The inaugural Women's Rugby World Cup took place in Wales over nine days in April 1991.

The 12 teams taking part were USA, England, New Zealand, Netherlands, Spain, Canada, Sweden, Wales, Italy, Japan, the USSR and France; all had to pay their own way to get there and participate, with the entire competition run on a shoestring budget. It was brilliantly organised by a group of four dedicated volunteers: Deborah Griffin, Sue Dorrington, Alice Cooper and Mary Forsyth, all from Richmond RFC. A talented and athletic USA team, who beat England 19-6 in the final, dominated on the field.

The tournament would not be recognised by the IRB as an official Rugby World Cup for almost 20 years, but nonetheless laid the foundations for the future of the women's game.

The 1994 World Cup was initially due to be played in the Netherlands, but the Dutch pulled out of hosting duties just weeks before the event was due to start when it became clear the IRB would not officially endorse it.

Led by Sue Brodie, a group of Scottish volunteers scrambled into action to arrange an alternative competition and eventually 11 of the original 16 entrants agreed to take part, though this did not include New Zealand whose union did not want to play in an unsanctioned event.

Games were held across club grounds in Scotland and impressive crowds turned out to watch the matches, including the final, which was a repeat of three years earlier.

This time England turned the tables and beat the USA 38-23 to be crowned champions.

The first IRB sanctioned Rugby World Cup saw the event held in the Netherlands after the late cancellation four years earlier.

With first appearances for Germany and Australia alongside the return of New Zealand and Spain, 1998 also saw an increase in media interest and many games were shown on television for the first time.

The outstanding Farah Palmer led the dominant New Zealand side who were too far good for everyone, winning the final comfortably against the USA 44-12. The performance and the all-round talent of the team meant it was clear that the Black Ferns were set to dominate international women's rugby.

Held in Barcelona, this time New Zealand travelled as clear favourites for another 16-team Rugby World Cup.

For the first time, some pre-event qualifiers were held in advance, determining who would take part. In the championship, there was a dream debut for Samoa, who beat Ireland early on. New Zealand cruised to the final where they would face England at the Olympic Stadium in Barcelona. Some 8,000 turned out to watch the Black Ferns successfully defend their crown with a 19-9 victory as their performances continued to leave everyone in their wake.

The first Rugby World Cup held outside of Europe was hosted in Edmonton, Canada and was reduced to a 12-team competition in an effort to increase the competitiveness and quality of the games.

There was a World Cup debut for South Africa, but the teams in the semi-finals looked quite familiar, with France, Canada, England and New Zealand all making it through. New Zealand continued their dominance with victory in the final, although the match was very tight and it took some excellent tries late in the game to beat England 25-17.

The 2010 World Cup held at Surrey Sports Park and at the Twickenham Stoop introduced a new format, with all the pool games being played in one location on back-to-back pitches.

This was a huge success with sold-out crowds and a festival-feel to the overall event. Though there were some upsets along the way, with Ireland beating USA and South Africa edging Wales, it was still a repeat of the previous two finals. Played in front of a packed stadium, New Zealand overcame a remarkable three yellow cards to beat England 13-10.

This World Cup also saw record broadcast and media interest, with the women's game receiving coverage like never before.

Hosts France continued the format started four years earlier, with fantastic crowds attending games at Marcoussis before the knockout stages moved to the Stade Jean-Bouin in Paris.

The pool stages will long be remembered for Ireland's shock victory over New Zealand, which helped knock the Black Ferns out of the running before the knockout stages and end their 20-match unbeaten run. That meant new-look semi-finalists with Ireland joining Canada, England and France. A then world-record crowd packed the stands in Paris to see England and Canada to through to the final, and it was England and Canada go through to the final, and it was England who were crowned champions, 20 years on from their last triumph after a 21-9 win.

Dublin and Belfast were the locations for the 2017 World Cup, but Ireland could not repeat their feat of three years earlier.

The Irish were knocked out in the pool stages after a humbling defeat to France and eventually finished a disappointing eighth.

Japan were back at the World Cup for the first time in 15 years and though the USA made the semi-finals this time, the final was once again an England v New Zealand affair with the game being played at the Kingspan Stadium in front of over 17,000 fans.

It was a terrific final which saw a hat-trick from prop Toka Natua as the Black Ferns secured an impressive fifth title.

Despite dominating on the field, 2021 was the first time that New Zealand hosted the tournament. The global pandemic delayed the tournament for a year, eventually taking place between 8th October and 12th November 2022.

The tournament set new records for television viewing, despite the unsociable kick-off times for fans in the northern hemisphere, and saw breakthrough performances from teams such as Fiji, whose prowess in Sevens converted into exciting and entertaining rugby. For the final, 42,579 fans filled a sold-out Eden Park, where the hosts breathtakingly won 34-31 against the Red Roses.

England had entered as strong favourites, winning 30 consecutive international matches on their way to the final. Even playing as 14 following an early red card, England led for most of the match, with the Black Ferns only taking a 3-point lead thanks to a well-worked team try with less than ten minutes on the clock.

England surged back to set up the last play of the game as an attacking line-out on New Zealand's five-metre line, a position from which the Red Roses had scored four times already in the final. But an incredible steal from Black Fern Joanah Ngan-Woo sealed victory for the New Zealanders.

This was the second time the tournament had been held in England. Rather than being hosted in one city, matches were played at eight venues across the length and breadth of the country.

The tournament was expanded to 16 teams from the 12 which participated at the last Rugby World Cup. Having reached the final four in 2021, Canada, England, France and New Zealand qualified automatically, with the remaining positions decided by results in the WXV and regional competitions.

The opening match was played between the Red Roses and the United States at the Stadium of Light in Sunderland on 22nd August. Defending champions New Zealand were eliminated by Canada in the semi-finals, setting up an England v Canada final at Allianz Stadium, Twickenham on 27th September. A record-breaking crowd of 81,885 spectators watched the Red Roses lift the trophy on home turf.