Wallaby joy - 1991 World Cup Results Here Australia triumphed at Twickenham as England abandoned a winning formula by Andy Roberts. England provided the strongest challenge to the Southern giants as the second Rugby World Cup went north in 1991. But their decision to give up the "safety first" tactics which got them to the final in favour of expansive rugby cost them dear, as Australia won 12-6. Welsh hopes fell at the first hurdle as they suffered the latest indignity in their rapid decline in fortune - beaten 16-13 by Western Samoa in Cardiff. The tournament ewcomers proved it wasn’t a fluke by reaching the quarter-finals with victory over Argentina. Australia’s path to the final wasn’t all plain sailing as a last-ditch try by Michael Lynagh saved their skins in the match of the tournament - a quarter-final against Ireland at Lansdowne Road. Even sweeter was their semi-final victory over reigning champions New Zealand at the Dublin venue. Meanwhile there were few French without tears in Paris, as they claimed to be more distraught at losing their quarter-final at home to England than at defeat by the All Blacks in the 1987 final. Whatever the fate of the big guns, the tournament had given a boost to emerging rugby nations, with more than twenty countries involved in qualifying rounds for the final stages, and both Western Samoa and Canada making the quarter-finals.