1991 Women's Rugby World Cup

1991 Women's Rugby World Cup

Cwpan Rygbi'r Byd 1991 i Ferched
Tournament details
Host nation	Wales
Dates	6 April – 14 April 1991
No. of nations	12
Final positions
Champions	United States (1st title)
Runner-up	England
Tournament statistics
Matches played	15
1994 →

The 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup was the first Women's Rugby World Cup. The tournament was not approved by the International Rugby Board (IRB), yet it still went ahead despite the disapproval of the sports governing body. France confirmed their participation only minutes before the draw was made on 26 February.^[1] Representatives of the IRB, WRFU and RFU attended the final, but it was not until 2009 that the IRB officially, and retrospectively, recognised and endorsed the event as a "world cup" when it published, for the first time, a list of previous winners in a press release.

The tournament was held in and around Cardiff, Wales.^[1] Twelve teams competed for the trophy, divided into four pools of three teams each. Each team played three pool matches on 6 April, 8 April, and 10 April, and the semifinals were played on 12 and 14 April. This meant that the championship teams played five matches over nine days, with only one day of rest between matches.

The tournament champions were the United States who defeated England 19–6 in the final at Cardiff Arms Park in front of almost 3,000 fans.^[2] The teams that failed to qualify for the semi-finals took part in a "plate" tournament between 11 and 13 April.