The 2011 Rugby World Cup finals period is in full swing in Auckland. Pool play in Wellington was featured here.

Check out the schedule of entertainment at the Rugby Village Fanzone.

The 7th Rugby World Cup is the largest global sporting event in 2011. It takes place across New Zealand from Friday 9 September to Sunday 23 October 2011.

Wellington hosted 8 Rugby World Cup matches between 11 September and 9 October. All matches were held at Wellington Regional Stadium in Thorndon (Westpac Stadium renamed Wellington Regional Stadium for the event).

RWC Festival of Carnivale Events in Wellington

Wellington's Festival of Carnivale boasted a wide variety of events taking place during the Rugby World Cup festivities. The Festival of Carnivale incorporates exhibitions, performing arts events, cultural showcases, street entertainment and plenty of rugby-based events to keep visitors entertained in between rugby matches.

The Festival Fanzone is located at the Wharewaka on Taranaki Street Wharf on Wellington's waterfront and is the main venue for daily entertainment, including a series of free gigs by leading local bands. See the line up of Fanzone Entertainment here. While you're there, check out Macs Brewery Bar and Restaurant.

There were also festivities in Courtenay Place during the Quarter Finals weekend (8-9 October) where the streets of Courtenay Place turned into a party zone for fans.

There are a number of Official RWC 2011 Heineken Bars spread across the city where fans are encouraged to gather, including:

- The Grand on Courtenay Place

- The Lanes Bowling Lounge on Wakefield Street

- St John's Heineken Hotel on Cable St (near the official Fanzone)

- The Greenman Pub on the corner of Willis St and Victoria St

See the schedule of matches for Wellington below.

2011 Rugby World Cup Schedule - Wellington Matches
Date - Pool - Teams - Time (NZT)

Sun 11 Sept - Pool D - South Africa v Wales 8:30pm

Sat 17 Sept - Pool D - South Africa v Fiji 6pm

Fri 23 Sept - Pool C - Australia v USA 8:30pm

Sun 25 Sept - Pool B - Argentina v Scotland 8:30pm

Sat 1 Oct - Pool A - France v Tonga 6pm

Sun 2 Oct - Pool A - New Zealand v Canada 3:30pm

Sat 8 Oct - Quarter Final 1: Ireland v Wales 6pm

Sun 9 Oct - Quarter Final 3: South Africa v Australia 6pm

Wellington hosted the defending cup holders, South Africa against Wales in the first big game in the capital on Sunday 11 September 2011. Along with the All Blacks, Wellington hosted pool matches featuring the Springboks, Wales, Fiji, Australia, Tonga, France, USA and Canada.

The weekend before the quarter-finals was also a blockbuster, with France v Tonga on the Saturday and the All Blacks versus Canada on the Sunday. This double-header kicked off a festival week in Wellington leading up to the quarter finals. The Wellington City Council pulled out all the stops to make sure fans have a memorable stay in Wellington.

2011 Rugby World Cup Pools
Pool A: New Zealand All Blacks, France, Tonga, Canada, Japan
Pool B: Argentina, England, Scotland, Georgia, Romania
Pool C: Australia, Ireland, Italy, Russia, USA
Pool D: South Africa, Wales, Fiji, Samoa, Namibia

The 48 RWC matches that comprise the Tournament are scheduled across 12 venues in 12 cities: Auckland, North Shore (Auckland), Whangarei, Hamilton, Rotorua, New Plymouth, Napier, Palmerston North, Wellington, Nelson, Dunedin, and Invercargill.

The first match of Rugby World Cup 2011 (RWC 2011) kicked off in New Zealand on Friday 9 September 2011 with New Zealand All Blacks vs Tonga at Eden Park, Auckland.

The Final, Bronze Final and both semi-finals will be played at Eden Park in Auckland. The two venues and the quarter-final matches they will host have also been confirmed. Wellington will host Quarter-final 1 (winner Pool C versus runner-up Pool D) and Quarter-final 3 (winner Pool D versus runner-up Pool C) while Auckland will host Quarter-final 2 (winner Pool B versus runner-up Pool A) and Quarter-final 4 (winner Pool A versus runner-up Pool B).

In addition, the dates for the final weekend, which coincides with Labour Day, have been confirmed with the Bronze Final to take place on Friday October 21 at Eden Park, followed by the Final on Sunday October 23 at the same venue.

Rugby World Cup 2011: You Gotta Be There