1991 trailblazers changed game
IT took World Rugby almost two decades to officially recognise the 1991 Women’s World Cup, and even then, without any fanfare. Instead, the then IRB acknowledged the event as the first-ever women’s World Cup in 2009 by simply publishing a list of previous winners in a Press release to announce bidding for the 2014 tournament.
So with no help whatsoever from the IRB, the 1991 World Cup was organised by four women connected with Richmond Rugby Club: Deborah Griffin, Sue Dorrington, Alice Cooper and Mary Forsyth. Against the odds they managed to stage a 12-nation tournament in Wales, 15 games in eight days, with the United States defeating England 19-6 in the final.
The players, who were all amateur, took time off work to play and received no funding – the Russian team even took to selling vodka and caviar so they could afford to eat.
Thirty years on, American-born organiser and player Dorrington recalls the mighty effort to get the event staged – and the journey to the final. “All the teams were on a very tight schedule; nobody could afford it,” Dorrington says. “They all had to come in and then get out. There were no sponsors, no help from the Unions. We had two weeks off to play and we had to go straight back to work.
“So it was quite an incredible experience. And it was quite a pounding schedule, so if you weren’t fit, you really did suffer.”
England centre Sam Robson organised the merchandise for the tournament from her flat in North East London, which she took down to Wales in the back of her car.
Robson says: “I ordered stuff from a supplier and said, ‘if we run out, I need you to do a really swift order’, and I am going to nip up from Wales. And that’s exactly what happened. In the middle of the tournament, I drove in my little Peugeot 205 to Ealing to pick up this stuff and rushed back again so we could sell a bit more of it.”
One of the tournament favourites, England, opened up with a 12-0 win over tough-tackling Spain thanks to tries from Cheryl Stennett and Claire Williets. “In that Spain game, the weather was absolutely atrocious,” adds Robson, “playing in the backs, we were freezing. It was one of those forwards rolling maul type of games. When we got off the pitch, I remember one of the girls going straight into the shower in all her kit because she was too cold to take it off.
“I know it’s Wales in April, but it was terrible. I have to say that it got slightly better after that.”
England booked their semi-final birth against France after recovering from 9-4 down at half-time to beat Italy 25-9 thanks to a Stennett hat-trick.
The French had not conceded a point in the run to the semi-final but were starved of the ball and couldn’t get a touch in the first half. England won 13-0 with tries from Gill Burns and Debbie Francis on another cold night in Cardiff, with the forwards and hooker Dorrington, in particular, having a field day.
“It was incredible, we had never beaten France before,” says Dorrington. “I took great delight in absolutely
trashing their hooker. I deliberately broke her and had her crying. I knew that when I mentally broke her, technically they would break down. I really worked at it. She just sobbed throughout the last quarter, and we beat them. We feared them so much, but we were so confident that we could beat them and get to the final.”
Robson recalls that France, who had been a late call-up to the tournament, sprung a selection surprise just before kick-off that back-fired. “It was an odd game because they had a flanker who they decided the best tactic was for her to play in the centre,” says Robson. “She was a very skilled player, and she was huge compared to the average English player and probably weighed about four stone more than I did.
“The idea was to crash ball through us, and trying to contain her was a massive challenge for us in the centres. It was a radically different approach to what we had seen before, and for me, it was a personal victory that I had stopped this massive centre. We were having none of it.”
The United States, who had beaten another of the tournament favourites, New Zealand, 7-0 in their semi-final, contested the final with
“I took delight in absolutely trashing the French hooker and had her crying” - Sue Dorrington
England two days later – a tough experience for Dorrington. “I started out with some of those women in the States and it was quite hard to see them on the pitch. I wasn’t conflicted, I was definitely playing for England, but it was a weird setup. I was an American stood there signing God Save the Queen, and they were next door singing something else.
“But your heart is where the team is, and losing to them was a really hard pill to swallow.”.
England opened the scoring with a penalty try to go 6-0 ahead but could not capitalise with American brawn taking control of the game.
And three tries in 12 second-half minutes gave the Americans a 19-6 victory, which was used as motivation three years later when England gained revenge in the 1994 final.
Robson, who retired after the final, added: “The States had always been an incredibly strong team. They were always bigger, more athletic and had more experience in playing than us. So we knew that they were always going to be a really athletic, wellorganised team.
“We had played France before, but we knew that America were going to be the biggest unknown in it. They were good at taking advantage of quick opportunities. They scored a quick soft try by taking the ball rapidly and catching us unaware.
“And I don’t think we recovered from the shock of it, and we were on the back foot and in disarray. It was something that we hadn’t really seen before, and we weren’t quick enough in planning our response.”