The match schedule for the 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup in Paris has been announced, with Ireland taking on the USA in their opening pool fixture.
Ireland will kick off the tournament against the USA on the Marcoussis 2 pitch on Friday, August 1 (kick-off 5pm local time/4pm Irish time).
The following Tuesday – August 5 – Philip Doyle’s side will play 2010 World Cup champions New Zealand for the first time in Irish Women’s rugby history.
The much-anticipated clash with the Black Ferns will take place on the Marcoussis 1 pitch (6pm French time/5pm Irish time).
The girls in green will finish their Pool B campaign on Saturday, August 9, with an earlier kick-off (1pm local time/12pm Irish time) against Kazakhstan on the Marcoussis 2 pitch.
Ireland defeated both USA and Kazakhstan in the pool stages of the last Rugby World Cup four years ago in England.
They beat a much-fancied USA team 22-12 in their first game and went on to record a 37-3 victory over Kazakhstan.
They then lost to the USA in the fifth-eighth place play-offs before winning the seventh-eighth place play-off clash where they beat Scotland.
Fifteen matches at August’s World Cyp will be broadcast over the five matchdays in the French capital – including six matches from the Stade Jean Bouin, which will host the final.
The pinnacle of the Women’s fifteens game will be held at Fédération Française de Rugby (FFR) headquarters in Marcoussis for the pool stages, before moving to Stade Jean Bouin – the home of Stade Français – for the semi-finals and final.
2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup tournament director Philippe Bourdarias said: “We’re delighted to announce the match schedule today.
“We’ve worked closely with broadcasters and the FFR to ensure an exciting schedule of matches for teams, broadcasters and fans.
“It won’t be long until the first game kicks off on August 1 and with the match schedule released, fans travelling to Paris and fans watching at home can plan for this great tournament.”
Matches from the tournament will be broadcast on Sky Sports in Ireland and the UK, France 4 in the host nation and on Eurosport across most of the continent. Sky have yet to confirm their broadcast schedule for the tournament.
Click here for the full 2014 Women’s Rugby World Cup match schedule.
Tickets for the knockout stages range from just €;5 to €;20 for the semi-finals and from €;5 to €;25 for the final day at Stade Jean Bouin. Click here to buy tickets.
Tickets for the pool stages will be released at a later date.
2014 WOMEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP:
POOL B FIXTURES –
Friday, August 1
New Zealand v Kazakhstan, Marcoussis 2, 1pm
IRELAND v USA, Marcoussis 2, 5pm local time/4pm Irish time
Tuesday, August 5
USA v Kazakhstan, Marcoussis 2, 1pm
New Zealand v IRELAND, Marcoussis 1, 6pm local time/5pm Irish time
Saturday, August 9
IRELAND v Kazakhstan, Marcoussis 2, 1pm local time/12pm Irish time
New Zealand v USA, Marcoussis 1, 6pm
Knockout stages (Wednesday, August 13 and Sunday, August 17)
POOL B IN FOCUS –
* New Zealand and the USA last met on the Women’s Rugby World Cup stage back in the 1998 final when the Black Ferns won 44-12 to be crowned champions for the first time
* The last team to beat New Zealand in a Women’s Rugby World Cup match were the USA, 7-0 in the semi-finals of the inaugural tournament in 1991
* Pool B features two of the three nations to have lifted the trophy in inaugural champions USA and four-time winners New Zealand
* For the second tournament in a row the USA, Ireland and Kazakhstan have been drawn in the same pool
* USA and Ireland actually met twice at the 2010 competition, the girls in green winning the pool encounter 22-12 but then losing the fifth-eight place play-off to the Women’s Eagles 40-3. They have met four times on the Women’s World Cup stage in total, the Americans winning three of the four but the margins having reduced significantly since they won 76-0 in the 1994 quarter-finals!
* Kazakhstan can boast a won two, lost one record against Ireland at a Women’s Rugby World Cup. Kazakhstan won both meetings in the 1998 tournament, but lost 37-3 in 2010
* New Zealand have never played Ireland or Kazakhstan before
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