Rugby World Cup 2021: Tournament in numbers
Following a breathless and historic six weeks in New Zealand, the hosts were crowned Rugby World Cup winners for a sixth time last weekend.
The Black Ferns’ 34-31 defeat of England in the Rugby World Cup 2021 final will live long in the memory as the Red Roses came close to becoming Eden Park party poopers.
It was a fitting finale to what has been an extraordinary tournament, marked by record crowds watching scintillating rugby.
As the celebrations begin to subside, we highlight some of the most important statistics from six wonderful weeks in Auckland and Whangārei.
4 – tries scored by Claudia MacDonald in England’s opening 84-19 victory against Fiji at Eden Park. No player scored as many in a single match at RWC 2021.
5 – England players scored three tries or more in a match during RWC 2021, including Amy Cokayne in the final. Eight players in total achieved that feat.
6 – Rugby World Cup titles for the Black Ferns following their 34-31 defeat of England at Eden Park. New Zealand have now beaten the Red Roses in five finals. Kendra Cocksedge and Renee Wickliffe have been part of three of those winning squads.
7 – tries scored across the tournament by Black Ferns winger Portia Woodman, more than any other player. Woodman notched a hat-trick against Australia on opening night and followed that up with four tries in two matches against Wales.
12 – conversions by France fly-half Caroline Drouin in six matches, more than any other player at the tournament.
18 – offloads supplied by Black Ferns co-captain Ruahei Demant in five matches at RWC 2021, to top the charts. Demant turned in a Mastercard Player of the Match performance in her side’s 34-31 defeat of England in the final.
44 – points for tournament top-scorer Emily Scarratt, three more than Les Bleues playmaker Drouin. Scarratt scored all of England’s points as the Red Roses beat France 13-7 in the pool phase.
44 – tries by New Zealand in six tournament matches (7.33 per match). The Black Ferns collectively crossed the whitewash once more than England (43), the only other team to score more than 27 tries during RWC 2021.
50 – clean breaks from New Zealand players during the tournament, 10 more than second-placed England (40) and only seven fewer than beaten semi-finalists France and Canada combined (57).
75 – points, the biggest margin of victory in the 26 matches in New Zealand. It came when England beat South Africa 75-0 at the end of the pool phase.
80 – the number of tackles made by both Alex Callender of Wales and France second-row Madoussou Fall, more than any other player at RWC 2021. Callender amassed that tally in four appearances, one of which was as a replacement, while Fall played five matches in New Zealand.
101 – runs made with ball in hand across the tournament by Canada captain Sophie de Goede. That is 27 more than the next highest, England flanker Marlie Packer (74).
270 – points scored by England in six tournament matches (45 points per match). The Red Roses scored two more points than hosts New Zealand (268), who were the only other team to score more than 200 points.
916 – tackles made by French players during RWC 2021, more than 150 more than second-placed Canada (757). Wales made the third-most tackles in the tournament (753) despite exiting at the quarter-final stage.
42,579 – fans filled a sold-out Eden Park last Saturday, for a day that culminated in the Black Ferns’ dramatic defeat of England in the RWC 2021 final.
