2021 Rugby World Cup (Kylaris)

2021 Rugby World Cup

Rugbywêreldbeker 2021
Tournament details
Host nation	Satavia
Dates	15 January – 7 March
No. of nations	20 (52 qualifying)
Final positions
Champions	Garambura
Runner-up	Satavia
Third place	Caldia
Tournament statistics
Matches played	48
Attendance	2,581,211 (53,775 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Jean-Loup Dupuy (93)
Most tries	Jonty Warwick (9)
← 2017 Garambura 2025 Estmere →

The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the eleventh edition of the Rugby World Cup, hosted in Satavia and held from 15 January to 7 March across twelve venues in the country. The opening match between Caldia and Rwizikuru was played at Stadium Satavia, Port Hope where the final was also held. This marked the first time that the opening match of the tournament did not involve the host nation after the match was postponed due to a flash flood the night before the match was due to be held. The tournament marked the second time the tournament had been hosted in Asteria Inferior (after the 1993 tournament, held in Nuvania) and the first time Satavia had hosted.

The tournament saw 20 nations compete, with two (Alsland and Gapolania) making their debuts having successfully qualified for the first time. 12 nations gained automatic qualification having finished in the top three of their pools from 2017, whilst the remaining eight slots were filled through qualification processes. Garambura went on to beat hosts Satavia 28-17 in the final to claim their second title, whilst defending champions Caldia defeated Rizealand 17-3 to clinch third place.

Host country selection

Kylaris Rugby, the international rugby union governing body, announced the bidding process for the 2017 and 2021 tournaments in early 2011. Four bids for the 2021 tournament were entered: Maucha, Nuvania, Rizealand and Satavia. The deadline for entering a bid was December 31, 2012, although this was extended until January 15, 2013, at the request of the Satavian Rugby Football Association (SRFA). Nuvania withdrew their bid in March 2013 in support of the Satavian bid, whilst Maucha withdrew their bid later that month to strengthen their own bid for 2017 (which would ultimately be awarded to Garambura). On July 14 Kylaris Rugby confirmed that Satavia had won the right to host the 2021 tournament, with venues across eight Satavian cities: Bloemstad, Kingsleigh, Konningstad, Northport, Port Arthur, Port Hope, Windstad, Victoriaburg.

Venues

Proposed stadia for the tournament were announced by the SRFA in December 2013 and were confirmed in May 2015. Having originally proposed 12 stadiums, this number was reduced to 9 in the final plan, with two stadiums in the Port Hope/Burnaby region. The SRFA drew significant criticism from politicians and the public in the Central Territory, Diereplek Province and New Borland after all three were excluded from the final plan.

Port Hope International Stadium	Fort Kinnon Arena	Stadium Satavia
Port Hope	Port Arthur-Fort Kinnon	Port Hope
Capacity: 59,373	Capacity: 54,211	Capacity: 70,758
P. J. Van der Herdens Stadium	Krooksveld Road Stadium	Satavian Airlines Oval
Konningstad	Northport	Windstad
Capacity: 28,476	Capacity: 34,822	Capacity: 26,183
Victoriaburg City Stadium	Brooksveld Park	Kingsleigh Blues RFC Park
Victoriaburg	Bloemstad	Kingsleigh
Capacity: 65,445	Capacity: 36,290	Capacity: 24,512

Qualifying

The top three teams from each pool of the 2017 tournament received automatic qualification, as did Satavia as the host nation. The remaining eight places were filled through qualification tournaments around the world. Two slots were available for Asterian teams, filled by Cassier and Gapolania, two spots for Coian teams, filled by Mabifia and Rwizikuru, whilst three slots were open for Euclean teams, filled by Alsland, Bistravia and Montecara. The final slot was decided by a repechage tournament held in Port Hope, in September 2018. It was unexpectedly won by Alsland, who defeated favourites Senria 36-24 in the deciding game.

Qualifying teams

Region	Team	Qualification method	Previous Apps	Previous best result	World Ranking
Asterias
	Cassier	Asterias 1	8	Fourth place (2001)	16
	Gapolania	Asterias 2	0	Debut	34
	Nuvania	Automatic	10	Champions (1981, 1993, 2013)	6
	Rizealand	Automatic	10	Champions (1985)	5
	Satavia	Automatic	10	Champions (1997)	2
Coius
	Garambura	Automatic	10	Champions (2001)	3
	Mabifia	Coius 1	8	Pool stage (eight times)	13
	Maucha	Automatic	10	Third place (2009)	7
	Rwizikuru	Coius 2	6	Pool stage (six times)	14
Euclea
	Alsland	Repechage	0	Debut	29
	Azmara	Automatic	7	Quarter-finals (2005, 2013)	15
	Bistravia	Euclea 1	3	Pool stage (2009, 2013, 2017)	20
	Caldia	Automatic	10	Champions (1989, 2009, 2017)	1
	Template:Country data Estmere	Automatic	10	Champions (2005)	4
	Etruria	Automatic	10	Quarter-finals (1989, 2005)	12
	Gaullica	Automatic	10	Third place (1989)	8
	Montecara	Euclea 2	1	Pool stage (2017)	26
	Soravia	Automatic	7	Fourth place (2013)	11
	Tengaria	Euclea 3	6	Quarter-finals (2009, 2013)	10
	West Miersa	Automatic	1	Pool stage (2017)	9

Participants of the 2021 RWC, in blue, with the host, Satavia, in Green

Draw

The pool draw took place on January 7, 2019, with five bands, three of which were made up of the automatically qualifying teams and two made up of the teams which had to qualify to participate. The seeding system used at previous world cups was retained for the 2021 tournament. The draw was criticised as it was conducted two years before the world cup began; by 2021, Satavia was ranked first in the world (up from second), whilst Nuvania were second (up from sixth) and yet both were in Pool B.

• Band 1: The four highest ranked teams
• Band 2: The next four highest ranked teams
• Band 3: The final four automatically qualified teams

The remaining two bands were made up of qualifying teams:

• Band 5: Asterias 1, Coius 1, Euclea 1, Euclea 2
• Band 6: Asterias 2, Coius 2, Euclea 3, Repechage

This means the 20 competing teams were seeded thus (world ranking as of 1 January 2019):

Band 1	Band 2	Band 3	Band 4	Band 5
Caldia (1) Satavia (2) Garambura (3) Template:Country data Estmere (4)	Rizealand (5) Nuvania (6) Maucha (7) Gaullica (8)	West Miersa (9) Soravia (11) Etruria (12) Azmara (15)	Cassier (Asterias 1) Mabifia (Coius 1) Bistravia (Euclea 1) Montecara (Euclea 2)	Gapolania (Asterias 2) Rwizikuru (Coius 2) Tengaria (Euclea 3) Alsland (Repechage)

Squads

Each team submitted a squad of 31 players for the tournament, with a deadline of 1 January, with Estmere being the last team to unveil a squad, doing so on 31 December 2020. In the originally named Etruria squad, two players, Aleki Ioane and brother Enele Ioane were named, but removed after the deadline and replaced with the consent of Kylaris Rugby as they were ineligible to play for Etruria (at that time they were only eligible to play for Satavia, through the Patrick Islands, but became eligible for Etruria on the 17 January, two days after the start of the World Cup).

Match officials

For the 2021 World Cup, Kylaris Rugby named twelve referees, eight assistant referees and four television match officials to oversee all 48 matches.

Referees	Assistant referees	Television match officials
Template:Country data Estmere Daniel McCaw (Estmere) Template:Country data Estmere Richie Parker (Estmere) Cyril Batteux (Gaullica) Gaël Frère (Gaullica) Bruno Cormier (Gaullica) Éamonn Ó Cadhla (Caldia) Guillaume Jalibet (Garambura) Edward Scott (Satavia) William Walker (Satavia) Hendrik de Klerk (Nuvania) Mark Goldbridge (Rizealand)	Template:Country data Estmere Matthew Drake (Estmere) Template:Country data Estmere Arthur Grath (Estmere) Cian Mac Murchú (Caldia) Malcolm Farrell (Satavia) Patrick de Jong (Nuvania) Liam Henshaw (Nuvania) Mitsugi Sessue (Senria) Manuel Lopez (Rizealand)	Chase Lawson (Satavia) Piet Steph du Plessis (Nuvania) Ben Lowbridge (Rizealand) Cory Carter (Rizealand)

Pool stage

All twenty teams are divided into four pools of five teams, which play each other in a round-robin tournament of ten matches. Teams are awarded four points for a win, two for a draw and none for a defeat. Furthermore, bonus points are awarded to teams who score four or more tries in one game, as well as to teams that lose by less than seven points. The top two teams progress to the knockout stage, whilst the top three teams all receive automatic qualification for the 2025 world cup.

Key to colours in pool tables
	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2025 Rugby World Cup
	Eliminated but qualified for 2025 Rugby World Cup

Pld = Number of games played; W = Number of games won; D = Number of games drawn; L = Number of games lost; BP = Bonus pool points; Pts = Total number of pool points

Pool A

Caldia taking on Rwizikuru at Stadium Satavia, Port Hope

Team	Pld	W	D	L	BP	Total Pts
Rizealand	4	4	0	0	4	20
Caldia	4	3	0	1	1	13
Rwizikuru	4	1	1	2	1	7
Etruria	4	1	1	2	0	6
Montecara	4	0	0	4	0	0

The opening match of the 2021 Rugby World Cup was held between Caldia and Rwizikuru at the Stadium Satavia in Port Hope on 15 January 2021, with Caldia winning 7-3. Anthoine Loup-Gasly scored the first points of the tournament, with a penalty from inside Caldia's 22 after twelve minutes. Caldia trailed 0-3 after half time, before Eoin Mac Diarmada, Caldia's replacement fly-half, scored a converted try in the 63rd minute. Despite a drop goal attempt with six minutes to go, the score remained unchanged and ended 7-3. Rizealand would defeat Montecara 35-3 two days later, whilst Rwizikuru would draw 0-0 with Etruria, missing four shots at goal. The draw came just two before a Pool D match between Soravia and Azmara also ended in a draw, which made it the first game to be drawn 0-0 at a world cup since Caldia faced Senria at the 1997 tournament. Caldia and Rizealand met for a grudge match at Stadium Satavia in Port Hope on 21 January. Rizealand led 7-0 at halftime and continued to pull out ahead of Caldia before leading 26-0 with twenty minutes to go. Two tries from Caldian scrum-half James O'Leary within six minutes of each other opened up the game again, with Caldia successfully converting both to bring them up to 26-14. Padraig Mac Donaill scored his first try for Caldia in his first international game, bringing the score to 26-21 with two minutes to go. Caldia were unable to score again despite a late swing in momentum, and Rizealand held off Caldia to win. Two days later, Etruria struggled to defeat Montecara, winning the game 11-0, whilst Rizealand would defeat Rwizikuru 37-18 on 25 January. On 31 January, Rwizikuru and Montecara faced off, with Montecara holding Rwizikuru to a 10-0 defeat. Caldia faced Etruria on 2 February, defeating them 21-0 at Krooksveld Road. Four days later, Rizealand would demolish Eturira 65-0, which was followed a day later by the final game of Pool A, where Caldia defeated Montecara 24-0. Rizealand, having won all their matches, took the maximum available points with four wins and bonus points from every match, to top the table with twenty points. Caldia finished seven points behind to take the runners-up spot, and progress to the knockout stage. Whilst Rwizikuru were knocked out, by finishing third they automatically qualified for the 2025 Rugby World Cup, one point ahead of Etruria because of a bonus point awarded to Rwizikuru for losing within seven points of Caldia, whilst Montecara finished bottom of the table with no points, having scored just three points. Montecara's three points scored gave them the lowest total points scored by any team at a Rugby World Cup.

15 January 2021	Rwizikuru	3-7	Caldia	Stadium Satavia, Port Hope
17 January 2021	Montecara	3-35	Rizealand	Fort Kinnon Arena, Port Arthur-Fort Kinnon
19 January 2021	Rwizikuru	0-0	Etruria	Krooksveld Road Stadium, Northport
21 January 2021	Caldia	21-26	Rizealand	Stadium Satavia, Port Hope
23 January 2021	Etruria	11-0	Montecara	Satavian Airlines Oval, Windstad
25 January 2021	Rwizikuru	18-37	Rizealand	Kingsleigh Blues RFC Park, Kingsleigh
31 January 2021	Montecara	0-10	Rwizikuru	Brooksveld Park, Bloemstad
2 February 2021	Caldia	21-0	Etruria	Krooksveld Road Stadium, Northport
6 February 2021	Rizealand	65-0	Etruria	P. J. Van der Herdens Stadium, Konningstad
7 February 2021	Caldia	24-0	Montecara	Kingsleigh Blues RFC Park, Kingsleigh

Pool B

Satavia taking on Alsland at Brooksveld Park, Bloemstad

Team	Pld	W	D	L	BP	Total Pts
Satavia	4	4	0	0	3	19
Nuvania	4	3	0	1	4	16
Mabifia	4	2	0	2	0	8
West Miersa	4	1	0	3	0	4
Alsland	4	0	0	4	1	1

Pool B was due to commence with Satavia taking on West Miersa on 15 January, but the match was postponed after flooding damaged the pitch at the Victoriaburg City Stadium. The match was moved to the 7 February and was the last game played in Pool B as a result. As a result, the first game of Pool B was played as scheduled on 16 January, between Mabifia and Alsland, which Mabifia comfortably won, 21-7. Two days later, West Miersa faced off Nuvania, with Nuvania comfortably beating them 28-12. On 20 January, Satavia beat Alsland 28-5 and two days later Nuvania bulldozed over Mabifia 45-0. On 24 January, West Miersa narrowly beat Alsland 3-0 whilst Satavia kept their 100% win rate against Mabifia on the international stage, winning 31-7. Nuvania continued the Asterian dominance in Pool B with a 64-24 victory over Alsland on 30 January, followed two days later by Mabifia taking on West Miersa, winning 21-3. Satavia faced down Nuvania a day later at the Stadium Satavia in Port Hope. The try-less encounter was won 9-6 by Satavia, which all but secured Satavia's place at the top of the Pool B table. The postponed Satavia v West Miersa clash occurred on 7 February and was won 35-3 by Satavia. This saw Satavia advance through the pool stages at the top of the table, whilst Nuvania finished as runners-up and also progressed to the knockout stage. Mabifia finished third, and in doing so automatically qualified for the 2025 tournament.

16 January 2021	Alsland	7-21	Mabifia	Port Hope International Stadium, Port Hope
18 January 2021	West Miersa	12-28	Nuvania	Brooksveld Park, Bloemstad
20 January 2021	Satavia	28-5	Alsland	Brooksveld Park, Bloemstad
22 January 2021	Nuvania	45-0	Mabifia	Fort Kinnon Arena, Port Arthur-Fort Kinnon
24 January 2021	Alsland	0-3	West Miersa	P. J. Van der Herdens Stadium, Konningstad
26 January 2021	Satavia	31-7	Mabifia	Fort Kinnon Arena, Port Arthur-Fort Kinnon
30 January 2021	Nuvania	64-24	Alsland	Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg
1 February 2021	Mabifia	21-3	West Miersa	Kingsleigh Blues RFC Park, Kingsleigh
2 February 2021	Satavia	9-6	Nuvania	Stadium Satavia, Port Hope
7 February 2021	Satavia	35-3	West Miersa	Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg

Pool C

Maucha taking on Cassier at P. J. Van der Herdens Stadium, Konningstad

Team	Pld	W	D	L	BP	Total Pts
Garambura	4	4	0	0	3	19
Gapolania	4	2	1	1	1	11
Maucha	4	2	1	1	0	10
Tengaria	4	1	0	3	1	5
Cassier	4	0	0	4	1	1

Pool C began with Garambura's demolition of Tengaria, winning the match 31-5 despite two disallowed tries. This was followed two days later with a shock 21-all draw between Gapolania and Maucha. Maucha, at the time, was ranked eighth in the world, and had been expected to demolish the 29th-ranked side, but were unable to do so. Garambura, however, had no such issues in their match against Cassier, seeing off the Asterian side 28-3. A second Pool C shock occurred when Gapolania defeated Tengaria 28-24 after a 78th-minute try from Domenico Pegàsia saw the Kolibri pull clear of Tengaria. Garambura would defeat Maucha 13-5 two days later before Gapolania once again shocked the rugby world by convincingly beating Cassier 14-0. Maucha struggled to beat Tengaria on 30 January but eventually won the match 7-0 thanks to a try from captain Zawati Eschenbach. Garambura saw off Gapolania 31-7 whilst Tengaria edged out Cassier 11-10. The final match of Pool C was contested between Cassier and Maucha, which was won by Maucha 13-5 which put an end to Cassier's worst-ever World Cup performance. Garambura topped the pool with 19 points, whilst Gapolania, thanks to a bonus point gained from their four-try win against Tengaria, progressed through to the knockout stage in their first appearance. Maucha were eliminated but automatically qualified for the 2025 competition, whilst Tengaria and Cassier finished at the bottom of the table in an unexpectedly poor performance from both teams. As a result, Garambura were set up to play Nuvania in the quarter-finals, whilst Gapolania set themselves up for a quarter-final against hosts Satavia.

15 January 2021	Garambura	31-5	Tengaria	Satavian Airlines Oval, Windstad
17 January 2021	Gapolania	21-21	Maucha	Krooksveld Road Stadium, Northport
19 January 2021	Cassier	3-28	Garambura	Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg
21 January 2021	Tengaria	24-28	Gapolania	Satavian Airlines Oval, Windstad
23 January 2021	Garambura	13-5	Maucha	Stadium Satavia, Port Hope
25 January 2021	Cassier	0-14	Gapolania	Port Hope International Stadium, Port Hope
31 January 2021	Maucha	7-0	Tengaria	Kingsleigh Blues RFC Park, Kingsleigh
2 February 2021	Garambura	31-7	Gapolania	Brooksveld Park, Bloemstad
3 February 2021	Cassier	10-11	Tengaria	P. J. Van der Herdens Stadium, Konningstad
7 February 2021	Cassier	5-13	Maucha	P. J. Van der Herdens Stadium, Konningstad

Pool D

Estmere taking on Azmara at the Stadium Satavia, Port Hope

Team	Pld	W	D	L	BP	Total Pts
Template:Country data Estmere	4	3	0	1	2	14
Azmara	4	3	1	0	0	14
Soravia	4	1	1	2	2	8
Gaullica	4	1	0	3	2	6
Bistravia	4	1	0	3	0	4

Pool D opened with Estmere defeating Soravia 19-14 in a closely matched game. Azmara defeated the under-whelming Gaullica 12-0 two days later, in what was described as an "early upset" for the Gaullican team by Le Monde. Estmere would comprehensively dismantle Bistravia in a 21-5 victory, during which fullback Liam Freeke scored a late try in the 76th minute, having received the ball within his own twenty-two, and the try was later chosen as the try of the tournament. Soravia and Azmara drew 0-0, the second 0-0 draw in the tournament (itself only the second 0-0 draw in a Rugby World Cup match since 1997). Old rivals Gaullica and Estmere faced off at the Victoriaburg City Stadium on 24 January, and a re-vitalised Gaullica team lead at half-time, before the Black Stags fought back to win the match 24-17. Bistravia then unexpectedly beat a B-side Soravia 8-3, picking up four points in the process, and giving the team their first World Cup victory since 2013. Soravia bounced back to beat Gaullica 26-21, widely considered to be another upset for a struggling Gaullica side, before Azmara too shocked Estmere, beating them 6-5. Gaullica's only victory in the tournament came from their 13-0 win over Bistravia, who were then beaten again four days later in the final game of Pool D 12-0 by Azmara. Azmara's win but failure to capture a bonus point left them equal on points with Estmere but behind on points difference, leaving them as runners-up in Pool D on 14 points. Soravia's eight points ensured automatic qualification for the 2025 tournament but left them knocked out in the group stage, whilst perhaps the biggest shock was Gaullica finishing fourth, with five points. As a result, Gaullica, for the first time, will have to qualify to participate in the 2025 World Cup, and it is only the second time that Gaullica has failed to progress through the pool stage. Bistravia finished last, with four points.

16 January 2021	Template:Country data Estmere	19-14	Soravia	Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg
18 January 2021	Azmara	12-0	Gaullica	Fort Kinnon Arena, Port Arthur-Fort Kinnon
20 January 2021	Bistravia	5-21	Template:Country data Estmere	Kingsleigh Blues RFC Park, Kingsleigh
22 January 2021	Soravia	0-0	Azmara	Port Hope International Stadium, Port Hope
24 January 2021	Gaullica	17-24	Template:Country data Estmere	Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg
26 January 2021	Bistravia	8-3	Soravia	Krooksveld Road Stadium, Northport
30 January 2021	Soravia	26-21	Gaullica	Satavian Airlines Oval, Windstad
1 February 2021	Azmara	6-5	Template:Country data Estmere	Stadium Satavia, Port Hope
3 February 2021	Bistravia	0-13	Gaullica	Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg
7 February 2021	Bistravia	0-12	Azmara	Stadium Satavia, Port Hope

Knockout Stage

The knockout stage for the 2021 Rugby World Cup consisted of three single-elimination rounds, leading to the final and third-place play-off. In the event of a tie, ten minutes of extra time would be played. In the event of a tie after extra time, a further ten minutes of extra time would be played. If the game was still tied after that, a kicking competition would determine the winner.

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	20 February – Port Hope (DePex)
	Rizealand	19
					27 February – Port Hope (DePex)
	Azmara	7
					Rizealand	12
	20 February – Victoriaburg
					Satavia	13
	Satavia	14
									7 March – Port Hope (DePex)
	Gapolania	10
									Satavia	17
	21 February – Port Arthur-Fort Kinnon
									Garambura	28
	Garambura	8
					28 February – Victoriaburg
	Nuvania	5
					Garambura	18
	21 February – Port Hope (International)
					Caldia	14			Third place
	Template:Country data Estmere	17
									6 March – Port Hope (International)
	Caldia	19
									Rizealand	3
									Caldia	17

Quarter-finals

The first two quarter-finals were played on Saturday, with Rizealand comfortably defeating Azmara 19-7, despite Azmara taking the first points of the game when fly-half Harald Helmutssun scored in the 21st minute. A try from Ronnie Hendrick left the scores even at half time, before two tries from Jack Modrich sealed the game for Rizealand. Later that evening, Satavia struggled to overcome Gapolania, despite an early try for Arthur Goodwin, before it was sealed for Satavia by captain Jonty Warwick with a try in the corner in the 62nd minute.

The next day, Garambura faced Nuvania in a tightly contested match. After full time, both teams were equal at 5-5, and despite twenty minutes of extra time it looked as if the match was heading towards sudden death; however, a drop goal from Jean-Loup Dupuy in the 101st minute booked Garambura a place in the semi-finals. Estmere faced Caldia in the final quarter-final, which saw conversions decide the game. Estmere seemed to have the momentum after scoring two tries within quick succession in the second half, but after a 74th-minute try from Liam Crookshank the teams were even at 17 all until Crookshank successfully kicked the conversion, taking Caldia two points ahead. It would remain that way, seeing Caldia knock out Estmere and reserve a place in the semi-finals.

20 February 2021 17:00

Rizealand	19-7	Azmara
Try: Hendrick 32' c Modrich 44', 63' c Con: O'Leary (2/3) 33', 64'		Try: Helmutssun 21' c Con: Helmutssun (1/1) 22'

Stadium Satavia, Port Hope Attendance: 56,492 Referee: Edward Scott (Satavia)

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20 February 2021 19:00

Satavia	14-10	Gapolania
Try: Goodwin 17' c Warwick 62' c Con: Reeve (2/2) 18' 64'		Try: Yutucha 51' c Con: Zella (1/1) 52' Pen: Zella '39

Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg Attendance: 64,391 Referee: Daniel McCaw (Estmere)

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21 February 2021 17:00

Garambura	8-5 (a.e.t.)	Nuvania
Try: d'Amaritz 27' Drop: Dupuy 100+1'		Try: van der Sandt 58'

Fort Kinnon Arena, Port Arthur-Fort Kinnon Attendance: 52,186 Referee: Éamonn Ó Cadhla (Caldia)

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21 February 2021 19:00

Template:Country data Estmere	17-19	Caldia
Try: Hallick 27' Freeke 56' c Guinness 68' Con: Guinness (1/3) 57'		Try: Ó Cuillinn 9' c Mac Conchobhar 33' Crookshank 74' c Con: Crookshank (2/3) 10', 76'

Port Hope International Stadium, Port Hope Attendance: 58,985 Referee: Cyril Batteux (Gaullica)

Semi-finals

The first semi-final, between Rizealand, the 1985 champions and host Satavia, took place on 27 February, a week after their quarter-final matches. After Rizealand's Louis Malley was given a yellow card for stamping in the ruck, Satavia took the lead just before halftime courtesy of a try by captain Jonty Warwick and further extended their lead to 10 points earlier into the second half. However, two tries in quick succession from Eddie Keenan and Thomas Walters took Rizealand into the lead with just over ten minutes left on the clock. A drop goal from Reeve in the 80th minute denied Rizealand a place in the final, as Satavia took victory 13-12. The referee, Guillaume Jalibet was intensely criticised after the match over the handling of Louis Malley's yellow card; many believed it should have been red, and that had Satavia lost it would have been due to an error by the officials. In the second semi-final, Garambura denied the quick starting Caldia in a game characterised by penalties - Caldia's Crookshank missed all five penalty goal attempts, whilst Dupuy took points off two penalty goal attempts, handing Garambura the victory by four points, setting up a meeting with Satavia in the final.

27 February 2021 20:00

Rizealand	12-13	Satavia
Try: Keenan 62' c Walters 67' Con: O'Leary (1/2) 63'		Try: Warwick 33' c Con: Reeve (1/1) 34' Pen: Reeve (1/1) 53' Drop: Reeve 80'

Stadium Satavia, Port Hope Attendance: 70,053 Referee: Guillaume Jalibet (Garambura)

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28 February 2021 20:00

Garambura	18-14	Caldia
Try: Vavi 38' Salomon 49' c Con: Dupuy (1/2) 50', Pen: Dupuy (2/4) 26', 55'		Try: Ó Faoláin 14' c Ó Cadhla 64' c Con: Crookshank (2/2) 15', 65'

Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg Attendance: 63,481 Referee: Hendrik de Klerk (Nuvania)

Bronze final

Despite losing to a seemingly invincible Rizealand in the pool stage, Caldia comprehensively dismantled Rizealand to take a powerful 17-3 victory, despite two disallowed tries, to secure third-place in the tournament. Crookshank scored an early try, before Larry Williams made it a 14-0 lead just before half time. Crookshank would extend Calda's lead with a penalty goal in the second half, before O'Leary put Rizealand on the score sheet with a penalty goal in the 65th minute, having missed two previous attempts. Satavian-born Derek van der Merwe stepped down as Rizealand's head coach after the loss.

6 March 2021 20:00

Rizealand	3-17	Caldia
Pen: O'Leary (1/3) 65'		Try: Crookshank 7' c Williams 38' c Con: Crookshank (2/2) 8', 40' Drop: Crookshank (1/2) 56'

Port Hope International Stadium, Port Hope Attendance: 59,373 Referee: Richie Parker (Estmere)

Final

Hosts Satavia entered the game as firm favourites to beat Garambura and take a second World Cup victory. However, the game started poorly for Satavia when Garamburan captain Jean-Loup Dupuy scored an early try just seven minutes into the game. Satavia were unable to recover effectively, and Gabriel Jabavu scored a controversial try in the 24th minute. Replays played in the stadium showed Jabavu with a foot in touch, but the try was awarded nonetheless by the referee Mark Goldbridge. Maximilian Blanc would go over for his first try of the tournament in the 31st minute, to take the score to 0-21. A fight, instigated by Dian Peters, lead to multiple injuries including Peters himself, as well as Blanc. Both players were taken to the medical centre and substituted as injury replacements. During the incident, referee Goldbridge was punched in the jaw and was treated on the pitch. No on-field penalties were given, however, amateur footage posted on Chirper later triggered a Kylaris Rugby hearing for Dian Peters, who received a twenty-four-week ban for instigating the incident. Soon after the second half began, Satavia scored their first points of the match after Thandiwe Dandala was sin-binned for a reckless tackle on Warwick, who successfully kicked the penalty goal. The Dolphins made it 21-10 when Sebastian Wilkie gave Satavia their first try of the match, followed four minutes later by Dandala scoring in the corner, to pull the score to 10-28. Warwick scored after eighty minutes and following the conversion, making the final score 17-28.

7 March 2021 20:00

Satavia	17-28	Garambura
Try: Wilkie 65' c Warwick 80+4' Con: Reeve (2/2) 66', 80+5' Pen: Warwick (1/1) 44'		Try: Dupuy 7' c Jabavu 24' c Blanc 31' c Dandala 69' c Con: Dupuy (4/4) 7', 25', 31, 69'

Stadium Satavia, Port Hope Attendance: 70,758 Referee: Mark Goldbridge (Rizealand)

Statistics

Most tries

9 tries

• Jonty Warwick

6 tries

• Jean-Loup Dupuy

5 tries

• Liam Crookshank
• Piet du Preez

4 tries

• Template:Country data Estmere Ben Freeke
• Thandiwe Dandala
• Eddie Keenan
• Arthur Goodwin
• Dicky Reeve

Top point scorers

Top 5 point scorers

Player	Team	Total	Details
			Tries	Conversions	Penalties	Drop goals
Jean-Loup Dupuy	Garambura	93	6	12	12	1
Jonty Warwick	Satavia	82	9	5	6	3
Liam Crookshank	Caldia	62	5	14	3	0
Pete O'Leary	Rizealand	62	1	12	11	0
Dicky Reeve	Satavia	57	2	13	6	1

Broadcasting

• Alsland: ANS
• Azmara: ARF
• Caldia: TRN Spórt
• Template:Country data Estmere: EBS 1 & EBS Sport
• Etruria: ARE
• Gapolania: RTG Sport
• Montecara: Teleràdio Montecarà
• Nuvania: NuSport
• Rwizikuru: RIS
• Satavia: SBC
• Tengaria: Tengarska Televiziya
• West Miersa: Telewizja Mierska