Most recent tournament 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup | |
.svg){kind=logo} Rugby World Cup logo | |
| Sport | Women's rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 6 April 1991; 34 years ago (1991-04-06) |
| Number of teams | 12;1991 —1994 &2006 —2021 16;1998 —2002 &2025 |
| Regions | Worldwide(World Rugby) |
| Holders | England (3rd title) |
| Most titles | New Zealand(6 titles) |
| Website | rugbyworldcup.com |
| Tournaments |
|---|
TheWomen's Rugby World Cup is thewomen's rugby unionworld championship which is organised byWorld Rugby. The first Rugby World Cup for women was held in1991, but it was not until the1998 tournament that the tournament received official backing from the International Rugby Board (IRB, now World Rugby); by 2009, the IRB had retroactively recognized the 1991 and 1994 tournaments and their champions.[1]
Normally, the tournament is held every four years; it was moved forward in 2017 so that the competition could be held in the year before theCommonwealth Games. The 2021 tournament was postponed to 2022 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic, but still marketed as the 2021 tournament.
Three countries have won the Women's Rugby World Cup since its establishment, withNew Zealand having won the tournament a record six times.
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 inNew Zealand. Though not considered a world cup, the tournament was referred to as theWorld Rugby Festival for Women. The competition included teams representingthe 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 byWales. Twelve countries were divided into four groups of three. The United States, against expectations, took the first championship with a 19–6 victory overEngland.[2] In the Plate competitionCanada prevailed overSpain 18–4. Following the first tournament, it was decided to move the tournament schedule to the year prior to the nextmen's world cup, therefore reducing the quadrennial cycle to just three years.
The next event was originally scheduled to take place inAmsterdam but ended up being moved toScotland. 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.[3]
The 1998 tournament became the first women's world cup officially sanctioned by theInternational 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.[4] 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.
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 inEdmonton, 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.[5]
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A record four countries expressed interest in hosting the 2010 World Cup. After considering bids fromEngland,Germany,Kazakhstan andSouth Africa, the IRB announced that the 2010 event would take place in England.[6] The tournament was staged in London, with the final played at theTwickenham Stoop.[7]
The2017 World Cup was hosted by theIrish Rugby Football Union, which governs the sport on anAll-Ireland basis. Games were held in Dublin in the Republic of Ireland and in Belfast in Northern Ireland.[8][9] 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 theSummer Olympics (which addedrugby sevens in 2016) one year prior, andRugby World Cup Sevens held the following year. The tournament was to return to a four-year cycle afterward,[10] with the2021 Rugby World Cup awarded to New Zealand.[11]
In August 2019, World Rugby announced that in an effort to "elevate the profile of the women's game", the women's championship will be marketed under the "Rugby World Cup" branding, with no gender designation, beginning in 2021. World Rugby stated that the decision was intended to promotegender equality and "[eliminate] any inherent or perceived bias" towards men's events, with chairmanBill Beaumont explaining that it "demonstrates our ongoing and unwavering commitment to advancing women in rugby both on and off the field in line with our ambitious strategic plan." World Rugby became the first major sports federation to rebrand its events in such a way.[11]
The 2021 tournament in New Zealand was postponed by one year to 2022 due to theCOVID-19 pandemic; it will still be branded as the 2021 Rugby World Cup.[12]
In 2025 the competition finals were expanded to 16 teams, from the 12 competing in 2021.[13] On 12 May 2022, World Rugby announced that England, Australia and the United States would host the next three women's tournaments in2025, 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.[14]
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".[15]
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 playerEmily Scarratt, who has scored 175 during her World Cup career. She also holds the record for most points in one tournament, with 70 in2014.[16]
CanadianMagali Harvey holds the record for most points scored in a match by a single player, 41; she achieved this in the pool stage of the2017 tournament againstHong Kong national rugby union team. Ireland's Realtine Shrieves holds the record for most penalty goals in a game, with five. New Zealand'sKendra Cocksedge holds the conversion record of 13 in a single fixture, in which her countrywomanPortia Woodman set the single-game try-scoring record of eight vs Hong Kong in 2017.[16]
Only fivedrop goals have been scored in the history of the competition, one each byElinor Snowsill,Paula Chalmers,Shelley Rae, Amanda Bennett, and Carla Negri.[16]
New Zealand'sPortia Woodman-Wickliffe holds the try record for both a single tournament (13 tries) and in a Rugby World Cup career (20 tries). Realtine Shrieves holds the single tournament penalty record with 11 successful kicks at goal in the 1998 edition. England's Emily Scarratt holds the penalty scoring record with 19 successful kicks across the 2014-2021 editions (she debuted in 2010 but did not take up goal-kicking duties until 2014).
Kendra Cocksedge holds the record for most conversions in a single tournament with 23 in the 2017 edition, while Emily Scarratt maintains the total record with 39 conversions.[16]
During the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup, New Zealand'sBraxton Sorensen-McGee and Canada'sJulia Schell became the only female players to have scored two hat tricks in the tournament's history. Sorensen-McGee scored three tries in back to back matches against Japan and Ireland, and Schell produced a masterclass in scoring six tries (a double hat trick) in one match against Fiji. These are two of only three rugby players in history (men's and women's) to have achieved two hat tricks in one World Cup tournament, the other being former All Black winger Julian Savea in the men's 2015 World Cup.[17][18][19]
The 1998 fixture betweenNew Zealand andGermany, 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).[16]
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third place | Fourth place | Total top 4 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New Zealand | 6 (1998,2002,2006,2010,2017,2021) | 2 (1991,2025) | 8 | ||
 England | 3 (1994,2014,2025) | 6 (1991,2002,2006,2010,2017,2021) | 1 (1998) | 10 | |
 United States | 1 (1991) | 2 (1994,1998) | 1 (2017) | 4 | |
 Canada | 2 (2014,2025) | 4 (1998,2002,2006,2021) | 6 | ||
 France | 7 (1991,1994,2002,2006,2014,2017,2021) | 2 (2010,2025) | 9 | ||
 Australia | 1 (2010) | 1 | |||
 Wales | 1 (1994) | 1 | |||
 Ireland | 1 (2014) | 1 |
| Team | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2017 | 2021 | 2025 | 2029 | 2033 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | – | – | 5th | 7th | 7th | 3rd | 7th | 6th | 6th | 8th | Q | |
 Brazil | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | 15th | ||
| Canada | 5th | 6th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 6th | 2nd | 5th | 4th | 2nd | Q | |
| England | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | Q | |
 Fiji | – | – | – | – | – | w | – | e | 9th | 12th | ||
| France | 3rd | 3rd | 8th | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | Q | |
 Germany | – | w | 14th | 16th | – | e | – | – | – | – | ||
 Hong Kong | – | – | – | e | e | e | e | 12th | w | e | ||
| Ireland | – | 7th | 10th | 14th | 8th | 7th | 4th | 8th | e | 5th | ||
 Italy | 8th | w | 12th | 12th | – | e | e | 9th | 5th | 10th | ||
 Japan | 11th | 8th | – | 13th | e | e | e | 11th | 12th | 11th | ||
 Kazakhstan | – | 9th | 9th | 11th | 11th | 11th | 12th | – | e | e | ||
| Netherlands | 7th | w | 13th | 15th | – | e | e | e | e | e | ||
| New Zealand | 3rd | w | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 5th | 1st | 1st | 3rd | Q | |
 Russia | 11th[a] | 11th | 16th | – | – | e | e | e | e | – | ||
 Samoa | – | – | – | 9th | 10th | e | 11th | – | w | 16th | ||
| Scotland | – | 5th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 8th | e | e | 10th | 7th | ||
 South Africa | – | – | – | – | 12th | 10th | 10th | – | 11th | 6th | ||
| Spain | 6th | w[b] | 7th | 8th | 9th | e | 9th | 10th | e | 14th | ||
 Sweden | 10th | 10th | 15th | – | – | 12th | e | – | – | – | ||
| United States | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 5th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 4th | 7th | 9th | Q | |
| Wales | 9th | 4th | 11th | 10th | – | 9th | 8th | 7th | 8th | 13th |
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:
| Team | 1991 | 1994 | 1998 | 2002 | 2006 | 2010 | 2014 | 2017 | 2021 | 2025 | 2029 | 2033 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Belgium | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | e | – | – | ||
 China | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | ||
 Cameroon | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | ||
 Colombia | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | e | ||
 Czech Republic | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | – | ||
 Finland | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | – | – | ||
 India | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | ||
 Kenya | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | e | e | ||
 Laos | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | – | – | ||
 Madagascar | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | e | ||
 Papua New Guinea | – | – | – | – | – | w | – | e | e | e | ||
 Philippines | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | e | – | ||
 Singapore | – | – | – | – | – | e | e | – | e | – | ||
 Switzerland | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | – | ||
 Thailand | – | – | – | – | e | – | e | – | – | – | ||
 Tonga | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | – | w | e | ||
 Uganda | – | – | – | – | – | – | e | – | e | – |
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.
| Year | Nation(s) | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Canada England France Italy Japan Netherlands New Zealand Russia[N 1] Spain Sweden United States Wales | 12 |
| 1994 | Ireland Kazakhstan Scotland | 3 |
| 1998 | Australia Germany | 2 |
| 2002 | Samoa | 1 |
| 2006 | South Africa | 1 |
| 2010 | (none) | 0 |
| 2014 | (none) | 0 |
| 2017 | Hong Kong | 1 |
| 2021 | Fiji | 1 |
| 2025 | Brazil | 1 |
| 2029 | TBC | TBC |
Notes
Les Peard[23]Jim Fleming[23]Ed Morrison[23] Giulio De Santis[23] Simon McDowell[23]Sarah Corrigan[23]Amy Perrett[23]Joy Neville[23]Hollie Davidson[23]Hollie Davidson[23]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.[24] The 2021 tournament retained the same format, but with the classification round replaced with quarter-finals, as with the men's Rugby World Cup.[25][26] In 2025, the tournament will expand to 16 teams.[13]
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,[27] 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.[28] 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 andMelodie Robinson, and was selected to address criticism of the previous trophy being too small.[29]
There have been two previous trophies. The first was purchased for the1991 Women's Rugby World Cup bySue Dorrington from JB Jewellery and Antiques in Hatton Garden for £1,007.50[30] 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 the1994 Women's Rugby World Cup, but replaced for the1998 edition when the IRB took over organisation of the competition.[31]
The second trophy would be presented at the next seven tournaments up to and including the2021 Women's Rugby World Cup; won byNew 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.[29]
After being replaced, the first trophy then went on tour, was displayed during road shows put on by theRugby Football Union for Women and was also briefly on display at theWorld Rugby Museum. The trophy disappeared after going on tour in 2006 and it was assumed that it had been melted down.[31] Former Red Rose;Gill Burns had been searching for the trophy for several years until 2021 when it had been found in the loft of the parents of an England Rugby administrator; Helen Ames,[31] during a clear-out, it was then returned to the World Rugby Museum.[32] It was later learnt through Phil McGowan at theWorld Rugby Museum that the trophy had been made in 1924.[31]
The second trophy, after being retired, was also put on display at the World Rugby Museum.[31]
The tournament has grown considerably in the past fifteen years although television audiences and event attendance still remain relatively low, especially in comparison to other women's world cup events. The final of the 2006 event in Canada was broadcast in a number of countries and streamed live via the internet.
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.[33] From 2017, the Women's Rugby World Cup was shown on free-to-air TV on ITV (2017–2021) and the BBC (2025—).[citation needed]
In Ireland the Women's Rugby World Cup was broadcast byTG4 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.[34]
Certain matches in the 2017 WRWC knockout phases drew strong TV viewership in England and France, and were broadcast live in the United States.[citation needed]
