Rugby World Cup
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- See Rugby League World Cup for the World Cup contested in rugby league.
Image:Webb Ellis Trophy.jpg The Rugby World Cup (often called the RWC or simply the World Cup) is the premier international rugby union contest in the world, first held jointly in Australia and New Zealand in 1987, and now held every four years. The prize is the William Webb Ellis Trophy (known in Australia as Bill) named after the pupil of Rugby school credited, probably apocryphally, with the game's invention.
The tournament is considered to be one of the top three international sporting events in the world, with the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics being the other two. The title of world champions is currently held by England, who won the 2003 tournament held in Australia.
Contents |
Winners summary
| Year | Host | Winner | Captain | Coach | Losing finalist | Score |
| 1987 | New Zealand and Australia | New Zealand | David Kirk | Sir Brian Lochore | France | 29-9 |
| 1991 | England | Australia | Nick Farr-Jones | Bob Dwyer | England | 12-6 |
| 1995 | South Africa | South Africa | Francois Pienaar | Kitch Christie | New Zealand | 15-12 |
| 1999 | Wales | Australia | John Eales | Rod Macqueen | France | 35-12 |
| 2003 | Australia | England | Martin Johnson | Sir Clive Woodward | Australia | 20-17 |
| 2007 | France | Not Yet Played | - | - | - | - |
| 2011 | New Zealand | Not Yet Played | - | - | - | - |
3rd placed teams
- 1987 Wales
- 1991 New Zealand
- 1995 France
- 1999 South Africa
- 2003 New Zealand
History
Template:Main Rugby Union World Cup was originally thought up in late 1983, when the Australian Rugby Union and the New Zealand Rugby Football Union each independently wrote to the International Rugby Board seeking to conduct a World Cup tournament.
In 1985 the IRB approved the inaugural Rugby Union World Cup to be jointly staged in Australia and New Zealand during May and June of 1987.
Nominally hosted by England and Wales, respectively, the 1991 and 1999 tournaments had games spread over the UK, Ireland and France.
The 1995 Cup, hosted and won by South Africa, will probably be most remembered for two moments—the emergence of Jonah Lomu as a rugby superstar, and the trophy presentation. In one of the most emotional moments in sports history, President Nelson Mandela wore a Springbok jersey and matching baseball cap when presenting the trophy to the team's Afrikaner captain Francois Pienaar. Mandela's jersey had Pienaar's number 6 on the back. The presentation was widely seen as a sign of reconciliation between South Africa's black and white communities.
The 2003 Cup was intended to be held jointly by Australia and New Zealand, but disagreements between the International Rugby Board and the NZ Union, over sponsorship, advertising and ticketing, saw the competition relocated to Australia.
The 2007 competition will be held in France, with some games played in Wales and Scotland. The 2011 tournament was awarded to New Zealand in November 2005, ahead of bids from Japan and South Africa.
Format
Qualification
Template:Main Qualifying tournaments were introduced in the 1991 Rugby World Cup, where eight of the sixteen places were filled through a qualifying tournament involving 32 sides.
The inaugural World Cup in 1987, did not involve any such qualifying process, instead, the sixteen places were automatically filled by the IRFB member nations.
The current format sees eight of the 20 available positions filled by automatic qualification. The quarter finalists of the previous event will automatically qualify for its successor. The remaining positions are filled by continental qualifying tournaments - three from Europe, three from the Americas, one from Africa and one from Asia.
Tournament
The current competition has twenty nations competiting in four pools, A through to D.
The winner and runner-up of each pool qualifies for the finals leg of the tournament, which sees four qualifying games, the winner of each pool being put against a runner-up of an opposing pool.
The winner of each qualifier goes on to the semi-finals, where the respective winners go on to the final. Losers of the semi-finals contest for third place.
Records and statistics
Template:Main Most overall points in final stages
- Gavin Hastings 227 Scotland 1987-95
Most points in one competition
- Grant Fox 126 New Zealand 1987
Most points in a match by a team
- 145 New Zealand v Japan 1995
Biggest winning match margins
- 142 Australia 142-0 v Namibia 2003
Most points in a match by a player
- Simon Culhane 45 New Zealand v Japan 1995
Most overall tries in final stages
- Jonah Lomu 15 New Zealand 1995-99
Most tries in one competition
- Jonah Lomu 8 New Zealand 1999
Most tries in a match by a team
- 22 Australia v Namibia 2003
Most tries in a match by a player
- Marc Ellis 6 New Zealand v Japan 1995
Most appearances
- Sean Fitzpatrick (NZ) 17 1987-1995
Most conversions in a match
- Simon Culhane 20 (NZ v Japan) 1995
Most penalties in a match
- Matt Burke 8 (Australia v South Africa, 1999)
Most penalties in one tournament
- Gonzalo Quesada (Argentina) 31 (1999).
Most drop goals in a match
- Jannie de Beer 5 (SA v England) 1999
See also
External links
- 2007 Rugby Union World Cup website (from the IRB)
- A Rugby Union World Cup website
- Official Travel & Hospitality site
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