1891 1908 1925 1930 1956 1960s 1962 1963 1965 1966 1970 1972 1973 1975 1976 1979 1980s 1980 1981 1982 1983 1984 1986 1987 1988 1989 1990 1991 1992 1993 1994 1995 1996 1997 1998 1999 2000 2001 2002 2003 2006

1908• Early reports of

women’s rugby beingplayed in France

1975• University students

in Wageningen,Netherlands playthe game

1976• More universities in the

USA take up the game

1988• Japanese Women’s Rugby Football Union formed• First cup final held in the United Kingdom:

Wasps beat Richmond 34-6 at Rosslyn Park

1992• Irish women split from the WRFU

to form their own Irish Women’sRugby Football Union

• The New Zealand women are takenunder the umbrella of the NZRFU

1996• New Zealand shock everyone by

destroying the USA, France (109-0)and Canada with their newly refinedside, at the Canada Cup

• First official Home Nationscompetition held between England,Ireland, Scotland and Wales

1997• First Hong Kong

Sevens tournamentfor women

2000• IWRFU affiliate fully with the IRFU• First international matches for Samoa -

firstly in the Hong Kong Sevens tournamentand then in a match against Japan

• South African women affiliate with SouthAfrican Rugby Football Union

1981• First games played in Japan

1960s• Reports that, following efforts to

play, women’s rugby is banned inSamoa as it is seen to conflictwith the national culture

1956• The Belles of St Mary’s - an

Australian team play rugby(league) in New South Wales

1891• Reports of a team of female rugby

players wanting to tour aroundNew Zealand. Public outcry causestheir tour to be cancelled

1972• Four universities in the USA play the

game: University of Colorado,Colorado State, the University ofIllinois and the University ofMissouri. Later in the 1970s moreBritish universities take up the game.

1970• Formation of Association Francaise de Rugby

Feminin (AFRF) in Toulouse, France.There musthave been significant interest in the game for agoverning body and a competition to be formed.

• Pockets of the game in certain Canadian provinces

1965• The formation of two

serious sides in Francefor a charity match.Reports of othermatches in France

1973• AFRF approach the French Federation

de Rugby (FFR) with a request to beofficially recognised. No recognition foranother ten years

1979• First Italian club team

formed in Milan• Game first played in Spain,

in the Catalonia region

1980• First official national club championship held in USA• First provincial match held in New Zealand

1989• FFRF is formally

integrated into theFederation Francaisede Rugby (FFR)

1995• IWRFU officially

recognised by theIrish Rugby FootballUnion (IRFU)

1999• First Five Nations competition: England,

Ireland, Scotland,Wales and France

2003• Black Ferns play a World XV over two

matches. Both games won by Black Ferns• First ever women’s international match

held at Twickenham (England v France).England win and go on to win a SixNations ‘Grand Slam’

1990• First Irish club teams formed• ‘Rugbyfest’ held in Christchurch, New Zealand.The first large

international gathering of teams (both clubs and national sides)from around the world.The USA side become the ‘Eagles’ and playofficially under this title and for USA Rugby for the first time

1925• La Barette, a French game similar to touch rugby,

played in Paris

1983• Inter-provincial competition starts in

western Canada• Women’s Rugby Football Union (WRFU)

formed to govern the game across theBritish Isles. Founder member clubs are:Leicester Polytechnic, Sheffield University,University College London, University ofKeele,Warwick University, ImperialCollege, Leeds University, Magor Maidens,York University and LoughboroughUniversity

• Numerous teams form in Japan’s majorcities

• Official status given to Spanish women’srugby by the Catalan Federation

1986• First international for British Isles players. Great

Britain v France at Richmond Athletic Park.France win 14-8

1930• Reports of the game in Australia - the New South Wales areas

of Tamworth and Armidale - until halted by World War Two 1962• A team of women players is known to be

representing Edinburgh University

1980s• France dominates the European game

during the 1980s

1966• Charity matches in the

United Kingdom, suchas that played betweenWorthing Rugby Cluband 30 femalesupporters. Male vfemale matches willlater be outlawed bythe Women’s RugbyFootball Union 1982

• First ever women’sinternational rugbymatch. France vNetherlands, in Utrecht.France win 4-0.WimPeperkamp, Netherlandsassistant coach, recallsthat the French werevery organised, havingalready established theirown federation andcompetition.The Netherlands also hada league of ten teams at the time.No-one realised that they weremaking history

• In France the FFR officially recogniseAFRF (now called the FFRF)although they are still not affiliated

1991• Rugby World Cup held in Cardiff,Wales

- USA beat England 19-6, in final- Wales, USA, England, France, Canada, Sweden, USSR, Japan,

Spain, Italy, New Zealand and the Netherlands take part. Forsome sides the tournament is the occasion of their firstinternational match

- Criticism of New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRFU) for notsupporting their women’s team, who made it to the semi-finals.However, there is still a strong ‘cultural cringe’ surroundingwomen’s rugby in New Zealand

- Russian players sell souvenirs before and during matchesto raise funds to cover their expenses

- Four England administrators re-mortgage their houses tocover the expenses of attending the competition

• Netherlands Rugby Union take women under their wing• Spain hold their first national competition• Women’s rugby revived in Australia by Wal Fitzgerald in Newcastle,

New South Wales

1993• First Irish international

match - a defeat toScotland in Edinburgh

• Scottish women split fromthe WRFU to begoverned by a sub-committee of the ScottishRugby Union (the ScottishWomen’s Rugby Union)

• Australian Women’s RugbyUnion formed

• Inaugural Canada Cupcompetition held in Torontobetween Canada, USA,Wales and England.Won by England

2001• ‘Black Ferns’ 27-match winning

streak halted by England (22-17)in Albany during England’s tour toNew Zealand and Australia

2002• France win the first Six Nations competition• First women’s match ever held at Murrayfield,

Scotland (Scotland v Sweden)• Rugby World Cup held in Barcelona, Spain

- New Zealand beat England, 19-9, in final- First appearance in a World Cup for Samoa- Retirement of many renowned women’s

players: Liza Burgess (Wales), Gill Burns(England), Emma Mitchell (England),Nathalie Amiel (France), Farah Palmer (New Zealand), Josee Lacasse (Canada),Monique Hirovanaa (New Zealand)

1994• Rugby World Cup held in Edinburgh, Scotland

- England beat USA, 38-23, in final- Netherlands are due to host the competition but fail

to do so following complications relating to theofficial status of the competition in the eyes of theInternational Rugby Board

- USA, England, France, Canada, Sweden, Russia, Spain,Wales,Japan, Scotland, Ireland, Kazakhstan and Scottish Students(replacing Spain who withdraw) take part

- First appearance in a World Cup for Scotland, Ireland andKazakhstan

- Many nations fail to attend because of confusion over theiraffiliation status with their respective national governing bodies

• The WRFU disband so that Wales and England can go theirseparate ways.The Rugby Football Union for Women is formedin England and the Welsh Women’s Rugby Union affiliates withthe Welsh Rugby Union

• New Zealand rebuild their team and beat Australia (37-0) inAustralia’s first international match

1998• First official IRB-sanctioned ‘Rugby World

Cup’ tournament held in Amsterdam,Netherlands- New Zealand beat USA, 44-12, in final- Canada,The Netherlands, England, Sweden,

USA, Russian Federation, Spain,Wales, France,Kazakhstan, Australia, Ireland, New Zealand,Germany, Scotland and Italy take part

- First appearance in a World Cup for Australia(‘The Wallaroos’) and Germany

- New Zealand drop the nickname ‘Gal Blacks’ tobecome the ‘Black Ferns’ during thetournament.The black fern is the female versionof the silver fern used by the male team.Theyconcede only 32 points in the entire competitionand score 344.Their multi-phase play proves toosophisticated for the other nations

• Scotland beat England for the first time in theHome Nations Championship

1987• Quebec joins Canadian competition

to make it a national tournament• Canadian Rugby Board accept a

women’s vice president onto theircommittee

• First international match betweenCanada and an American XV inBritish Columbia, which begins theCan-Am competition. USA win 22-3.

• First international matches forEngland and Wales.They play each other atPontypool Park in a match won 22-4 byEngland

• WRFU National League Final held atTwickenham - the first women to play acompetitive match on the hallowed turf

1984• Lega Nazionale Rugby Feminile formed in Italy

and the first national championships are held• Jim Greenwood (former Scotland and British

Isles player) coaches a Loughborough Universityside that includes many important Britishplayers such as Liza Burgess, Karen Almondand, later, the Mitchell twins

1963• Female students participate in matches

against male students in London

2006• Rugby World Cup held in Edmonton, Canada

- Opening match on 31 August is Canada vNew Zealand (hosts v champions)

- Final to be held on 17 September- Who will be victorious?