sports federation to rebrand its events in such a way. The 2021 tournament in New Zealand was postponed by one year to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it will still be branded as the 2021 Rugby World Cup. From 2025 the competition finals will be expanded to 16 teams, from the 12 competing in 2021. On 12 May 2022, World Rugby announced that England, Australia and the United States would host the next three women's tournaments in 2025, 2029, and 2033 respectively. As part of a new strategy, Australia and the United States were also awarded the preceding men's tournaments in 2027 and 2031 respectively—marking the first time that the men's and women's Rugby World Cup will be held successively in the same host nation. Results Tournaments Team records Participating nations Q = nation qualified for Final Tournament not yet played w = nation withdrew from (final) Tournament e = nation eliminated in qualifying stage and did not reach Final Tournament – = nation did not enter competition. The following nations have participated in qualifying stages, but have never reached the Final Tournament: e = nation eliminated in qualifying stage and did not reach Final Tournament w = nation withdrew from qualifying stage p = nation possibly eliminated in qualifying stage and will need to be successful in Repechage in order to reach Final Tournament – = nation did not enter qualifying stage competition. Apart from the African region, the nations involved in the continental qualifying stages have not been announced as at 20 October 2019. Refereeing Final referees 1991: Les Peard 1994: Jim Fleming 1998: Ed Morrison 2002: Giulio De Santis 2006: Simon McDowell 2010: Sarah Corrigan 2014: Amy Perrett 2017: Joy Neville 2021: Hollie Davidson Format The format for the 2006 tournament split the 12 participating nations into four pools of three teams. Each nation played three games, after the completion of which a re-seeding process took place. Nations were moved into divisions dictated by their respective overall tournament ranking with the top teams proceeding to the knockout stages. The 2010 event maintained the number of teams participating at twelve, with regional qualifying tournaments. The 2021 tournament retained the same format, but with the classification round replaced with quarter-finals, as with the men's Rugby World Cup. In 2025, the tournament will expand to 16 teams. Media coverage The tournament has grown considerably in the past fifteen years