National team appearances in the Women's Rugby World Cup
This article presents the national team appearances in the Women's Rugby World Cup. The article tracks the appearances, results, and debuts for all national teams that have participated in at least one Women's Rugby World Cup.[1] The 1998 tournament was the first official Womens Rugby World Cup at the time. It was not until 2009 that the IRB officially endorsed the 1991 and 1994 events as "world cups" when it published, for the first time, a list of previous winners.[2]
Number of appearances
Tournament appearances by team, up to and including 2025:
| Team | Apps | Record streak |
Active streak |
Debut | Most recent |
Best result |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 New Zealand
|
9 | 8 | 8 | 1991 | 2025 | Champions (Six times) |
 England
|
10 | 10 | 10 | 1991 | 2025 | Champions (1994, 2014, 2025) |
 United States
|
10 | 10 | 10 | 1991 | 2025 | Champions (1994) |
.svg.png){kind=small} Canada
|
10 | 10 | 10 | 1991 | 2025 | Runners-up (2014, 2025) |
 France
|
10 | 10 | 10 | 1991 | 2021 | Third place (Seven times) |
.svg.png){kind=small} Australia
|
8 | 8 | 8 | 1998 | 2025 | Third place (2010) |
 Wales
|
9 | 5 | 5 | 1991 | 2025 | Fourth place (1994) |
 Ireland
|
8 | 7 | 1 | 1994 | 2025 | Fourth place (2014) |
 Italy
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 1991 | 2025 | Quarter-finals (2021) |
 Kazakhstan
|
6 | 6 | 0 | 1994 | 2014 | 4 Wins (1998) |
 Spain
|
7 | 3 | 1 | 1991 | 2025 | 3 Wins (Three times) |
 Scotland
|
7 | 5 | 2 | 1994 | 2025 | Quarter-finals (2025) |
 Netherlands
|
3 | 2 | 0 | 1991 | 2002 | 3 Wins (1998) |
 Samoa
|
4 | 2 | 1 | 2002 | 2025 | 3 Wins (2002) |
 Sweden
|
4 | 3 | 0 | 1991 | 2010 | 2 Wins (1994) |
 Japan
|
6 | 3 | 3 | 1991 | 2025 | 2 Wins (2002) |
 South Africa
|
5 | 3 | 2 | 2006 | 2025 | Quarter-finals (2025) |
 Russia
|
3 | 3 | 0 | 1991 | 1998 | 1 Win (1994) |
 Fiji
|
2 | 2 | 2 | 2021 | 2025 | 1 Win (Two times) |
 Germany
|
2 | 2 | 0 | 1998 | 2002 | 0 Wins |
 Brazil
|
1 | 1 | 1 | 2025 | 2025 | 0 Wins |
 Hong Kong
|
1 | 1 | 0 | 2017 | 2017 | 0 Wins |
Results by tournament
- – Not invited / Did not enter or withdrew from qualifying
- Q – Qualified
- • – Did not qualify
- W – Withdrew from final tournament
- – Hosts
For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown. Only teams that have played in at least one tournament are shown. Team's that have only participated in qualifying are not shown.
| Team | 1991 (12) |
1994 (12) |
1998 (16) |
2002 (16) |
2006 (12) |
2010 (12) |
2014 (12) |
2017 (12) |
2021 (12) |
2025 (16) |
2029 | 2033 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | ||||||||||||
| South Africa
|
12th | 10th | 10th | 11th | 6th | |||||||
| Asia | ||||||||||||
| Hong Kong
|
• | • | • | • | 12th | W | • | |||||
| Japan
|
11th | 8th | 13th | • | • | • | 11th | 12th | 11th | |||
| Kazakhstan
|
9th | 9th | 11th | 11th | 11th | 12th | • | • | ||||
| Europe | ||||||||||||
| England
|
2nd | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | Q | |
| France
|
3rd | 3rd | 8th | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | 3rd | 3rd | 3rd | 4th | Q | |
| Germany
|
W | 14th | 16th | • | ||||||||
| Ireland
|
7th | 10th | 14th | 8th | 7th | 4th | 8th | • | 5th | |||
| Italy
|
8th | W | 12th | 12th | • | • | 9th | 5th | 10th | |||
| Netherlands
|
7th | 13th | 15th | W | • | • | • | • | • | |||
| Russia
|
11th[N 1] | 11th | 16th | • | • | • | • | |||||
| Scotland
|
5th | 6th | 6th | 6th | 8th | • | • | 10th | 7th | |||
| Spain
|
6th | W | 7th | 8th | 9th | • | 9th | 10th | • | 14th | ||
| Sweden
|
10th | 10th | 15th | 12th | • | |||||||
| Wales
|
9th | 4th | 11th | 10th | 9th | 8th | 7th | 8th | 13th | |||
| North America | ||||||||||||
| Canada
|
5th | 6th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 4th | 2nd | 5th | 4th | 2nd | Q | |
| United States
|
1st | 2nd | 2nd | 5th | 5th | 5th | 6th | 4th | 7th | 9th | Q | |
| Oceania | ||||||||||||
| Australia
|
5th | 7th | 7th | 3rd | 7th | 6th | 9th | 8th | Q | |||
| Fiji
|
W | • | 9th | 12th | ||||||||
| New Zealand
|
3rd | W | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 5th | 1st | 1st | 3rd | Q | |
| Samoa
|
9th | 10th | • | 11th | W | 16th | ||||||
| South America | ||||||||||||
| Brazil
|
• | 15th | ||||||||||
Debut of national teams
21 nations have thus far qualified for the Women's Rugby World Cup. From 1991 until 2006, each edition featured at least one new country. The 2010 tournament was the first edition with no debutant.
| Year | Nation(s) | Total |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Canada England France Italy Japan Netherlands New Zealand Russia[N 1] Spain Sweden United States Wales
|
12 |
| 1994 | Ireland Kazakhstan Scotland
|
3 |
| 1998 | Australia Germany
|
2 |
| 2002 | Samoa
|
1 |
| 2006 | South Africa
|
1 |
| 2010 | None | 0 |
| 2014 | None | 0 |
| 2017 | Hong Kong
|
1 |
| 2021 | Fiji
|
1 |
| 2025 | Brazil
|
1 |
Result of host nations
The best result by the hosts is champions, achieved by New Zealand in 2021 and England in 2025. The worst result was by the Netherlands in 1998.
| Year | Host nation | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| 1991 | Wales
|
9th place |
| 1994 | Scotland
|
5th place |
| 1998 | Netherlands
|
13th place |
| 2002 | Spain
|
8th place |
| 2006 | Canada
|
Fourth place |
| 2010 | England
|
Runners-up |
| 2014 | France
|
Third place |
| 2017 | Ireland
|
8th place |
| 2021 | New Zealand
|
Champions |
| 2025 | England
|
Champions |
| 2029 | Australia
|
To be determined |
| 2033 | United States
|
To be determined |
Results of defending champions
| Year | Defending champions | Finish |
|---|---|---|
| 1994 | United States
|
Runners-up |
| 1998 | England
|
Third place |
| 2002 | New Zealand
|
Champions |
| 2006 | New Zealand
|
Champions |
| 2010 | New Zealand
|
Champions |
| 2014 | New Zealand
|
5th Place |
| 2017 | England
|
Runners-up |
| 2021 | New Zealand
|
Champions |
| 2025 | New Zealand
|
Third place |
| 2029 | England
|
To be determined |
Performance by confederation
This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.
| Confederation | 1991 (12) |
1994 (12) |
1998 (16) |
2002 (16) |
2006 (12) |
2010 (12) |
2014 (12) |
2017 (12) |
2021 (12) |
2025 (16) |
2029 | 2033 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | — | — | — | — | 12th | 10th | 10th | — | 11th | 6th | TBD | TBD |
| Asia | 11th | 8th | 9th | 11th | 11th | 11th | 12th | 11th | 12th | 11th | TBD | TBD |
| Europe | 2nd | 1st | 3rd | 2nd | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 1st | TBD | TBD |
| North America | 1st | 2nd | 2nd | 4th | 4th | 4th | 2nd | 4th | 4th | 2nd | TBD | TBD |
| Oceania | 3rd | — | 1st | 1st | 1st | 1st | 5th | 1st | 1st | 3rd | TBD | TBD |
| South America | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | — | 15th | TBD | TBD |
Number of teams by confederation
This is a summary of the total number of participating teams by confederation in each tournament.
| Confederation | 1991 (12) |
1994 (12) |
1998 (16) |
2002 (16) |
2006 (12) |
2010 (12) |
2014 (12) |
2017 (12) |
2021 (12) |
2025 (16) |
2029 | 2033 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | TBD | TBD |
| Asia | 1 | 2 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 1 | TBD | TBD |
| Europe | 8 | 7 | 11 | 9 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 6 | 5 | 7 | TBD | TBD |
| North America | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | 2 | TBD | TBD |
| Oceania | 1 | 0 | 2 | 3 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 2 | 3 | 4 | TBD | TBD |
| South America | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 0 | 1 | TBD | TBD |
Appearance droughts
This section is a list of droughts associated with the participation of women's national rugby union teams in the Women's Rugby World Cups.
Longest active droughts
Does not include teams that have not yet made their first appearance or teams that no longer exist.
| Team | Last appearance | WC Missed |
|---|---|---|
| Russia
|
1998 | 7 |
| Germany
|
2002 | 6 |
| Netherlands
|
2002 | 6 |
| Sweden
|
2010 | 4 |
| Kazakhstan
|
2014 | 3 |
| Hong Kong
|
2017 | 2 |
Longest droughts overall
Only includes droughts begun after a team's first appearance. Updated to include qualification for the 2025 Women's Rugby World Cup. Only teams that have missed a minimum of two world cups are listed.
| Team | Prev. appearance | Next appearance | WC Missed |
|---|---|---|---|
| Russia
|
1998 | Active | 7 |
| Germany
|
2002 | Active | 6 |
| Netherlands
|
2002 | Active | 6 |
| Sweden
|
2010 | Active | 4 |
| Japan
|
2002 | 2017 | 3 |
| Italy
|
2002 | 2017 | 3 |
| Kazakhstan
|
2014 | Active | 3 |
| Samoa
|
2014 | 2025 | 2 |
| Scotland
|
2010 | 2021 | 2 |
| Hong Kong
|
2017 | Active | 2 |
Notes
- ^ a b As the Soviet Union
References
- ^ "Rugby World Cup Women's Stats Archive". Scrum Half Connection. Retrieved 19 June 2025.
- ^ "IRB press release". Archived from the original on 2 December 2013.