# 1991 Rugby World Cup

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

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 |
| 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 |
| 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 |
| Llanelli | Pontypool | Pontypridd | Otley |
| Stradey Park | Pontypool Park | Sardis Road | Cross Green |
| Capacity: 10,800 | Capacity: 8,800 | Capacity: 7,200 | Capacity: 5,000 |

## 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 | 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 | | 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) | 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 | 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 |
| 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)
* 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)
* 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)
* 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)
* 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)
* 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 | 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 |
| 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 | Report | Try: 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: 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)
* 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 | 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 |
| 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)
* 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: 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

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

* 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

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 | 24 |

## 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.