Women 's Rugby World Cup - wikipedia Women 's Rugby World Cup Not to be confused with Women 's Rugby League World Cup. Women 's Rugby World Cup Current season or competition : : 2017 Women 's Rugby World Cup Sport Rugby union Instituted April 6, 1991 ; 26 years ago ( 1991 - 04 - 06 ) Number of teams 12 Regions Worldwide ( World Rugby ) Holders New Zealand ( 5 Titles ) Most titles New Zealand ( 5 titles ) Website www.rwcwomens.com The Women 's Rugby World Cup is the premier international competition in rugby union for women. The tournament is organised by the sport 's governing body, World Rugby. The championships are currently held every four years ; the event was most recently held in France in August 2014. World Rugby has chosen to reset the tournament on a new four - year cycle to avoid conflict with the Olympics and Women 's World Cup Sevens ; the next World Cup will thus be held in Dublin, Ireland and Belfast, Northern Ireland in 2017 and then every four years thereafter. The first Women 's Rugby World Cup was held in 1991 and won by the United States. The 1991 and 1994 competitions were not officially sanctioned by World Rugby, then known as the International Rugby Football Board, at the time - they later received retrospective endorsement in 2009 when the governing body included the 1991 and 1994 champions in its list of previous winners. It was not until the 1998 tournament held in the Netherlands that the tournament received official IRB backing. The most successful team, with five titles, is New Zealand. Contents 1 History 2 Results 2.1 Tournaments 2.2 Performance of nations 3 Format 4 Media coverage 5 See also 6 References 7 External links History Prior to 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. The next event was taken to Spain in 2002, where New Zealand, won the title for the second time. 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. In 2008 a record four countries expressed interest in hosting the 2010 world cup. After considering bids from the Rugby Football Union, the German Rugby Federation, the Kazakhstan Rugby Union and South African Rugby Union the IRB announced that the 2010 event would take place in England. The Rugby Football Union for Women ( RFUW ) then announced that the tournament was to be staged in west London, with the final to be played at the Twickenham Stoop. It was announced in May 2015, by which time the IRB had adopted its current name of World Rugby, that the 2017 tournament would be hosted by the Irish Rugby Football Union, which governs the sport on an All - Ireland basis. Games will be held in both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland, specifically in Dublin and Belfast. Results Tournaments Year Host Final Third place match Number of teams Winner Score Runner - up 3rd place Score 4th place 1991 Details Wales United States 19 -- 6 England France Shared third New Zealand 12 1994 Details Scotland England 38 -- 23 United States France 27 -- 0 Wales 12 1998 Details Netherlands New Zealand 44 -- 12 United States England 31 -- 15 Canada 16 2002 Details Spain New Zealand 19 -- 9 England France 41 -- 7 Canada 16 2006 Details Canada New Zealand 25 -- 17 England France 17 -- 8 Canada 12 Details England New Zealand 13 -- 10 England Australia 22 -- 8 France 12 2014 Details France England 21 -- 9 Canada France 25 -- 18 Ireland 12 2017 Details Ireland New Zealand 41 -- 32 England France 31 -- 23 United States 12 Performance of nations Team Champion Runner - up Third Fourth New Zealand 5 ( 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017 ) -- -- 1 ( 1991 ) England 2 ( 1994, 2014 ) 5 ( 1991, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2017 ) 1 ( 1998 ) -- United States 1 ( 1991 ) 2 ( 1994, 1998 ) -- 1 ( 2017 ) Canada -- 1 ( 2014 ) -- 3 ( 1998, 2002, 2006 ) France -- -- 6 ( 1991, 1994, 2002, 2006, 2014, 2017 ) 1 ( 2010 ) Australia -- -- 1 ( 2010 ) -- Ireland -- -- -- 1 ( 2014 ) Wales -- -- -- 1 ( 1994 ) Women 's national rugby union teams Teams with World Cup appearances Australia Canada England France Germany Hong Kong Ireland Italy Japan Kazakhstan Netherlands New Zealand Samoa Scotland South Africa Spain Sweden United States Wales Teams with no World Cup appearances Austria Bahamas Barbados Belgium Bosnia and Herzegovina Brazil Burundi Cayman Islands China Czech Republic Denmark Fiji Finland Guyana Jamaica Kenya Kyrgyzstan Laos Luxembourg Malaysia Norway Philippines Portugal Romania Russia Rwanda Saint Vincent and the Grenadines Serbia Singapore Switzerland Thailand Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Turkey Uganda Uzbekistan Zambia Zimbabwe Defunct USSR Great Britain 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. In previous tournaments teams were selected by the IRB based on international performances as opposed to qualification via regional tournaments. Media coverage 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. On 29 July 2010, Sky Sports confirmed that they would be broadcasting 13 live matches from the 2010 event, including the semi-finals, the third and fourth place play - off match and the final. The pool matches shown would include all of England 's matches while each of the home nations ' would feature live too. There would also be highlights shown from all other matches during the pool stages. 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 Rugby union portal Women 's sport portal Women 's rugby union Women 's international rugby Women 's Rugby League World Cup References Jump up ^ `` France to Host 2014 Women 's Rugby World Cup ''. WRWC. p. 1. Archived from the original on 28 January 2012. Retrieved 30 June 2011. Jump up ^ `` Women 's Rugby World Cup 2017 tender process opens '' ( Press release ). World Rugby. 28 November 2014. Retrieved 19 December 2014. Jump up ^ IRB press release Archived 2 December 2013 at the Wayback Machine. Jump up ^ `` Women 's Rugby World Cup ''. RugbyFootballHistory.com. p. 1. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 14. Jump up ^ `` Women 's Rugby World Cup -- History ''. BBC Sport. 2002 - 05 - 13. p. 1. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 14. Jump up ^ `` 1994 Women 's Rugby World Cup -- results ''. Uniweb. p. 1. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 14. Jump up ^ `` Rugby Femenino ( Women 's Rugby ) ''. Iespena.es. p. 1. Archived from the original on 19 December 2009. Retrieved 14 December 2008. Jump up ^ `` New Zealand retain crown ''. International Rugby Board. p. 1. Archived from the original on 23 July 2008. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 14. Jump up ^ Woods, Penny ( 2008 - 11 - 12 ). `` Women 's rugby looking to sidestep the doubters ''. The Guardian. London. p. 1. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 14. Jump up ^ `` History of the Women 's Rugby World Cup ''. p. 1. Archived from the original on 12 December 2008. Retrieved 14 December 2008. Jump up ^ Ryan, Padraic ( 13 May 2015 ). `` Ireland to host 2017 Women 's World Cup ''. RTÉ Sport. Retrieved 13 May 2015. Jump up ^ `` 2017 Womens Rugby World Cup to be held in Ireland ''. Jump up ^ A third place match was played -- won by France, probably by 3 -- 0. However, the game can only be considered as `` unofficial '' as it was not part of the original tournament plan, and the result was not recorded in any official tournament reports. The game is also not included in NZRFU international records. Jump up ^ `` England to host Women 's Rugby World Cup ''. rugbyheaven.co.nz. p. 1. Retrieved 2008 - 12 - 15. Jump up ^ `` WRWC live on Sky ! ''. Sky Sports. 2010 - 08 - 20. Jump up ^ `` Archived copy ''. Archived from the original on 10 May 2015. Retrieved 2015 - 02 - 19. External links The official WRWC website Women 's Rugby World Cup from therugbyworldcup.co.uk Results for the previous tournaments at rugbyfootballhistory.com Women 's Rugby World Cup Tournaments Wales 1991 Scotland 1994 Netherlands 1998 Spain 2002 Canada 2006 England 2010 France 2014 Ireland 2017 Qualifying 2014 2017 Squads 2014 2017 Related articles Women 's World Rugby Festival 1990 Rugby unions by best performance at the Women 's Rugby World Cup Winners England ( 2 Times ) New Zealand ( 4 Times ) United States ( Once ) Runners up Canada ( Once ) Third Australia ( Once ) France ( 5 Times ) Fourth Wales ( Once ) Ireland ( Once ) Group stages Germany ( 2 Times ) Hong Kong ( Once ) Italy ( 3 Times ) Japan ( 3 Times ) Kazakhstan ( 6 Times ) Netherlands ( 3 Times ) Russia ( 3 Times ) Samoa ( 3 Times ) Scotland ( 5 Times ) South Africa ( 3 Times ) Spain ( 5 Times ) Sweden ( 4 Times ) Without World Cup experience American Samoa Andorra Arabian Gulf Argentina Armenia Austria Azerbaijan Bahamas Barbados Belgium Bermuda Bosnia & Herzegovina Botswana Brazil British Virgin Islands Bulgaria Burundi Cambodia Cameroon Cayman Islands Chile China Colombia Cook Islands Croatia Czech Republic Denmark Fiji Finland Georgia Ghana Guam Guyana Hungary India Iran Israel Ivory Coast Jamaica Kenya Kyrgyzstan Lao Latvia Lithuania Luxembourg Madagascar Malaysia Mali Malta Mauritania Mauritius Mexico Moldova Monaco Mongolia Morocco Namibia Nigeria Niue Norway Pakistan Papua New Guinea Paraguay Peru Philippines Poland Portugal Romania Rwanda St. Lucia St. Vincent & the Grenadines Serbia Senegal Singapore Slovenia Solomon Islands South Korea Sri Lanka Swaziland Switzerland Tahiti Taiwan ( Chinese Taipei ) Tanzania Thailand Togo Tonga Trinidad and Tobago Tunisia Uganda Ukraine Uruguay Uzbekistan Vanuatu Venezuela Zambia Zimbabwe International rugby union competitions World Rugby Africa Asia Europe North America South America Oceania Worldwide Men World Cup World Cup Sevens Sevens Series U20 World Championship U20 Trophy Women World Cup Sevens World Cup Sevens Series Multi-sport events Olympic Games ( 7s ) Asian Games Commonwealth Games ( 7s ) Pacific Games Pan American Games Intercontinental Nations Cup Women 's Nations Cup Pacific Nations Cup Pacific Rugby Challenge The Rugby Championship Continental Africa Africa Cup African Development Trophy North African Tri Nations Rugby Africa Sevens African Rugby Under - 19 Cup Asia Asia Rugby Championship Asian Sevens Series Europe Six Nations Rugby Europe International Championships European Nations Cup Women 's Six Nations Under - 20 Six Nations Under - 19 Championship Under - 18 Championship Oceania Oceania Cup Oceania U20 Championship Americas South American Rugby Championship Americas Rugby Championship Rugby Americas North Championship South American U19 Championship Defunct Olympic Games ( 15s ) World Games ( 7s ) Churchill Cup Crescent Cup Four Nations Pacific Rim Championship Pan American Serendib International Cup Super Cup Tbilisi Cup U-19 World Championship U-21 World Championship IRB Women 's Sevens Challenge Cup Women 's international rugby World Rugby Rankings World Rugby Awards World cup competitions List of world cups Team American football men women flag football Association football men men 's club women women 's club Athletics Australian rules football Badminton men women mixed Baseball men women Basketball men women wheelchair Beach soccer Boxing Bull riding Cricket men test men ODI men Twenty20 women ODI women Twenty20 indoor Darts Field hockey men women Fistball men women Futsal FIFA men AMF men AMF women Golf men women Handball men women Ice hockey Korfball Lacrosse men women Nine - 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cross mountain biking trials BMX Equestrianism Equestrian Games dressage eventing show jumping Fencing Golf men women Gymnastics artistic rhythmic trampolining Ice skating figure speed short track Judo Luge artificial track natural track Modern pentathlon Rowing Sailing Shooting Skiing alpine nordic freestyle snowboarding Sport climbing Table tennis Taekwondo Tennis Davis Cup Fed Cup Triathlon Weightlifting Wrestling Discontinued Basque pelota Cricket men women Lacrosse men women indoor Polo Roller hockey men women Paralympic sports Team Amputee Football CP Football Ice sledge hockey Wheelchair basketball Wheelchair rugby Wheelchair curling Goalball Sitting volleyball Individual Archery Athletics Badminton Cycling Track cycling Road cycling Powerlifting Skiing Alpine Nordic Swimming Table tennis Cue sports Carom billiards Three - cushion individual team artistic five - pin English billiards Crokinole Pocket billiards eight - ball nine - ball ten - ball straight pool Snooker six - red ladies Mind sports Backgammon Bridge Chess open women Draughts men women checkers draughts - 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Question: who won the women's world series last year
Answer: New Zealand