1991 Rugby World Cup

This article is about the men's tournament. For information about the women's tournament, see 1991 Women's Rugby World Cup.

1991 Rugby World Cup

4 other names French: Coupe du monde de rugby 1991 Irish: Corn an domhain sa rugbaí 1991 Scottish Gaelic: Cupa na cruinne rugbaidh 1991 Welsh: Cwpan rygbi'r byd 1991
File:RWC1991logo.svg
Tournament details
Host nations	England France Ireland Scotland Wales
Dates	3 October – 2 November (31 days)
No. of nations	16 (33 qualifying)
Final positions
Champions File:Gold medal blank.svg	Australia (1st title)
Runner-up File:Silver medal blank.svg	England
Third place File:Bronze medal blank.svg	New Zealand
Tournament statistics
Matches played	32
Attendance	1,021,827 (31,932 per match)
Top scorer(s)	Ralph Keyes (68)
Most tries	Jean-Baptiste Lafond 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 earlier, to 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 International Rugby Board (IRB), due to the government's apartheid policies. The pool stages produced a major upset when Western Samoa, who were making their debut in the tournament, defeated the 1987 semi-finalists 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. Meanwhile, England knocked out 1987 finalist France in a bruising encounter. 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. 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.

Qualification

Main article: 1991 Rugby World Cup qualifying

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
Zimbabwe (Africa)	Argentina (Americas 2) Canada (Americas 1) United States (Americas 3)	England France Ireland Italy (Europe 1) Romania (Europe 2) Scotland Wales	Australia Fiji New Zealand (1987 Champions) Western Samoa (Oceania/Asia 1) Japan (Oceania/Asia 2)

Venues

London	Edinburgh	Cardiff	Dublin	Paris
Twickenham Stadium	Murrayfield Stadium	National Stadium	Lansdowne Road	Parc des Princes
Capacity: 60,000	Capacity: 67,800	Capacity: 53,000	Capacity: 49,250	Capacity: 48,712
File:Twickenham rfu.jpg	File:A pot of gold... - geograph.org.uk - 718806.jpg	File:The National Stadium The Arms Park Cardiff.jpg	File:Leinster2006.jpg	File:Paris-Parc-des-Princes.jpg
Toulouse	Grenoble	Villeneuve d'Ascq	Béziers	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
File:Stade-ernest-wallon-04.jpg	File:Tribune lienard.jpg	File:Stadium Nord (Champions League).png	File:BéziersMassy2.jpg	File:Welford Road, Leicester Tigers.jpg
Brive	Agen	Bayonne	Gloucester	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
File:Stade Amédée Domenech.JPG	File:Tribuneouest.JPG	File:STA 0480.jpg	File:Kingsholm in 2007.jpg	File:Ravenhillstadium.jpg
Llanelli	Pontypool	Pontypridd	Otley
Stradey Park	Pontypool Park	Sardis Road	Cross Green
Capacity: 10,800	Capacity: 8,800	Capacity: 7,200	Capacity: 5,000
File:Stradey Park.jpg	File:Pontypool Rugby Ground - geograph.org.uk - 1760922.jpg	File:Sardis Road - Pontypridd.jpg	File:Cross Green rugby ground, Otley.jpg

Squads

Main article: 1991 Rugby World Cup squads

Referees

Efraim Sklar Kerry Fitzgerald Sandy MacNeill Fred Howard Ed Morrison Lakini Colati René Hourquet Patrick Robin Owen Doyle

Stephen Hilditch Dave Bishop  Keith Lawrence Brian Anderson Jim Fleming Don Reordan Derek Bevan Les Peard

Format

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

Pool 1

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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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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)

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13 October 1991

Italy	21–31	New Zealand
Try: Cuttitta Bonomi Con: Dominguez (2) Pen: Dominguez (3)	Report	Try: Brooke Innes Tuigamala Hewett Con: Fox (3) Pen: Fox (3)

Welford Road, Leicester Attendance: 15,711 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia)

Pool 2

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

5 October 1991

Scotland	47–9	Japan
Try: S. Hastings Stanger Chalmers White Penalty try Tukalo G. Hastings Con: G. Hastings (5) Pen: G. Hastings (2) Chalmers	Report	Try: Hosokawa Con: Hosokawa Drop: Hosokawa

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Ed Morrison (England)

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6 October 1991

Ireland	55–11	Zimbabwe
Try: Robinson (4) Popplewell (2) Geoghegan Curtis Con: Keyes (4) Pen: Keyes (5)	Report	Try: Dawson Schultz Pen: Ferreira

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 40,000 Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand)

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9 October 1991

Ireland	32–16	Japan
Try: Mannion (2) O’Hara Staples Con: Keyes (2) Pen: Keyes (4)	Report	Try: Hayashi Kajihara Yoshida Con: Hosokawa (2)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 30,000 Referee: Laikini Colati (Fiji)

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9 October 1991

Scotland	51–12	Zimbabwe
Try: Tukalo (3) Turnbull S. Hastings Stanger Weir White Con: Dods (5) Pen: Dods (2) Drop: Wylie	Report	Try: Garvey (2) Con: Currin (2)

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 35,000 Referee: Don Reordan (United States)

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12 October 1991

Scotland	24–15	Ireland
Try: Shiel Armstrong Con: G. Hastings (2) Pen: G. Hastings (3) Drop: Chalmers	Report	Pen: Keyes (4) Drop: Keyes

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 60,000 Referee: Fred Howard (England)

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14 October 1991

Japan	52–8	Zimbabwe
Try: Yoshida (2) Mashuho (2) Kutsuki (2) Horikoshi Luaiufi Matsuo Con: Hosokawa (2) Pen: Hosokawa (4)	Report	Try: Tsimba Nguruve

Ravenhill, Belfast Attendance: 9,500 Referee: René Hourquet (France)

Pool 3

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)

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6 October 1991

Wales	13–16	Western Samoa
Try: Emyr Evans Con: Ring Pen: Ring	Report	Try: Vaega Vaifale Con: Vaea Pen: Vaea (2)

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Attendance: 45,000 Referee: Patrick Robin (France)

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9 October 1991

Australia	9–3	Western Samoa
Pen: Lynagh (3)		Pen: Vaea

Pontypool Park, Pontypool Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Ed Morrison (England)

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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)

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12 October 1991

Wales	3–38	Australia
Pen: Ring		Try: Roebuck (2) Slattery Campese Horan Lynagh Con: Lynagh (4) Pen: Lynagh (2)

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Attendance: 54,000 Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand)

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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

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

4 October 1991

France	30–3	Romania
Try: Roumat Lafond Penalty try Saint-André Con: Camberabero Pen: Camberabero (4)		Pen: Nichitean

Stade de la Méditerranée, Béziers Attendance: 22,000 Referee: Les Peard (Wales)

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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)

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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)

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9 October 1991

Canada	19–11	Romania
Try: McKinnon Ennis Con: Wyatt Pen: Wyatt (2) Drop: Rees		Try: Lungu Sasu Pen: Nichitean

Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse Attendance: 10,000 Referee: Sandy MacNeill (Australia)

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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)

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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

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	19 October – Edinburgh
	Scotland	28
					26 October – Edinburgh
	Western Samoa	6
					Scotland	6
	19 October – Paris
					England	9
	France	10
									2 November – London
	England	19
									England	6
	20 October – Lille
									Australia	12
	New Zealand	29
					27 October – Dublin
	Canada	13
					New Zealand	6
	20 October – Dublin
					Australia	16			Third place
	Australia	19
									30 October – Cardiff
	Ireland	18
									Scotland	6
									New Zealand	13

Quarter-finals

19 October 1991

France	10–19	England
Try: Lafond Pen: Lacroix (2)	Report	Try: Underwood Carling Con: Webb Pen: Webb (3)

Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 48,500 Referee: Dave Bishop (New Zealand)

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19 October 1991

Scotland	28–6	Western Samoa
Try: Jeffrey (2) Stanger Con: Hastings (2) Pen: Hastings (4)	Report	Pen: Vaea Drop: Bachop

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 54,000 Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

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20 October 1991

Ireland	18–19	Australia
Try: Hamilton Con: Keyes Pen: Keyes (3) Drop: Keyes	Report	Try: Campese (2) Lynagh Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 54,500 Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

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20 October 1991

Canada	13–29	New Zealand
Try: Tynan Charron Con: Rees Pen: Wyatt	Report	Try: 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

26 October 1991

Scotland	6–9	England
Pen: G. Hastings (2)	Report	Pen: Webb (2) Drop: Andrew

Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Attendance: 54,000 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia)

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27 October 1991

Australia	16–6	New Zealand
Try: Campese Horan Con: Lynagh Pen: Lynagh (2)	Report	Pen: Fox (2)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Attendance: 54,000 Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

Third-place play-off

30 October 1991

New Zealand	13–6	Scotland
Try: Little Pen: Preston (3)	Report	Pen: G. Hastings (2)

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Attendance: 47,000 Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland)

Final

Main article: 1991 Rugby World Cup Final

2 November 1991

Australia	12–6	England
Try: Daly Con: Lynagh Pen: Lynagh (2)	Report	Pen: Webb (2)

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 56,208 Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

Statistics

Main article: 1991 Rugby World Cup statistics

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

The event was broadcast in the United Kingdom by ITV who took over the rights from the BBC. 13 million people in the United Kingdom watched the final. 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. In New Zealand, it was broadcast by TVNZ. In France, it was broadcast by TF1 instead of France's traditional Rugby broadcasters Antenne2. In Ireland it was broadcast by RTÉ. ITV, TF1 and RTE were the host broadcasters broadcasting the pictures around the world as well to their own countries.

External links

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

• Official Rugby World Cup Site
• Full Results and Statistics at ESPN
• World Cup Referees Archived 1 April 2015 at the Wayback Machine on RugbyRefs.com