The tournament was not approved by the International Rugby Board (IRB), yet it still went ahead despite the disapproval of the sports governing body.

The tournament champions were the United States who defeated England 19–6 in the final at Cardiff Arms Park in front of almost 3,000 fans.

The organisers considered a number of host cities, and chose Cardiff, Wales for several reasons — because most of the teams were European it made sense to hold the tournament in Europe; the organisers were looking for a strong rugby community, which Wales possessed; and Cardiff offered help, including paying for the welcome ceremony and closing dinner.

Due in some part to the fact that the men's 1991 Rugby World Cup was also being held in Europe that year, with some matches staged in Wales,[4] the women's tournament experienced disappointing attendance revenues and the failure to attract television contracts or sponsorship.

Participants record that New Zealand fielded a weakened team based around players who had not made many appearances in the tournament.

On the other hand, the French RFU have included the game in a recently published official list of internationals, and do appear to have awarded caps.