2009 FIRA Womens European Trophy

The 2009 FIRA tournament served as Europe's qualifying competition for the 2010 World Cup. The top four teams from the 2009 Six Nations automatically qualified, while Scotland (fifth) and Italy (sixth) joined Spain, Netherlands, Russia, Sweden, Germany, and Belgium to compete for the final two spots.

The tournament was divided into two pools based on FIRA rankings. Pool A included seeds Scotland, Netherlands, Russia, and Belgium, while Pool B featured Italy, Spain, Sweden, and Germany. After the pool phase, there were no final or classification games.

Scotland comfortably qualified from Pool A, but Italy faced tougher competition in Pool B against Spain, a team they had never previously beaten. However, neither Italy nor Spain advanced. Instead, hosts Sweden (seed 6) surprised everyone by defeating both teams, coming from behind in the final minutes of each match.

Other matches were one-sided, highlighting the gap between the top eight or nine European teams and the rest. The tournament's point scorers included Ulrika Andersson Hall (Sweden) with 14 points, and several other players contributing varying points.

External links to the FIRA website and a reference to women's international rugby union are also provided.