1991 Rugby World Cup

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1991 Rugby World Cup
4 other names
Tournament details
Host nations England
 France
 Ireland
 Scotland
 Wales
Dates3 October – 2 November (31 days)
No. of nations16 (33 qualifying)
Final positions
Champions  Australia (1st title)
Runner-up  England
Third place  New Zealand
Tournament statistics
Matches played32
Attendance1,021,827 (31,932 per match)
Top scorer(s)Ireland Ralph Keyes (68)
Most triesFrance Jean-Baptiste Lafond
Australia David Campese
(6 tries each)
1987
1995

The 1991 Rugby World Cup (French: Coupe du monde de rugby 1991) was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France: at the time, the five European countries who participated in the Five Nations Championship. This was the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the northern hemisphere, with England the hosts of the final. Also for the first time, qualifying competitions were introduced as the number of entrants had increased from 16 nations four years before to a total of 33 countries. The eight quarter-finalists from 1987 qualified automatically with the remaining eight spots contested through qualifiers by 25 countries. This resulted in only one new side qualifying for the tournament, Western Samoa replacing Tonga. The same 16-team pool/knock-out format was used with just minor changes to the points system. South Africa was again not included because of sanctions imposed on the country by the IRB, due to the government's apartheid policies.

The pool stages produced a major shock when Western Samoa, who were making their debut in the tournament, defeated 1987 semi-finalist Wales 16–13 in Cardiff. Along with the other results in the group, this led to the elimination of Wales, who finished third in Pool 3. Also notable in pool play was that Canada finished second in their pool to qualify for the quarter-finals, which remains their best performance in the World Cup. Fiji, as quarter-finalists four years earlier, had expected to occupy that position, but after the upset loss to Canada and a hammering by France, they lost even their final match against the unfancied Romanian team. Earlier, the opening match had pitted the holders New Zealand against the hosts England: New Zealand overturned a narrow half-time deficit to win the match and the pool, both teams qualifying for the quarter-finals with easy victories in their other matches. Scotland beat Ireland to top their pool, again both teams qualifying.

In the quarter-finals, neither Canada nor Western Samoa proved a match for New Zealand or Scotland, respectively.[1] Meanwhile, England knocked out 1987 finalist France in a bruising encounter.[2] Australia pipped Ireland 19–18 in a thrilling match at Lansdowne Road, with a last-gasp try from fly-half Michael Lynagh coming after the Irish took an unexpected 18–15 lead. The semi-finals produced two tight matches: England overcame Scotland 9–6, a late drop goal deciding a tryless match in a torrential downpour at Murrayfield Stadium, and Australia defeated the defending champions New Zealand 16–6 at Lansdowne Road.[3][4]

The final was played at Twickenham Stadium in London, and saw Australia triumph 12–6 against England, with a first-half try from prop Tony Daly.[5][6]

Qualification[edit]

The following 16 teams, shown by region, qualified for the 1991 Rugby World Cup. Of the 16 teams, eight of those places were automatically filled by quarter-finalists from the 1987 World Cup and did not have to play any qualification matches. 25 nations competed in a qualification process designed to fill the remaining eight spots, bringing the total participation to 33 nations. In the event, there was only one change from the 1987 tournament, with Western Samoa appearing in place of Tonga.

Africa Americas Europe Oceania/Asia

Venues[edit]

England London Scotland Edinburgh Wales Cardiff Ireland Dublin France Paris
Twickenham Stadium Murrayfield Stadium National Stadium Lansdowne Road Parc des Princes
Capacity: 75,000 Capacity: 67,800 Capacity: 53,000 Capacity: 49,250 Capacity: 48,712
France Toulouse France Grenoble France Villeneuve d'Ascq France Béziers England Leicester
Stade Ernest-Wallon Stade Lesdiguières Stadium Lille-Metropole Stade de la Méditerranée Welford Road
Capacity: 19,000 Capacity: 18,548* Capacity: 18,185 Capacity: 18,000 Capacity: 16,815
France Brive France Agen France Bayonne England Gloucester Ireland Belfast
Parc Municipal des Sports Stade Armandie Stade Jean Dauger Kingsholm Ravenhill
Capacity: 16,000 Capacity: 14,000 Capacity: 13,500 Capacity: 12,500 Capacity: 12,300
Wales Llanelli Wales Pontypool Wales Pontypridd England Otley
Stradey Park Pontypool Park Sardis Road Cross Green
Capacity: 10,800 Capacity: 8,800 Capacity: 7,200 Capacity: 5,000

Squads[edit]

Referees[edit]

Format[edit]

Pool 1 Pool 2 Pool 3 Pool 4

 New Zealand
 England
 Italy
 United States

 Scotland
 Ireland
 Japan
 Zimbabwe

 Australia
 Wales
 Western Samoa
 Argentina

 France
 Fiji
 Canada
 Romania

As in the 1987 Rugby World Cup the 16 nations were divided into four pools of four nations, with each nation playing their other pool opponents once, every nation playing three times during the pool stages. Nations were awarded 2 points for a win, 1 for a draw and zero for a loss, the top two nations of every pool advanced to the quarter-finals. The runners-up of each pool faced the winners of a different pool in the quarter-finals. The winners moved on to the semi-finals, with the winners then moving onto the final, and the losers of the semi-finals contesting a third/fourth place play off.

  • Pool 1 was played in England
  • Pool 2 was played in both Scotland and Ireland, with matches played in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland
  • Pool 3 was played in Wales
  • Pool 4 was played in France

Points system

The points system that was used in the pool stage was which was changed from 1987 was as follows:

  • 3 points for a win
  • 2 points for a draw
  • 1 point for playing

A total of 32 matches (24 in the pool stage and eight in the knock-out stage) were played throughout the tournament over 30 days from 3 October 1991 to 2 November 1991.

Pool stage[edit]

Pool 1[edit]

Team P W D L PF PA Pts
 New Zealand 3 3 0 0 95 39 6
 England 3 2 0 1 85 33 4
 Italy 3 1 0 2 57 76 2
 United States 3 0 0 3 24 113 0
3 October 1991
England 12–18 New Zealand
Pen: Webb (3)
Drop: Andrew
Try: Jones
Con: Fox
Pen: Fox (4)
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 57,000
Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

5 October 1991
Italy 30–9 United States
Try: Barba
Francescato
Vaccari
Gaetaniello
Con: Dominguez (4)
Pen: Dominguez (2)
Try: Swords
Con: Williams
Pen: Williams
Cross Green, Otley
Attendance: 7,500
Referee: Owen Doyle (Ireland)

8 October 1991
New Zealand 46–6 United States
Try: Wright (3)
Earl
Purvis
Timu
Tuigamala
Innes
Con: Preston (4)
Pen: Preston (2)
Pen: Williams (2)
Kingsholm, Gloucester
Attendance: 12,000
Referee: Efraim Sklar (Argentina)

8 October 1991
England 36–6 Italy
Try: Guscott (2)
Underwood
Webb
Con: Webb (4)
Pen: Webb (4)
Try: Cuttitta
Con: Dominguez
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland)

11 October 1991
England 37–9 United States
Try: Underwood (2)
Carling
Skinner
Heslop
Con: Hodgkinson (4)
Pen: Hodgkinson (3)
Try: Nelson
Con: Williams
Pen: Williams
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Les Peard (Wales)

13 October 1991
Italy 21–31 New Zealand
Try: Cuttitta
Bonomi
Con: Dominguez (2)
Pen: Dominguez (3)
ReportTry: Brooke
Innes
Tuigamala
Hewett
Con: Fox (3)
Pen: Fox (3)
Welford Road, Leicester
Attendance: 15,711
Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia)

Pool 2[edit]

Team P W D L PF PA Pts
 Scotland 3 3 0 0 122 36 6
 Ireland 3 2 0 1 102 51 4
 Japan 3 1 0 2 77 87 2
 Zimbabwe 3 0 0 3 31 158 0

6 October 1991
Ireland 55–11 Zimbabwe
Try: Robinson (4)
Popplewell (2)
Geoghegan
Curtis
Con: Keyes (4)
Pen: Keyes (5)
ReportTry: Dawson
Schultz
Pen: Ferreira
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand)

9 October 1991
Ireland 32–16 Japan
Try: Mannion (2)
O’Hara
Staples
Con: Keyes (2)
Pen: Keyes (4)
ReportTry: Hayashi
Kajihara
Yoshida
Con: Hosokawa (2)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Laikini Colati (Fiji)

9 October 1991
Scotland 51–12 Zimbabwe
Try: Tukalo (3)
Turnbull
S. Hastings
Stanger
Weir
White
Con: Dods (5)
Pen: Dods (2)
Drop: Wylie
ReportTry: Garvey (2)
Con: Currin (2)
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: Don Reordan (United States)

12 October 1991
Scotland 24–15 Ireland
Try: Shiel
Armstrong
Con: G. Hastings (2)
Pen: G. Hastings (3)
Drop: Chalmers
ReportPen: Keyes (4)
Drop: Keyes
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Fred Howard (England)

14 October 1991
Japan 52–8 Zimbabwe
Try: Yoshida (2)
Mashuho (2)
Kutsuki (2)
Horikoshi
Luaiufi
Matsuo
Con: Hosokawa (2)
Pen: Hosokawa (4)
ReportTry: Tsimba
Nguruve
Ravenhill, Belfast
Attendance: 9,500
Referee: René Hourquet (France)

Pool 3[edit]

Team P W D L PF PA Pts
 Australia 3 3 0 0 79 25 6
 Western Samoa 3 2 0 1 54 34 4
 Wales 3 1 0 2 32 61 2
 Argentina 3 0 0 3 38 83 0
4 October 1991
Argentina 19–32 Australia
Try: Terán (2)
Con: Del Castillo
Pen: Del Castillo
Drop: Arbizu (2)
Try: Campese (2)
Horan (2)
Kearns
Con: Lynagh (3)
Pen: Lynagh (2)
Stradey Park, Llanelli
Attendance: 11,000
Referee: Dave Bishop (New Zealand)

6 October 1991
Wales 13–16 Western Samoa
Try: Emyr
Evans
Con: Ring
Pen: Ring
ReportTry: Vaega
Vaifale
Con: Vaea
Pen: Vaea (2)
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Attendance: 45,000
Referee: Patrick Robin (France)

9 October 1991
Australia 9–3 Western Samoa
Pen: Lynagh (3)Pen: Vaea
Pontypool Park, Pontypool
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Ed Morrison (England)

9 October 1991
Wales 16–7 Argentina
Try: Arnold
Pen: Ring (3)
Rayer
Try: García Simón
Pen: Del Castillo
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Attendance: 35,000
Referee: René Hourquet (France)

12 October 1991
Wales 3–38 Australia
Pen: RingTry: Roebuck (2)
Slattery
Campese
Horan
Lynagh
Con: Lynagh (4)
Pen: Lynagh (2)
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Attendance: 54,000
Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand)

13 October 1991
Argentina 12–35 Western Samoa
Try: Terán
Con: Arbizu
Pen: Laborde
Arbizu
Try: Tagaloa (2)
Lima (2)
Bunce
Bachop
Con: Vaea (4)
Pen: Vaea
Sardis Road, Pontypridd
Attendance: 8,500
Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland)
Replaced by Jim Fleming (Scotland) at halftime

Pool 4[edit]

Team P W D L PF PA Pts
 France 3 3 0 0 82 25 6
 Canada 3 2 0 1 45 33 4
 Romania 3 1 0 2 31 64 2
 Fiji 3 0 0 3 27 63 0

5 October 1991
Canada 13–3 Fiji
Try: Stewart
Pen: Rees (3)
Drop: Serevi
Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne
Attendance: 5,000
Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia)

8 October 1991
France 33–9 Fiji
Try: Lafond (3)
Sella (2)
Camberabero
Con: Camberabero (3)
Pen: Camberabero
Try: Naruma
Con: Koroduadua
Pen: Koroduadua
Stade Lesdiguières, Grenoble
Attendance: 18,548
Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

9 October 1991
Canada 19–11 Romania
Try: McKinnon
Ennis
Con: Mark Wyatt
Pen: Wyatt (2)
Drop: Rees
Try: Lungu
Sasu
Pen: Nichitean
Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Sandy MacNeill (Australia)

12 October 1991
Fiji 15–17 Romania
Pen: Turuva (2)
Drop: Rabaka (2)
Turuva
Try: Ion
Dumitras
Sasu
Con: Racean
Pen: Nichitean
Parc Municipal des Sports, Brive
Attendance: 8,500
Referee: Owen Doyle (Ireland)

13 October 1991
France 19–13 Canada
Try: Lafond
Saint-André
Con: Camberabero
Pen: Lacroix (2)
Camberabero
Try: Wyatt
Pen: Wyatt
Rees
Drop: Rees
Stade Armandie, Agen
Attendance: 15,000
Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland)

Knockout stage[edit]

 
Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinal
 
          
 
19 October – Edinburgh
 
 
 Scotland28
 
26 October – Edinburgh
 
 Western Samoa6
 
 Scotland6
 
19 October – Paris
 
 England9
 
 France10
 
2 November – London
 
 England19
 
 England6
 
20 October – Lille
 
 Australia12
 
 New Zealand29
 
27 October – Dublin
 
 Canada13
 
 New Zealand6
 
20 October – Dublin
 
 Australia16 Third place
 
 Australia19
 
30 October – Cardiff
 
 Ireland18
 
 Scotland6
 
 
 New Zealand13
 

Quarter-finals[edit]

19 October 1991
France 10–19 England
Try: Lafond
Pen: Lacroix (2)
ReportTry: Underwood
Carling
Con: Webb
Pen: Webb (3)
Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 48,500
Referee: Dave Bishop (New Zealand)

19 October 1991
Scotland 28–6 Western Samoa
Try: Jeffrey (2)
Stanger
Con: Hastings (2)
Pen: Hastings (4)
ReportPen: Vaea
Drop: Bachop
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 54,000
Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

20 October 1991
Ireland 18–19 Australia
Try: Hamilton
Con: Keyes
Pen: Keyes (3)
Drop: Keyes
ReportTry: Campese (2)
Lynagh
Con: Lynagh (2)
Pen: Lynagh
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 54,500[7]
Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

20 October 1991
Canada 13–29 New Zealand
Try: Tynan
Charron
Con: Rees
Pen: Wyatt
ReportTry: Timu (2)
McCahill
Brooke
Kirwan
Con: Fox (3)
Pen: Fox
Stadium Lille-Metropole, Villeneuve d'Ascq
Attendance: 30,360
Referee: Fred Howard (England)

Semi-finals[edit]

26 October 1991
Scotland 6–9 England
Pen: G. Hastings (2)ReportPen: Webb (2)
Drop: Andrew
Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh
Attendance: 54,000
Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia)

27 October 1991
Australia 16–6 New Zealand
Try: Campese
Horan
Con: Lynagh
Pen: Lynagh (2)
ReportPen: Fox (2)
Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 54,000
Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

Third-place play-off[edit]

30 October 1991
New Zealand 13–6 Scotland
Try: Little
Pen: Preston (3)
ReportPen: G. Hastings (2)
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
Attendance: 47,000
Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland)

Final[edit]

2 November 1991
Australia 12–6 England
Try: Daly
Con: Lynagh
Pen: Lynagh (2)
ReportPen: Webb (2)
Twickenham Stadium, London
Attendance: 56,208[8]
Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

Statistics[edit]

The tournament's top point scorer was Ireland's Ralph Keyes, who scored 68 points. David Campese and Jean-Baptiste Lafond scored the most tries, six in total.

Top 10 point scorers
Player Team Position Played Tries Conv­ersions Penal­ties Drop goals Total points
Ralph Keyes  Ireland Fly-half 4 0 7 16 2 68
Michael Lynagh  Australia Fly-half 6 2 11 12 0 66
Gavin Hastings  Scotland Fullback 5 1 9 13 0 61
Jonathan Webb  England Fullback 5 1 5 14 0 56
Grant Fox  New Zealand Fly-half 4 0 7 10 0 44
Didier Camberabero  France Fly-half 3 1 5 6 0 32
Diego Dominguez  Italy Fly-half 3 0 7 5 0 29
Takahiro Hosokawa  Japan Fullback 3 1 8 2 1 29
Mathew Vaea  Western Samoa Scrum-half 4 0 5 5 0 25
David Campese  Australia Wing 6 6 0 0 0 24
Jean-Baptiste Lafond  France Centre 6 6 0 0 0

Broadcasters[edit]

The event was broadcast in the United Kingdom by ITV who took over the rights from the BBC.[9] 13 million people in the United Kingdom watched the final.[10] In Australia it was the second and the last (as of the 2023 tournament) Rugby World Cup to be broadcast on ABC television as, from 1995, the commercial networks 7, 9 and 10 would all take over the broadcast rights sometimes in partnership with pay and streaming broadcasters Fox and Stan.[citation needed] In New Zealand, it was broadcast by TVNZ.[citation needed] In France, it was broadcast by TF1 instead of France's traditional Rugby broadcasters Antenne2.[citation needed] In Ireland it was broadcast by RTÉ.[citation needed] ITV, TF1 and RTE were the host broadcasters broadcasting the pictures around the world as well to their own countries.[citation needed]

References[edit]

  1. ^ "The stars of 1991". Sky Sports.
  2. ^ "My favourite game: France v England, Rugby World Cup 1991 | Martin Pengelly". The Guardian. 17 March 2020.
  3. ^ "BBC - A Sporting Nation - Scotland's Rugby World Cup 1991". www.bbc.co.uk.
  4. ^ "Rugby World Cup Classic Moment: Tim Horan recalls David Campese's amazing pass in 1991 semi-final". Fox Sports. 17 August 2011.
  5. ^ ""We're taking Bill back home!" How the Wallabies won the 1991 Rugby World Cup".
  6. ^ "Incredible impact of iconic Australian triumph". wwos.nine.com.au.
  7. ^ "Lynagh silences Lansdowne Road". espnscrum. Retrieved 5 September 2023.
  8. ^ "1991 Rugby World Cup: how the Wallabies won the cup | Latest Rugby News | RUGBY.com.au". www.rugby.com.au. 29 October 2015.
  9. ^ "ITV retains Rugby World Cup rights". BBC News. 28 July 2010.
  10. ^ "Rugby World Cup: Pundits primed for the on-screen ruck and maul". The Independent. 26 September 1999.

External links[edit]

External videos
video icon Rugby World Cup 1991 Quarter-final France v England on YouTube