The Rugby World Cup is the women's rugby union world championship which is organised by World Rugby. The first Rugby World Cup for women was held in 1991, but it was not until the 1998 tournament that the tournament received official backing from the International Rugby Board (IRB, now World Rugby); by 2009, the IRB had retroactively recognized the 1991 and 1994 tournaments and their champions. Normally, the tournament is held every four years. With the exception of the 2018 edition that was brought forward to 2017 f to be a change of cycle and the 2021 edition that was postponed to 2022, due to the COVID-19 pandemic. Three countries have won the women's Rugby World Cup since its establishment, with New Zealand having won the tournament a record six times. The championship was previously branded as the Women's Rugby World Cup. As part of an effort to promote greater parity between the championship and its men's counterpart, the Rugby World Cup, World Rugby announced in 2019 that the women's championship would be officially marketed under the title Rugby World Cup, with no gender designation, beginning in 2021. History 1990s Before the first Women's Rugby World Cup officially sanctioned by the International Rugby Board there had been three previous tournaments of a similar nature. The first of these was an event held in August 1990 in New Zealand. Though not considered a world cup, the tournament was referred to as the World Rugby Festival for Women. The competition included teams representing the United States, the Netherlands, Russia, and the hosts, New Zealand – who emerged as winners after defeating the United States in the final. The first tournament referred to as the Women's Rugby World Cup was held in 1991 and hosted by Wales. Twelve countries were divided into four groups of three. The United States, against expectations, took the first championship with a 19–6 victory over England. In the Plate competition Canada prevailed over Spain 18–4. Following the first tournament, it was decided to move the tournament schedule to the year prior to the next men's world cup, therefore reducing the quadrennial cycle to just three years. The next event was originally scheduled to take place in Amsterdam but ended up being moved to Scotland. Eleven countries competed in the tournament with the English meeting the United States in the final for the second time; however, in this instance