2021 Rugby World Cup (Kylaris)
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| Rugbywêreldbeker 2021 | |
|---|---|
.png){kind=logo} | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host nation |  Satavia |
| Dates | 15 January – 17 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 2025 → | |
The 2021 Rugby World Cup was the eleventh edition of the Rugby World Cup, hosted in Satavia and held from 15 January to 17 March across twelve venues in the country. The opening match between Caldia and Rwizikuru was played at the Stadium of the Satavians, 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.
Bids
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 | DePex Stadium (Stadium of the Satavians) |
|---|---|---|
| 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.
| Region | Team | Qualification method |
Previous Apps |
Previous best result | World Ranking¹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 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 | |
| File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG 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, 2005, 2009, 2017) | 1 | |
| Template:Country data Estmere | Automatic | 10 | Third place (1997) | 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 |
¹as of 1 January 2019, the final standings before pools were drawn
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 |
|---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
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 the 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 |
|---|---|---|
|
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 recieve 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
.jpg)
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | BP | Total Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Rizealand
|
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 20 |
| Caldia
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 13 |
| File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG 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 DePex Stadium 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 the DePex Stadium 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 for gives them the lowest total points scored by any team at a Rugby World Cup.
| 15 January 2021 | File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru | 3-7 | Caldia |
DePex Stadium, Port Hope |
| 17 January 2021 | Montecara |
3-35 | Rizealand |
Fort Kinnon Arena, Port Arthur-Fort Kinnon |
| 19 January 2021 | File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru | 0-0 | Etruria |
Krooksveld Road Stadium, Northport |
| 21 January 2021 | Caldia |
21-26 | Rizealand |
DePex Stadium, Port Hope |
| 23 January 2021 | Etruria |
11-0 | Montecara |
Satavian Airlines Oval, Windstad |
| 25 January 2021 | File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru | 18-37 | Rizealand |
Kingsleigh Blues RFC Park, Kingsleigh |
| 31 January 2021 | Montecara |
0-10 | File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG 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
| 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 DePex Stadium 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 |
DePex Stadium, Port Hope |
| 7 February 2021 | Satavia |
35-3 | West Miersa |
Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg |
Pool C
.jpg)
| 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 |
DePex Stadium, 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
.jpg)
| 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 | DePex Stadium, Port Hope |
| 3 February 2021 | Bistravia |
0-13 | Gaullica |
Victoriaburg City Stadium, Victoriaburg |
| 7 February 2021 | Bistravia |
0-12 | Azmara |
DePex Stadium, Port Hope |
Knockout Stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 29 January – Port Hope | ||||||||||
| Rizealand | 19 | |||||||||
| 5 February – Port Hope | ||||||||||
| Azmara | 7 | |||||||||
| Rizealand | 12 | |||||||||
| 29 January – Fort Kinnon | ||||||||||
| Satavia | 13 | |||||||||
| Satavia | 14 | |||||||||
| 16 February – Port Hope | ||||||||||
| Gapolania | 10 | |||||||||
| Satavia | 17 | |||||||||
| 31 January – Northport | ||||||||||
| Garambura | 28 | |||||||||
| Garambura | 8 | |||||||||
| 6 February – Port Hope | ||||||||||
| Nuvania | 5 | |||||||||
| Garambura | 18 | |||||||||
| 30 January – Port Hope | ||||||||||
| Caldia | 14 | Third place | ||||||||
| Template:Country data Estmere | 17 | |||||||||
| 13 February – Port Hope | ||||||||||
| Caldia | 19 | |||||||||
| Rizealand | 3 | |||||||||
| Caldia | 17 | |||||||||