Te Papa celebrates New Zealand rugby

17 December 2012

The New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) welcomed the release today by the Government of the Host Nation Report on Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011), ahead of a new exhibition at Te Papa which celebrates the tournament and rugby.

NZRU Chief Executive Steve Tew said the report provides further evidence of the success of the Tournament and again underlines how well the country delivered on the promises made in Dublin in November 2005 when the IRB awarded the hosting rights for the seventh Rugby World Cup to New Zealand.

“We promised a tournament the country would be proud of, one that united and inspired New Zealand, one that provided a unique all New Zealand rugby experience for our visitors and we delivered. It was a job well done.

“This was achieved thanks to the extraordinary partnership across central and local government, provincial unions, tourism bodies and many other groups. We want to particularly thank the Government for its strong commitment to delivering an excellent tournament and the support of the previous Government in helping win the bid.

“Our successful hosting is already paying dividends. It certainly helped us secure the hosting rights for the Junior World Championship in 2014.

“From a rugby point of view we also wanted to use the tournament to grow the game and over the past year we have seen plenty of evidence of that. Player numbers are up, we had a bumper Investec Super Rugby season with strong gates (up 43 percent) and TV audiences (up 25 percent) and we know general interest in the game has strengthened.

“We are also proud of how well the All Blacks have lived up to the mantle of being World Champions. The success of other national teams this year, the securing of a new global sponsor and the exciting rugby being played across Super Rugby and domestic competitions shows the game is in good health, though we take nothing for granted.”

The Host Nation Report on RWC 2011 is available online at majorevents.govt.nz.

“One thing we also promised last year after winning the Cup was to share it with the stadium of four million and we will continue to do that over summer,” said Tew.

Tomorrow a new exhibition opens at Te Papa which showcases the tournament and celebrates New Zealand rugby.

The Webb Ellis Cup, won by the All Blacks twice, and Women’s World Cup, won by the Black Ferns four times, are on public display at Te Papa from tomorrow Tuesday 18 December to Wednesday 9 January 2013.

“We are very proud to be world champions in both the men’s and women’s games which really underscores New Zealand’s tremendous record of success across all aspects of rugby so I hope many fans can take advantage of this opportunity,” said Tew.

The Celebrating New Zealand Rugby exhibition also features:

  • All Blacks Captain Richie McCaw’s Rugby World Cup 2011 jersey and winner’s medal

  • Black Ferns Captain Victoria Grant’s World Cup jersey and winner’s medal

  • The 2010 Maori All Blacks Centenary jersey

  • Video highlights from across the rugby spectrum.

“This is a fantastic celebration of how rugby brings us together as a nation. It’s a game that touches so many communities across the country in so many different ways every day and this exhibition provides a great reminder of that.

“We are always keen to get our Cups out of the trophy cabinet and around the country so we are really thankful to Te Papa for making this exhibition happen.”

Note to editors

The Webb Ellis Cup will also be on display over summer at the following locations:

  • 11–14 Jan, National Sevens, Queenstown

  • 15 Jan – 8 Feb, Rugby Museum, Palmerston North

  • 10 Feb, EdenPark Centenary Celebrations / Open Day

Media contact

Mike Jaspers, NZRU Media and Public Relations Manager
027 677 8875
mike.jaspers@nzrugby.co.nz