Rugby World Cup 2021 New Zealand Postponed to 2022
World Rugby has announced that Rugby World Cup 2021, originally scheduled to take place from September 18 to October 16 in New Zealand will be postponed to 2022.
The Japan Rugby Football Union President, Shigetaka Mori commented:
“Following the decision to postpone Rugby World Cup 2021 due to the impact of the global COVID-19 pandemic, I would like to reinforce the JRFU’s unwavering determination to qualify for next year’s tournament and to deliver our best performance at a Rugby World Cup. The decision to postpone RWC2021 has been made to ensure the tournament offers the best environment for all participating teams to perform on the greatest stage and I am confident that our Sakura Fifteens accept it positively and will use it as an opportunity to grow further and keep making steady progress.
“For all fans of the Sakura Fifteen I would like to ask you to stay connected to the players and team and look forward with anticipation to what they will achieve next year in New Zealand.”
The Japan Women’s National Rugby Team Head Coach, Lesley McKenzie commented:
“We were fortunate to be together as a team in camp when we received the news about the postponement of World Cup 2021. Being together was fantastic as we could support each other and begin to reshape our vision for the next stage of our work.
“The quality of rugby played at the tournament next year will be superior as a result of the postponement, as all nations by then will have had an opportunity to prepare themselves on something more closely resembling an even playing field. That is an outcome worth celebrating. I have complete trust in our girls and our staff to take this as an opportunity, rather than an obstacle, and personally I’m very happy to have both a ‘bonus year’ with this group and I’m very excited in terms of what it means we can achieve with this team.”