From The Vaults

27 March 2022

1991 pioneers, players, and perseverance: The first women’s Rugby World Cup

The inaugural women’s Rugby World Cup took place in Wales over a two-week period in April, 1991. Twelve teams competed in venues around Cardiff in Wales, ultimately vying to take home an antique silver trophy...

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27 March 2022

1991 pioneers, players, and perseverance: The first women’s Rugby World Cup

The inaugural women’s Rugby World Cup took place in Wales over a two-week period in April, 1991. Twelve teams competed in venues around Cardiff in Wales, ultimately vying to take home an antique silver trophy...

Read More

21 March 2022

Lost and Found: The History of the Original Women’s Rugby World Cup

Of all the meticulous planning that went into the organisation of the first women’s Rugby World Cup in 1991, the trophy itself was something of an afterthought...

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08 November 2021

RFU at 150: The Red Roses

More than 100 years after the foundation of the Rugby Football Union, another pioneering group of individuals sparked a revolution that would permanently change the face of rugby union in Britain…

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08 October 2021

Q&A with Derek Peaple, Sporting Heritage's Education Lead

The World Rugby Museum has recently launched an extended range of School of Ruck online learning resources as part of a new education partnership with Sporting Heritage, so today we’re sharing a Q&A with their Education Lead, Derek Peaple...

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22 March 2021

RFU150 - The Women's Rugby Football Union

As the Rugby Football Union celebrates its 150th year, we examine six influential governing bodies and their roles in the history and development of Rugby Union since 1871. In our final part we look at the role of the pioneering Women's Rugby Football Union..

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23 July 2018

Cardiff v Newport: The Ladies' Story

A century after the first British women gained the right to vote, our women's rugby historian, Lydia Furse, takes a look at how sport impacted the lives of many women in South Wales during the First World War.

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05 March 2018

Dual Identity: Two Women’s Rugby Players Capped For Two Countries (Each!)

Our women's rugby historian Lydia Furse has been exploring those who have played at the national representative senior level for more than one country.

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18 December 2017

Women in Rugby Union: A Story Worth Telling

A new PhD project delving into the history of women in rugby union is being undertaken by Lydia Furse through the World Rugby Museum and De Montfort University. She tells us about her passion for rugby and her project aspirations in this Q&A.

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07 August 2017

Vodka, Monsters and a disputed third place: the 1991 Women’s Rugby World Cup

The first Women's Rugby World Cup could easily not have occurred. The International Rugby Board refused to recognise the tournament, 600 potential sponsors were consulted with not a single one interested in supporting the event, and a number of unions refused sponsorship for their national women's teams, who then had to pay their own way.

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22 October 2014

The Last Game of Rugby (2029)

The following article by Leonard R Tosswill was first published in Rugby Football Weekly in January of 1929. It involves an imagined future (2029) in which women and men played rugby on the same team- women as backs, men as forwards.

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08 August 2014

INTERVIEW: How to win the Women’s Rugby World Cup by Gill Burns

A Q&A with 1994 England Rugby World Cup winner Gillian Ann Burns...

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