The 1991 Rugby World Cup was hosted by England with games also held throughout other nations in Europe. The desire to share in the occasion saw five nations – England as hosts with Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France – stage matches. As the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup was dominated by the eight International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) members at the time, the second tournament would herald the emergence of other nations onto the world stage. A capacity crowd at Twickenham saw Australia triumph 12-6 against an England side that had suddenly abandoned their feared forward approach to play a running game.

Qualification

---

The following 16 teams, shown by region, qualified for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Of the 16 teams, eight of those places were automatically filled by the IRFB members and did not have to play any qualification matches. Thirty-two nations competed in a qualification process designed to fill the remaining eight spots.

• Africa

• Americas
  • (IRFB member)

• Oceania
  • (IRFB member)
  • (IRFB member)
  • (IRFB member)

• Asia
  • }px]]}} Japan

• Europe
  • (IRFB member)
  • (IRFB member)
  • (IRFB member)
  • (IRFB member)
  • (IRFB member)

Results

---

Pool A

{| class="wikitable"

!width=165|Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points 395399 2185337 1257765 3241133

• 3 October: New Zealand 18–12 England Twickenham, London
• 5 October: Italy 30–9 USA Cross Green, Otley
• 8 October: New Zealand 46–6 USA Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester
• 8 October: England 36–6 Italy Twickenham, London
• 11 October: England 37–9 USA Twickenham, London
• 13 October: New Zealand 31–21 Italy Welford Road, Leicester

Pool B

{| class="wikitable"

!width=165|Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points 3122369 21102517 1277875 3311583

• 5 October: Scotland 47–9 Japan Murrayfield, Edinburgh
• 6 October: Ireland 55–11 Zimbabwe Lansdowne Road, Dublin
• 9 October: Ireland 32–16 Japan Lansdowne Road, Dublin
• 9 October: Scotland 51–12 Zimbabwe Murrayfield, Edinburgh
• 12 October: Scotland 24–15 Ireland Murrayfield, Edinburgh
• 14 October: Japan 52–8 Zimbabwe Ravenhill, Ulster

Pool C

{| class="wikitable"

!width=165|Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points 379259 2154347 1232615 338833

• 4 October: Australia 32–19 Argentina Stradey Park, Llanelli
• 6 October: Western Samoa 16–13 Wales Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
• 9 October: Australia 9–3 Western Samoa Pontypool Park, Pontypool
• 9 October: Wales 16–7 Argentina Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
• 12 October: Australia 38–3 Wales Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff
• 13 October: Western Samoa 35–12 Argentina Pontypool Park, Pontypool

Pool D

{| class="wikitable"

!width=165|Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points 382259 2145337 1231645 327633

• 4 October: France 30–3 Romania Stade de la Méditerranée, Béziers
• 5 October: Canada 13–3 Fiji Stade Jean Dauger, Bayonne
• 8 October: France 33–9 Fiji Stade Lesdiguières, Grenoble
• 9 October: Canada 19–11 Romania Parc Municipa, Bayonne
• 12 October: Romania 17–15 Fiji Parc Municipa, Bayonne
• 13 October: France 19–13 Canada Stade Armandie, Agen

Knock-out stages

External links

---

• Rugbyworldcup.com
• 1991 Rugby World Cup on Worldcupweb.com

1991 in sports | Rugby World Cup | Rugby union in Ireland | Sports festivals hosted in England | Sports festivals hosted in France

Coupe du monde de rugby 1991 | Verdensmesterskapet i rugby union 1991