The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. 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. The IRB Council eliminated South Africa in the first of two rounds of voting.

The tournament was won by New Zealand, who defeated France 8–7 in the final.South Africa, the defending champions, were eliminated by Australia 11–9 in the quarter-finals.

It was the largest sporting event ever held in New Zealand, eclipsing the 1987 Rugby World Cup, 1990 Commonwealth Games, 1992 Cricket World Cup and the 2003 America's Cup. Overseas visitors to New Zealand for the event totalled 133,000, more than the 95,000 that the organisers expected. However there was a drop in non-event visitors, meaning the net increase in visitors over the previous year was less than 80,000.

The games ran over six weeks commencing with the Rugby World Cup 2011 Opening Ceremony showcasing New Zealand's vast history and diverse cultures on 9 September 2011. The final was played on Sunday 23 October 2011, a date chosen because it fell on a long weekend caused by the New Zealand public holiday of Labour Day (Monday, 24 October 2011). The final was played at Eden Park in Auckland.

The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987.

The winners are awarded the William Webb Ellis Cup, named after William Webb Ellis, the Rugby School pupil who – according to a popular myth – invented rugby football by picking up the ball during a game. New Zealand are the current holders, having won the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. The hosts for 2015 and 2019 will be England and Japan respectively.

Qualifying tournaments were introduced for the second tournament, where eight of the sixteen places were contested in a twenty-four-nation tournament. The inaugural World Cup in 1987, did not involve any qualifying process; instead, the 16 places were automatically filled by seven eligible International Rugby Football Board (IRFB, now, International Rugby Board) member nations, and the rest by invitation.

The current format allows for twelve of the twenty available positions to be filled by automatic qualification, as the teams who finish third or better in the group (pool) stages of the previous tournament enter its successor (where they will be seeded). The qualification system for the remaining eight places is region-based, with Europe and the Americas allocated two qualifying places each, Africa, Asia and Oceania one place each, with the last place determined by a play-off.

Israel Dagg (born 6 June 1988) is a World Cup winning New Zealand Rugby union player who plays for the Crusaders in the Super 15 and the All Blacks. He has also played for the New Zealand Sevens team.

Israel Dagg was born in Marton, New Zealand and attended Lindisfarne College in Hastings, Hawke's Bay.

Israel Dagg attended the Advanced Course at the International Rugby Academy (IRANZ) in April 2006. His Course Facilitator was present Chiefs Coach Dave Rennie and Positional Coach former All Black Jeff Wilson. He became the first secondary school player to be selected for Hawke’s Bay since Danny Lee the same year. The 2006 New Zealand Rugby Almanack named him one of its five promising players for 2006. Dagg has represented Hawke's Bay at Under 16 and Under 19 level.

Dagg made his All Blacks debut against Ireland in New Plymouth on 12 June 2010. He was again capped against Wales the following week but was injured at half time.^{[citation needed]}

Coach Graham Henry decided to rest him for the second test against Wales, giving veteran Mils Muliaina an opportunity. Muliaina was awarded the 15 jersey for the opening Tri Nations test against South Africa. A strong performance by the veteran, in the 32–12 result for the All Blacks, led to his being selected again for the rematch against the Springboks. Dagg was awarded a bench spot from which he emerged to score his first international try for the All Blacks. Dagg swerved between Schalk Burger and Pierre Spies before dancing his way to the try line. This try gave New Zealand the try bonus-point in the Investic Tri Nations as the All Blacks won 31–17.^{[citation needed]}