There are 16 teams at the IRB Women's World Cup 2002. They are divided into four Pools of four teams each, according to each team's seeding.
For the first set of matches the highest seeded team plays the lowest seeded team whilst the two mid-seeded teams play each other.
After the first round of matches the positions in each Pool are recalculated with the winners of the first matches in first and second places, and the losers in third and fourth places.
In the second set of matches, the top two teams and the bottom two teams from each Pool play each other. The final Pool standings are calculated from the results of these matches to give the final four positions in each Pool.
The four top teams in each of the Pools go forward to contest the World Cup title. The second placed teams from each Pool play for 5th position (the Plate), the third place teams for 9th (the Bowl), and the fourth placed teams for 13th (the Shield). The four teams in each of these groups are reseeded to decide who plays who at this stage of the tournament.
The two winning teams from each of these 'semi-finals' then face each other in the 'final' whilst the losing teams play each other.From the IRB tournament guide
