1991 Rugby World Cup
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 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host nations |  England France Ireland Scotland Wales |
| Dates | 3 October – 2 November 1991 |
| No. of nations | 16 (33 qualifying) |
| Final positions | |
Champions  | Australia |
Runner-up  | England |
Third place  | New Zealand |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the northern hemisphere, with England as the host of the championship game. Following on from the success of the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, the 1991 World Cup received increased attention and was seen as a major global sporting event for the first time.[citation needed] Also for the first time qualifying competitions were introduced as the number of entrants had increased from sixteen nations four years before to a total of thirty-three countries, the eight quarter-finalists from 1987 qualified automatically with the remaining twenty-five countries having to qualify for the remaining eight spots. The same sixteen team pool/knock-out format was used with just minor changes to the points system.
The Pool stage of the tournament was nothing like four years earlier,[citation needed] with fewer one-sided matches and the early stages produced a major shock when Western Samoa, who were making their debut in the tournament, defeated 1987 semifinalist Wales 16-13 in Cardiff, resulting in the elimination of Wales, who finished third in Pool 3. Also notable in pool play was that Canada finished second in their group to qualify for the quarterfinals in what remains Canada's best performance in the Rugby World Cup. Fiji, as quarter-finalists four years ago, had expected to occupy that position, but after the upset loss to Canada and a hammering by France, they were to lose 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 group; both teams qualifying for the quarter-finals with easy victories in their other matches. Scotland beat Ireland to top their group, 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, in what was seen as the match of the tournament,[citation needed] 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 when loose-forward Hamilton sensationally outpaced speedy winger David Campese over half the length of the pitch for a try. The semi-finals produced two tight matches: England overcame their Scottish rivals 6-9, a late drop-goal deciding a tryless match in a torrential downpour at Murrayfield Stadium, and Australia defeated the defending world champions New Zealand 16-6 at Lansdowne Road.
The World Cup Final was played at Twickenham Stadium in London, and saw Australia triumph 12–6 against England, thanks to a first-half try from prop Tony Daly.
Qualification
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 quarterfinalists 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 |
|---|---|---|---|
|
|
|
Stadium
| City | Stadium | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| London |
Twickenham Stadium | 75,000 |
| Edinburgh |
Murrayfield Stadium | 67,800 |
| Cardiff |
National Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park) | 53,000 |
| Paris |
Parc des Princes | 48,712 |
 Dublin |
Lansdowne Road | 49,250 |
| Toulouse |
Stade Ernest-Wallon | 19,000 |
| Villeneuve d'Ascq |
Stadium Lille-Metropole | 18,185 |
| Béziers |
Stade de la Méditerranée | 18,000 |
| Leicester |
Welford Road | 16,815 |
| Brive |
Parc Municipal des Sports | 16,000 |
| Grenoble |
Stade Lesdiguières | 14,000 |
| Agen |
Stade Armandie | 14,000 |
| Bayonne |
Stade Jean Dauger | 13,500 |
| Gloucester |
Kingsholm | 12,500 |
| Belfast |
Ravenhill | 12,300 |
| Llanelli |
Stradey Park | 10,800 |
| Pontypool |
Pontypool Park | 8,800 |
| Pontypridd |
Sardis Road | 7,200 |
| Otley |
Cross Green | 5,000 |
Squads
Pools & Format
| Pool 1 | Pool 2 | Pool 3 | Pool 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
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 group 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 & Ireland with matches played in both Republic of Ireland & 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 Pool Stage & 8 Knock-out) were played throughout the tournament over 30 days from Thursday 3 October 1991 to Saturday 2 November 1991.
Pool stage
Pool 1
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New Zealand
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 95 | 39 | 9 |
| England
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 85 | 33 | 7 |
 Italy
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 57 | 76 | 5 |
 United States
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 24 | 113 | 3 |
| 3 October 1991 |
| England | 12–18 | New Zealand |
| Pen: Webb (3) Drop: Andrew | Tries: Jones Con: Fox Pen: Fox (4) |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 70,000 Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland) |
| 5 October 1991 |
| Italy | 30–9 | United States |
| Tries: Barba, Francescato, Vaccari, Gaetaniello Con: Dominguez (4) Pen: Dominguez (2) | Tries: Swords Con: Williams Pen: Williams |
| Cross Green, Otley Referee: Owen Doyle (Ireland) |
| 8 October 1991 |
| New Zealand | 46–6 | United States |
| Tries: 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 |
| Tries: Guscott (2), Underwood, Webb Con: Webb (4) Pen: Webb (4) | Tries: Cuttitta Con: Dominguez |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland) |
| 11 October 1991 |
| England | 37–9 | United States |
| Tries: Underwood (2), Carling, Skinner, Heslop Con: Hodgkinson (4) Pen: Hodgkinson (3) | Tries: Nelson Con: Williams Pen: Williams |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Referee: Les Peard (Wales) |
| 13 October 1991 |
| Italy | 21–31 | New Zealand |
| Tries: Cuttitta, Bonomi Con: Dominguez (2) Pen: Dominguez (3) | Tries: Brooke, Innes, Tuigamala, Hewett Con: Fox (3) Pen: Fox (3) |
| Welford Road, Leicester Attendance: 16,800 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia) |
Pool 2
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Scotland
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 122 | 36 | 9 |
| Ireland
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 102 | 51 | 7 |
 Japan
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 87 | 5 |
 Zimbabwe
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 31 | 158 | 3 |
| 5 October 1991 |
| Scotland | 47–9 | Japan |
| Tries: S. Hastings, Stanger, Chalmers, White, Penalty Try, Tukalo, G. Hastings Con: G. Hastings (5) Pen: G. Hastings (2), Chalmers | Tries: Hosokawa Con: Hosokawa Drop: Hosokawa |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Referee: Ed Morrison (England) |
| 6 October 1991 |
| Ireland | 55–11 | Zimbabwe |
| Tries: Robinson (4), Popplewell (2), Geoghegan, Curtis Con: Keyes (4) Pen: Keyes (5) | Report | Tries: Dawson, Schultz Pen: Ferreira |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand) |
| 9 October 1991 |
| Ireland | 32–16 | Japan |
| Tries: Mannion (2), O’Hara, Staples Con: Keyes (2) Pen: Keyes (4) | Report | Tries: Hayashi, Kajihara, Yoshida Con: Hosokawa (2) |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Laikini Colati (Fiji) |
| 9 October 1991 |
| Scotland | 51–12 | Zimbabwe |
| Tries: Tukalo (3), Turnbull, S. Hastings, Stanger, Weir, White Con: Dods (5) Pen: Dods (2) Drop: Wylie | Tries: Garvey (2) Con: Currin (2) |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Referee: Don Reordan (United States) |
| 12 October 1991 |
| Scotland | 24–15 | Ireland |
| Tries: Shiel, Armstrong Con: G. Hastings (2) Pen: G. Hastings (3) Drop: Chalmers | Report | Pen: Keyes (4) Drop: Keyes |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Referee: Fred Howard (England) |
| 14 October 1991 |
| Japan | 52–8 | Zimbabwe |
| Tries: Yoshida (2), Mashuho (2), Kutsuki (2), Horikoshi, Luaiufi, Matsuo Con: Hosokawa (2) Pen: Hosokawa (4) | Tries: Tsimba, Nguruve |
| Ravenhill, Belfast Referee: René Hourquet (France) |
Pool 3
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 79 | 25 | 9 |
 Western Samoa
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 54 | 34 | 7 |
| Wales
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 61 | 5 |
 Argentina
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 38 | 83 | 3 |
| 4 October 1991 |
| Argentina | 19–32 | Australia |
| Tries: Terán (2) Con: del Castillo Pen: del Castillo Drop: Arbizu (2) | Tries: Campese (2), Horan (2), Kearns Con: Lynagh (3) Pen: Lynagh (2) |
| Stradey Park, Llanelli Referee: David Bishop (New Zealand) |
| 6 October 1991 |
| Wales | 13–16 | Western Samoa |
| Tries: Emyr, Evans Con: Ring Pen: Ring | Report | Tries: Vaega, Vaifale Con: Vaea Pen: Vaea (2) |
| National Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park), Cardiff Referee: Patrick Robin (France) |
| 9 October 1991 |
| Australia | 9–3 | Western Samoa |
| Pen: Lynagh (3) | Pen: Vaea |
| Pontypool Park, Pontypool Referee: Ed Morrison (England) |
| 9 October 1991 |
| Wales | 16–7 | Argentina |
| Tries: Arnold Pen: Ring (3), Rayer | Tries: Simon Pen: del Castillo |
| National Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park), Cardiff Referee: René Hourquet (France) |
| 12 October 1991 |
| Wales | 3–38 | Australia |
| Pen: Ring | Tries: Roebuck (2), Slattery, Campese, Horan, Lynagh Con: Lynagh (4) Pen: Lynagh (2) |
| National Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park), Cardiff Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand) |
| 13 October 1991 |
| Argentina | 12–35 | Western Samoa |
| Tries: Terán Con: Arbizu Pen: Laborde, Arbizu | Tries: Tagaola (2), Lima (2), Bunce, Bachop Con: Vaea (4) Pen: Vaea |
| Sardis Road, Pontypridd Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland) Replaced by Jim Fleming (Scotland) |
Pool 4
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 25 | 9 |
 Canada
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 45 | 33 | 7 |
 Romania
|
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 31 | 64 | 5 |
 Fiji
|
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 27 | 63 | 3 |
| 4 October 1991 |
| France | 30–3 | Romania |
| Tries: Roumat, Lafond, Penalty Try, Saint-André Con: Camberabero Pen: Camberabero (4) | Pen: Nichitean |
| Stade de la Méditerranée, Béziers Referee: Les Peard (Wales) |
| 5 October 1991 |
| Canada | 13–3 | Fiji |
| Tries: Stewart Pen: Rees (3) | Drop: Serevi |
| Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia) |
| 8 October 1991 |
| France | 33–9 | Fiji |
| Tries: Lafond (3), Sella (2), Camberabero Con: Camberabero (3) Pen: Camberabero | Tries: Naruma Con: Koroduadua Pen: Koroduadua |
| Stade Lesdiguières, Grenoble Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales) |
| 9 October 1991 |
| Canada | 19–11 | Romania |
| Tries: McKinnon, Ennis Con: Mark Wyatt Pen: Wyatt (2) Drop: Rees | Tries: Lungu, Sasu Pen: Nichitean |
| Stade Ernest-Wallon, Toulouse Referee: Sandy MacNeill (Australia) |
| 12 October 1991 |
| Fiji | 15–17 | Romania |
| Pen: Turuva (2) Drop: Rabaka (2), Turuva | Tries: Ion, Dumitras, Sasu Con: Racean Pen: Nichitean |
| Parc Municipal des Sports, Brive Referee: Owen Doyle (Ireland) |
| 13 October 1991 |
| France | 19–13 | Canada |
| Tries: Lafond, Saint-André Con: Camberabero Pen: Lacroix (2), Camberabero | Tries: Wyatt Pen: Wyatt, Rees Drop: Rees |
| Stade Armandie, Agen Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland) |
Knock-out stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 19 October – Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | ||||||||||
| Scotland | 28 | |||||||||
| 26 October – Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh | ||||||||||
| Western Samoa | 6 | |||||||||
| Scotland | 6 | |||||||||
| 19 October – Parc des Princes, Paris | ||||||||||
| England | 9 | |||||||||
| France | 10 | |||||||||
| 2 November – Twickenham Stadium, London | ||||||||||
| England | 19 | |||||||||
| England | 6 | |||||||||
| 20 October – Stadium Lille-Metropole, Villeneuve d'Ascq | ||||||||||
| Australia | 12 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 29 | |||||||||
| 27 October – Lansdowne Road, Dublin | ||||||||||
| Canada | 13 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 6 | |||||||||
| 20 October – Lansdowne Road, Dublin | ||||||||||
| Australia | 16 | Third place | ||||||||
| Australia | 19 | |||||||||
| 30 October – National Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park), Cardiff | ||||||||||
| Ireland | 18 | |||||||||
| Scotland | 6 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 13 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
| 19 October 1991 |
| France | 10–19 | England |
| Tries: Lafond Pen: Lacroix (2) | Report | Tries: Underwood, Carling Con: Webb Pen: Webb (3) |
| Parc des Princes, Paris Referee: David Bishop (New Zealand) |
| 19 October 1991 |
| Scotland | 28–6 | Western Samoa |
| Tries: Jeffrey (2), Stanger Con: Hastings (2) Pen: Hastings (4) | Report | Pen: Vaea Drop goals: Bachop |
| Murrayfield Stadium, Edinburgh Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales) |
| 20 October 1991 |
| Ireland | 18–19 | Australia |
| Tries: Hamilton Con: Keyes Pen: Keyes (3) Drop: Keyes | Report | Tries: Campese (2), Lynagh Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh |
| Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland) |
| 20 October 1991 |
| Canada | 13–29 | New Zealand |
| Tries: Tynan, Charron Con: Rees Pen: Wyatt | Report | Tries: Timu (2), McCahill, Brooke, Kirwan Con: Fox (3) Pen: Fox |
| Stadium Lille-Metropole, Villeneuve d'Ascq Attendance: 33,800 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 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia) |
| 27 October 1991 |
| Australia | 16–6 | New Zealand |
| Tries: 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 |
| Tries: Little Pen: Preston (3) | Report | Pen: G. Hastings (2) |
| National Stadium (Cardiff Arms Park), Cardiff Attendance: 44,000 Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland) |
Final
| 2 November 1991 |
| Australia | 12–6 | England |
| Tries: Daly Con: Lynagh Pen: Lynagh (2) | Report | Pen: Webb (2) |
| Twickenham Stadium, London Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales) |
Broadcasters
The event was broadcast in the United Kingdom by ITV who took over the rights from the BBC.
References
External links
- Official Rugby World Cup Site
- Full Results and Statistics at ESPN
- World Cup Referees on RugbyRefs.com
- 1991 Rugby World Cup Rosters & Stats on ScoreShelf.com
- Use dmy dates from October 2011
- 1991 rugby union tournaments for national teams
- 1991 in English sport
- 1991 in French sport
- 1991 in British sport
- 1991 Rugby World Cup
- Rugby World Cup tournaments
- Rugby union competitions in Ireland
- Rugby union competitions in England
- Rugby union competitions in Wales
- Rugby union competitions in France
- Rugby union competitions in Scotland
- 1991 in Scottish sport
- 1991 in Irish sport