 In 1989 , England won matches against Romania and Fiji , followed by victories in their first three Five Nations games of 1990 . They lost to Scotland in their last game however , giving Scotland a Grand Slam . England recovered in the following year by winning their first Grand Slam since 1980 . England hosted the 1991 World Cup and were in pool A , along with the All Blacks , Italy and the United States . Although they lost to the All Blacks in pool play , they qualified for a quarter @-@ final going on to defeat France 19 – 10 . England then defeated Scotland 9 – 6 to secure a place in the final against Australia which they lost 12 – 6 . 
