The UK Web Archive is collecting websites about the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025. One of the most anticipated opening fixtures will see Wales play Scotland on 23rd August at the Salford Community Stadium.
The competition will be held in England but it is worth reminding ourselves that the first Rugby World Cup for women was held in 1991 in Cardiff. Looking back, it is pleasing to see how the women’s game has progressed, as well as the way that the Legal Deposit Libraries collect publications has been revolutionised in a short time.
As with other tournaments held in the UK, such as the 2021 Rugby League World Cup, much of the online material is published in the UK. This means we have permission to comprehensively acquire and preserve websites related to this tournament. This is because the Legal Deposit Libraries are entitled to copy UK-published material from the internet for archiving under legal deposit.
The Legal Deposit Libraries are building a Collection containing websites on the 2025 Women’s Rugby World Cup. The Collection has subsections on Organizations, Sponsors, Press Media and Comment. It is a world away from the 1991 tournament that went ahead despite the disapproval of the International Rugby Board (IRB), the sport's governing body. France confirmed their participation only minutes before the draw and Scotland and Ireland were missing from the tournament. Sadly, there were no sponsors and press coverage in 1991.
You’d think things would have improved by the next tournament in 1994 but it didn’t. The event scheduled for Amsterdam was cancelled only weeks before and a replacement competition was hastily organised. This time Scotland came to the rescue.
Looking forward to the Wales v Scotland fixture, there will be a bumper crowd in Salford, one of eight host cities. A sub-section to the collection will also include Cultural events welcoming visitors from all over the world. There was one host city in 1991 and that was Cardiff. Another reminder of the challenges in 1991 - the Soviet Union Rugby team were not allowed to take money out of their country and arrived with limited resources, relying on bartering goods such as vodka, champagne, and caviar to support their time in Wales.
This article is a celebration of two things. Firstly, of the women's rugby game - it is now considered the fastest-growing sport in Wales, and this will be the biggest sporting tournament held in the UK this year. Secondly, to the way we collect publications for the Legal Deposit Libraries nowadays. We have very little preserved from the 1991 tournament in Wales, however things are very different today. Through the UK Web Archive, we can collect a multitude of websites resulting in an invaluable tool for researchers of the future which preserves the history of this tournament.
If you want to join and help us preserve rugby history, then why not nominate a website for us to archive – it's free and easy to do – click here to fill in a short form about your nomination.
Category: Article