Women's Rugby World Cup

1990s Before the first Women's Rugby World Cup officially sanctioned by the International Rugby Board there had been three previous tournaments of a similar nature. The first of these was an event held in August 1990 in New Zealand. Though not considered a world cup, the tournament was referred to as the World Rugby Festival for Women. The competition included teams representing the United States, the Netherlands, Russia, and the hosts, New Zealand – who emerged as winners after defeating the United States in the final. The first tournament referred to as the Women's Rugby World Cup was held in 1991 and hosted by Wales. Twelve countries were divided into four groups of three. The United States, against expectations, took the first championship with a 19–6 victory over England. In the Plate competition Canada prevailed over Spain 18–4. Following the first tournament, it was decided to move the tournament schedule to the year prior to the next men's world cup, therefore reducing the quadrennial cycle to just three years. The next event was originally scheduled to take place in Amsterdam but ended up being moved to Scotland. Eleven countries competed in the tournament with the English meeting the United States in the final for the second time; however, in this instance England emerged as winners. The 1998 tournament became the first women's world cup officially sanctioned by the International Rugby Board. Amsterdam, who were originally scheduled to host the previous world cup, hosted the largest ever tournament with all matches played at the new National Rugby Centre in the city's west end. The tournament also saw a record sixteen teams compete. New Zealand, who withdrew from the previous tournament, also competed. The final saw New Zealand defeat the United States and claim their first world cup title. 2000–present The next event was taken to Spain in 2002. New Zealand won the title for the second time by defeating England 19–9 in the final. The 2006 World Cup took place in Edmonton, Canada, and was the first major international rugby union tournament and women's world cup held in North America. New Zealand defeated England in the final to win their third successive world cup title. A record four countries expressed interest in hosting the 2010 World Cup. After considering bids from England, Germany, Kazakhstan and South Africa, the IRB announced that the 2010 event would take place in England. The tournament was staged in London, with the final played at the Twickenham Stoop. The 2017 World Cup was hosted by the Irish Rugby Football Union, which governs the sport on an All-Ireland basis. Games were held in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and in Belfast in Northern Ireland. The tournament was held one year earlier than usual in order to re-align the Women's Rugby World Cup's scheduling for greater synergy with the Summer Olympics (which added rugby sevens in 2016) one year prior, and Rugby World Cup Sevens held the following year. The tournament was to return to a four-year cycle afterward, with the 2021 Rugby World Cup awarded to New Zealand. The 2021 tournament in New Zealand was postponed by one year to 2022 due to the COVID-19 pandemic; it will still be branded as the 2021 Rugby World Cup. In 2025 the competition finals were expanded to 16 teams, from the 12 competing in 2021. On 12 May 2022, World Rugby announced that England, Australia and the United States would host the next three women's tournaments in 2025, 2029, and 2033 respectively. As part of a new strategy, Australia and the United States were also awarded the preceding men's tournaments in 2027 and 2031 respectively—marking the first time that the men's and women's Rugby World Cup will be held successively in the same host nation. In October 2023, as part of a new brand identity unveiled for the tournaments, World Rugby reversed its decision to drop the gender designation from the women's tournament, returning to the previous "Women's Rugby World Cup" title beginning 2025, but rebranding the Rugby World Cup as the "Men's Rugby World Cup" beginning 2027. World Rugby stated that the rebranding was meant to "promote unity across the tournament and provide clarity and consistency for fans". ==Results and records==

New Zealand have the most tournament wins, having won six times. England hold the record for most finals contested, having appeared in nine of the ten finals to date, and have been in the top three in every single tournament. The record for most points overall is held by English player Emily Scarratt, who has scored 175 during her World Cup career. She also holds the record for most points in one tournament, with 70 in 2014. Canadian Magali Harvey holds the record for most points scored in a match by a single player, 41; she achieved this in the pool stage of the 2017 tournament against Hong Kong national rugby union team. Ireland's Realtine Shrieves holds the record for most penalty goals in a game, with five. New Zealand's Kendra Cocksedge holds the conversion record of 13 in a single fixture, in which her countrywoman Portia Woodman set the single-game try-scoring record of eight vs Hong Kong in 2017. The 1998 fixture between New Zealand and Germany, with a final score of 134–6, set records for the highest combined points score (140), the most points scored by a single team (134), and the largest winning margin (128). Tournaments Team records Participating nations Q = nation qualified for Final Tournament not yet played w = nation withdrew from (final) Tournament e = nation eliminated in qualifying stage and did not reach Final Tournament – = nation did not enter competition. The following nations have participated in qualifying stages, but have never reached the Final Tournament: e = nation eliminated in qualifying stage and did not reach Final Tournament w = nation withdrew from qualifying stage p = nation possibly eliminated in qualifying stage and will need to be successful in Repechage in order to reach Final Tournament – = nation did not enter qualifying stage competition. ==Debut of national teams==

Final referees • 1991: Les Peard • 1994: Jim Fleming • 1998: Ed Morrison • 2002: Giulio De Santis • 2006: Simon McDowell • 2010: Sarah Corrigan • 2014: Amy Perrett • 2017: Joy Neville • 2021: Hollie Davidson • 2025: Hollie Davidson • 2029: TBA ==Format==

The format for the 2006 tournament split the 12 participating nations into four pools of three teams. Each nation played three games, after the completion of which a re-seeding process took place. Nations were moved into divisions dictated by their respective overall tournament ranking with the top teams proceeding to the knockout stages. The 2010 event maintained the number of teams participating at twelve, with regional qualifying tournaments. The 2021 tournament retained the same format, but with the classification round replaced with quarter-finals, as with the men's Rugby World Cup. In 2025, the tournament will expand to 16 teams. == Trophy ==

The current trophy for the Winners of the Women's Rugby World Cup was made for the 2025 tournament in England. Designed and crafted by London silversmith's Thomas Lyte, the trophy is made of sterling silver and plated with 24-carat gold. Made to stand at the same height as the Men's Rugby World Cup Trophy, the trophy is 38 cm tall and weighs 4.5 kg. The design was selected by nine former world champions; Rachael Burford, Gill Burns, Monalisa Codling, Katy Daley-McLean, Fiao'o Fa'amausili, Sarah Hunter, Farah Palmer, Anna Richards and Melodie Robinson, and was selected to address criticism of the previous trophy being too small. and was one of the last items to be arranged for the World Cup. Dorrington was drawn to the intricate lace detail round the top of the trophy, but it later transpired this made it almost impossible to drink from. The trophy was awarded again at the 1994 Women's Rugby World Cup, but replaced for the 1998 edition when the IRB took over organisation of the competition. and medals on parliament steps The second trophy would be presented at the next seven tournaments up to and including the 2021 Women's Rugby World Cup; won by New Zealand. This trophy was nicknamed 'Nancy' by the Black Ferns, who won it six times, in a reference to New Zealand World War II hero; Nancy Wake. After being replaced, the first trophy then went on tour, was displayed during road shows put on by the Rugby Football Union for Women and was also briefly on display at the World Rugby Museum. The trophy disappeared after going on tour in 2006 and it was assumed that it had been melted down. It was later learnt through Phil McGowan at the World Rugby Museum that the trophy had been made in 1924. The second trophy, after being retired, was also put on display at the World Rugby Museum. ==Media coverage==

The tournament has grown considerably in recent editions, with attendance more than tripling between 2017 and 2021 editions, then again from 2021 to 2025 which saw over four hundred thousand fans attend the tournament, including record attendance for the competition at both the opening game, and the sold out final at Twickenham. There has been commensurate growth with the television coverage, 1.3 million New Zealanders - over a quarter of the Kiwi population - watched the Black Ferns victory against the Red Roses during the 2021 edition. During the 2025 edition TF1 saw 3.8 million viewers for France's semi-final clash with England, and the BBC saw 5.8 million viewers for the final against Canada. In the United Kingdom, Sky Sports broadcast 13 live matches from the 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup, including the semi-finals, the third and fourth place play-off match and the final. The pool matches shown included all of England's matches, while each of the home nations' featured live too. There were also highlights shown from all other matches during the pool stages. From 2017, the Women's Rugby World Cup was shown on free-to-air TV on ITV (2017–2021) and the BBC (2025—). In Ireland the Women's Rugby World Cup was broadcast by TG4 in 2014, the Irish language channel received praise for airing the tournament. TG4 provided coverage to all of the Irish matches as well as the final and semi-final. ==See also==