Northland’s economy will be hundreds of thousands of dollars richer from top international women’s rugby over consecutive weekends that are expected to draw hordes of tourists to the region.

The six teams playing in the
Rugby World Cup 2021 at Northland Events Centre in Whangārei this Sunday — US, Canada, Wales, Scotland, Italy, Japan — arrived in the city on Monday and are doing a mix of training and exploring the district.

Renowned Kiwi singer-songwriter Ladi6 will headline the games in Whangārei on Sunday.

A dedicated festival zone will play home to Ladi6 during her performance and provide entertainment for the whole whānau as part of a festival of Māori and Pasifika culture with food, entertainment and music throughout the day.

Regional development agency Northland Inc hopes visitors and Kiwis alike visit places outside Whangārei so the economic and financial benefits are spread across the region.

“While Whangārei will be the main beneficiary, we expect people to stay on and travel further into the region to places like the Bay of Islands, the West Coast and Hokianga,” Northland Inc general manager destination Tania Burt said.

“Generally, these games are a huge opportunity for Northland to be on the world stage. Hopefully people stay in Northland for longer and it’s a great opportunity, not only for international visitors, but Northlanders to travel.

“The economic benefits will depend on the number of days people stay here and we hope it’ll be for a few nights and not just for games. If people engage with events as they should, the benefits will be widespread,” she said.

Burt said although it was hard to put even a ballpark on the financial windfall from the games, it was safe to say it would run into hundreds and thousands of dollars.

“The benefits go beyond financial returns. There’s the cultural exchange aspect side of things and that’s the more reason why Northland should get more international events,” Burt said.

Canadian team captain Sophie de Goede and her Italian counterpart Elisa Giordano urged as wide a cross-section of people to get behind the tournament to help promote women’s rugby and Northland as a place to visit.

It’s not de Goede’s first trip to Whangārei. She was part of the Canada team that participated in the Pacific Four Series, commonly known as Pac4, in June and played matches in Whangārei.

“Really enjoyed it here, just walking around, I am a big fan of just checking out the local coffee shops. We’re excited to be back here and so far, so good.”

De Goede said having games in smaller provincial centres like Whangārei or anywhere in the world was important and helped grow the game beyond the traditional venues.

Canada will play just one pool game in Whangārei, against Japan on Sunday, and possibly another if it qualifies for the quarter final.

“We’ve been prepping for Japan for a while now, we’ve done a lot of analysis, we know they’re really a well-structured, well-disciplined team so I think it’s going to be a good game.”

She said in this tournament, there was a lot of parity among teams which meant there were no easy outs.

Her message to Northlanders: “Come out and support, Go Canada and we hope to put on a good show for you.”

Giordano said while her players and management have not had a chance to explore the city yet, they did like what they saw thus far.

“We’ve already spotted some typical places such as restaurants. The city looks small but a very cosy place and we thank you very much for having us and we hope to get a chance to explore Whangārei as soon as possible.”

Like Canada, the Italians also play just one pool match in Whangārei. They are up against United States in the first game on Sunday.

“To all the people from Whangārei, come to the stadium and cheer on your teams. Not only see us at the stadium but see all the teams participating because after Covid, it’s a beautiful opportunity to go to the stadium and have fun on a beautiful day of rugby,” Giordano said.

She’s playing in her second world cup, having featured in the RWC2017 in Dublin.

Giordano said having games in smaller centres like Whangārei would surely help grow women’s rugby, as was the case in Italy.

“In Italy, we basically do the same. Most of the matches, when it comes to women’s rugby, are played in areas where there’s women rugby but at the same time they are not as big places as they normally are for the men’s team. The idea is taking rugby where it won’t be.”

NorthChamber president Tim Robinson said the retail sector would welcome the RWC2021 games with open arms.

“These events are always great. They bring people in who are happy to spend money, which often helps pad some of the quieter times we’ve had.”

Economist Brad Olsen from Infometrics said games being held over the weekend meant people would have solid days of entertainment and if they decided to hang around in the region for longer, the spinoffs would be greater.

“The event has a pretty incredible profile and it puts Whangārei on the international stage. It’s the sort of thing people will have been gearing up for for sometime,” he said.

Tickets to the Whangārei games are available on tickets2021.rugbyworldcup.com.