1991 Women's Rugby World Cup final

1991 Rugby World Cup Final

Event	1991 Rugby World Cup
United States England 19 6
Date	14 April 1991
Venue	Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Referee	Les Peard (Wales) [1]
Attendance	c. 3,000 [2]
1994 →

The 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup Final was a rugby union match to decide the winner of the inaugural 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup. The match was between the United States and England, it took place on 14 April 1991 at Cardiff Arms Park in Wales. The United States were crowned the first-ever Champions after defeating England 19–6. ^{[3] [4] [5]}

Route to the final

Main article: 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup

England		Round	United States
Opponent	Result	Pool stage	Opponent	Result
Spain	12–0	Match 1	Netherlands	7–0
Italy	25–9	Match 2	Soviet Union	46–0
Team Won Drawn Lost For Against   England 2 0 0 37 9   Spain 1 0 1 13 19   Italy 0 0 2 16 25		Final standing	Team Won Drawn Lost For Against   United States 2 0 0 53 0   Netherlands 1 0 1 28 7   Soviet Union 0 0 2 0 74
Opponent	Result	Knockout stage	Opponent	Result
France	13–0	Semi-finals	New Zealand	7–0

The United States were placed in Pool 3 with the Netherlands and the Soviet Union. They defeated Netherlands 7–0 in Pontypool and then later thrashed the Soviet Union 46–0 in Cardiff. ^[5] They met New Zealand in the semifinal at Cardiff Arms Park and beat them 7–0. ^[6]

England were pooled with Spain and Italy in Pool 4. Their first match was against Spain in Swansea which they won 12–0. ^[7] They beat Italy 25–9 in their last pool match and then went on to beat France 13–0 in their semifinal clash and earn themselves a place in the final with USA. ^{[7] [8]}

Match

14 April 1991

England	6–19	United States
Try: Penalty try Con: Gill Burns		Try: Claire Godwin (2) Patty Connell Con: Chris Harju (2) Pen: Chris Harju

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff

Summary

The Final took place in front of almost 3,000 people in Cardiff Arms Park. England led in the first half 6–3 after Gill Burns converted a penalty try. The second half belonged to the Americans as they scored 16 unanswered points with two tries from Claire Godwin and a try to Patty Connell with Chris Harju successfully converting two goals. The USA were champions in the end with 19–6. ^{[6] [9] [10] [11]}

References

1. "Hollie Davidson Appointed Referee for Rugby World Cup 2021 Final".
2. "1991 Women's Rugby World Cup (partially found footage of international rugby union matches; 1991)".
3. "USA RUGBY REMEMBERS 1991 WOMEN'S WORLD CUP TEAM". USA Rugby. 14 April 2018. Retrieved 23 February 2022.
4. "Vodka, Monsters and a disputed third place: the 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup". World Rugby Museum. 7 August 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
5. Birch, John (14 April 2016). "Remembering WRWC'91: The final and the legacy". Scrum Queens. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
6. "Jervey: WRWC 1991 was "an experience of a lifetime"". www.rugbyworldcup.com. 14 April 2017. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
7. "Women's Rugby World Cup 1991: How the historic tournament left a lasting legacy". www.world.rugby. 6 April 2021. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
8. "Rugby World Cup 1991 30th anniversary: Today's players reflect on women's rugby pioneers". www.women.rugby. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
9. "USA Women's Rugby World Cup 1991 Champions Reunite at Atlanta 7s". djcoilrugby. 7 April 2016. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
10. "History | Rugby World Cup 2021". www.rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 22 February 2022.
11. Young, Wendy (15 April 2016). "'91 USA Rugby Women's Rugby World Cup Winners Honored". YSCRugby | Women's Rugby News. Retrieved 22 February 2022.