the tournament. England's bid included a two-tier tournament – a 16 team format, and a separate Nations Cup for emerging countries – and altering the structure of the qualifying tournament. France's bid had a traditional 20-team format to be held in September and October. The IRB announced in April 2003 that France had won the right to host the tournament. The French bid won with 18 out of 21 votes, with IRB Chairman Syd Millar stating that "The council was overwhelmingly of the view that the structure should remain as it is." The tournament was moved to the proposed September–October dates with the tournament structure remaining as it was. It was also announced that ten French cities would be hosting games, with the final at the Stade de France.

2010: England (Women)

The 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was played in England for the first time and the third British host nation to do so, following the previous two tournaments that were held Wales in 1991 and Scotland in 1994 respectively. New Zealand won the fourth title.

2011: New Zealand (Men)

New Zealand, Japan, and South Africa bid to host the tournament. South Africa was eliminated in the first round of IRB voting; in the second round, New Zealand won the vote 13 to 8, and the IRB Council awarded the hosting of the 2011 Rugby World Cup to New Zealand. The bidding occurred in November 2005, the first time that hosting rights had been awarded to a nation six years in advance. The voting procedure was managed by a team of independent auditors. Some bookmakers had initially made Japan the favourite to win the vote, reasoning that it was believed there was a desire to take the Rugby World Cup to a non-traditional rugby nation, and host the event in Asia for the first time. There were also concerns about New Zealand's infrastructure, however an IRB fact-finding mission impressed the executives. South Africa had initially explored the possibility of inviting other African countries to stage some matches,"South Africa eyes Cup bid"
BBC Sport, 17 May 2004. Retrieved 23 March 2015. and South Africa had also discussed with Argentina the possibility of hosting some matches in Buenos Aires. Ultimately, however, South Africa submitted a solo bid. Additionally, the

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

were discussed in the media as a country that might submit a bid, but the United States did not bid. Japan responded critically to the IRB's decision to award the 2011 World Cup to New Zealand, with the Japanese RFU chief Yoshiro Mori declaring: "The established nations pass the ball around their friends . . . Only the interests of the bigger unions remain.""Japan frustrated by 2011 decision"
BBC Sport, 17 November 2005. Retrieved 23 March 2015. Despite not winning the right to host the 2011 World Cup, Japan Rugby officials remained optimistic about future opportunities. Japan Rugby stated: "We want to help with the spread of rugby fever . . . and we believe that dispersing rugby fever in the biggest continent on the planet will help the IRB in their mission of globalizing the game we all love." The IRB defended its decision to award the 2011 World Cup to New Zealand instead of Japan, stating: "New Zealand can guarantee packed stadiums and that can't be guaranteed in Japan."

2014: France (Women)

The 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup was held in France. It was the first time since 2010 that New Zealand failed to win the major title. England won the tournament 21-9 for the second time against Canada on 17 August. This was the last Women's Rugby World Cup to be held in even-numbered non-leap years prior to the next tournament in 2017, held jointly in Ireland and Northern Ireland.

2015: England (Men)

The host for the 2015 tournament was England, who won their bid on 28 July 2009. A record ten unions indicated formal interest in hosting the 2015 and/or the 2019 events: Australia, England, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Russia, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. Argentina had been reported in early 2008 as having given preliminary consideration to bidding, but did not ultimately formally indicate an interest in bidding.

2017: Ireland (Women)

The 2017 Women's Rugby World Cup was held in Ireland as well Northern Ireland. The tournament moved to odd-numbered years alternating with the men's counterpart which avoided the clash with other rugby 7s-based tournaments which are staged in both the

Commonwealth Games The Commonwealth Games is a quadrennial international multi-sport event among athletes from the Commonwealth of Nations, which consists mostly, but not exclusively, of territories of the former British Empire. The event was first held in 1930 ...

as well as the

Summer Olympics The Summer Olympic Games, also known as the Summer Olympics or the Games of the Olympiad, is a major international multi-sport event normally held once every four years. The inaugural Games took place in 1896 in Athens, then part of the King ...

. New Zealand won the 5th title and the first since 2014.

2019: Japan (Men)

The host for the 2019 tournament was Japan, who won the right to host the tournament on 28 July 2009. Japan became the event's first-ever host outside of the sport's traditional top-tier nations.

2021: New Zealand (Women)

The 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup was held in New Zealand and the first to be held in Australasia. Due to the

COVID-19 Coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) is a contagious disease caused by the coronavirus SARS-CoV-2. In January 2020, the disease spread worldwide, resulting in the COVID-19 pandemic. The symptoms of COVID‑19 can vary but often include fever ...

pandemic, the tournament was postponed to 2022 and New Zealand won their tournament in home soil.

2023: France (Men)

Several countries declared their interest in hosting the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

, including ones that have already hosted RWC matches and countries looking to host a tournament for the first time. South Africa was considered one of the front runners to host the 2023 competition, having bid unsuccessfully for the right to host the 2011, 2015 and 2019 tournaments."Italy ponder fresh World Cup bid"
ESPNscrum.com, 22 October 2012. Retrieved 23 April 2014. Ireland submitted a formal bid, following the January 2014 establishment of a government taskforce to assess a bid to host the Rugby World Cup. Previous host nation France also submitted a bid to host again in 2023. The United States, Argentina, and Italy had also expressed interest in hosting, but none of the three countries submitted a formal bid. On 15 November 2017, it was announced that France had beaten rivals Ireland and South Africa, in its successful bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

2025: England (Women)

The 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup will be held in England for the second time after the previous edition which was held in 2010.

2027: Australia (Men)

After Argentina withdrew its bid, the Australian bid was the sole favourite for the 2027 Rugby World Cup host. During the annual meeting in Dublin on May 12, 2022, the World Rugby Council unanimously approved Australia and the United States as the host tournament of the men's World Cup in 2027 and 2031, respectively.

2029: Australia (Women)

After the men's version, the 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup will be held in Australia and the second Australasian nation after the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup in New Zealand to do so.

2031: United States (Men)

The

became the sole bid for the 2031 Rugby World Cup in November 2021. During the annual meeting in Dublin on May 12, 2022, the World Rugby Council unanimously approved Australia and the United States as the host tournament of the men's World Cup in 2027 and 2031, respectively.

2033: United States (Women)

After the men's version, the 2033 Women's Rugby World Cup will be held in the United States and the second North American nation after the 2006 Women's Rugby World Cup in Canada to do so.

Notes

References

External links

New Zealand to host RWC 2011

Joint Rugby World Cup bid office set up

{{DEFAULTSORT:Rugby World Cup Hosts Rugby World Cup