The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005.

[2] The result marked the third time that the tournament was won by the country that hosted the event (following New Zealand in 1987 and South Africa in 1995).

[5][6] The games ran over six weeks, commencing on 9 September 2011 with the opening ceremony showcasing New Zealand's history and diverse cultures.

The final was played at Eden Park in Auckland on 23 October 2011, a date chosen because it fell on a long weekend of New Zealand's Labour Day holiday.

In the years between winning the bid and the staging of the event, New Zealand news media and social agencies cast aspersions on the nation's readiness and appropriate use of national funds for sports infrastructure, as has happened with most large, international, quadrennial, multi-location sporting events of recent decades such as the 2012 Olympics, 2010 FIFA World Cup and the 2010 Commonwealth Games.

In late 2008 Rugby World Cup Minister Murray McCully said the remaining consent process might need to be overridden by legislation for the work to be completed on time.

[13] A July 2009 report by the Auckland Regional Transport Authority, released under the Official Information Act, warned of lack of readiness and complacency, despite the fact that "the levels of patron movement and operational standard [needed for the RWC] are in reality significantly above what is currently delivered.

An April 2010 progress report stated that the project remained on target for completion prior to the Rugby World Cup, although there was a medium level of risk with some significant and potentially damaging concerns.

[18] Damage caused by the 2011 Christchurch earthquake forced the relocation of a number of cup matches, including the quarter-finals.

[9][19] Twelve of the nations at this tournament had competed in every previous Rugby World Cup – Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Romania, Scotland, and Wales.

The Government considered passing a law bypassing the consent process to allow all the stadiums' redevelopment to be completed in time.

After much public outcry, and lack of support from the Auckland Regional Council, the proposal was dropped in favour of the redevelopment of Eden Park.

[24] The rankings and bands were therefore: New Zealand (1), South Africa (2), Australia (3) and Argentina (4); Wales (5), England (6), France (7) and Ireland (8); Scotland (9), Fiji (10), Italy (11) and Tonga (12).

The opening ceremony for the 2011 Rugby World Cup took place at Eden Park in Auckland on 9 September 2011 at 19:30 (NZST).

The ceremony featured a blend of traditional Māori and modern New Zealand culture, and began with a fleet of 26 waka entering the city harbour.

It featured traditional haka and sipi tau dances in reference to the opening match between New Zealand and Tonga, and ended with a large pyrotechnics display.

[30][31] New Zealand France Tonga Canada Japan Argentina England Scotland Georgia Romania Australia Ireland Italy United States Russia South Africa Wales Samoa Fiji Namibia The first round, or pool stage, saw the twenty teams divided into four pools of five teams using the same format that was used in 2003 and in 2007.