The Black Ferns won the 2017 Rugby World Cup. Photo / Getty Images
Following the success of the Women's Rugby World Cup in Ireland last year, the competition will undergo a number of changes to enhance the event in 2021.
The changes, signed off by the Rugby World Cup Board, included the addition of a quarterfinal stage, larger squad sizes and longer rest
periods between matches.
World Rugby announced the updates to the competition on Thursday as part of the launch of their selection process for the 2021 host nation.
The 12-team format will remain in the short term while World Rugby focuses on increasing the competitiveness of the 15s game through the competitions and high performance strands of the women's plan.
The revised schedule would see the competition window increase from 23 days to 25. Teams would get four days between pool matches, and five or six between playoff games, and the addition of a quarterfinal would allow nations to compete for a higher position.
