WALES ON THE RWC STAGE
Ever since their third-place finish at the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, it has been a case of nearly but not quite for Wales.
There have been the usual mix of highs and lows since then, with another semi-final appearance in 2011, but the bronze medal in Australia is still the pinnacle of their achievement on the game’s biggest stage.
With a talented team that would go on to win the Triple Crown the following year, Clive Rowlands’ team opened their Rugby World Cup account with a 13-6 win over Ireland in Wellington. Mark Ring scored the only try, the mercurial Jonathan Davies struck two drop goals and Paul Thorburn added a penalty.
A 29-16 win over Tonga featured a Glenn Webbe hat-trick, while World Rugby Hall of Fame inductee Ieuan Evans went one better in the final pool game as Canada were well-beaten, 40-9.
Tries from Gareth Roberts, Robert Jones and John Devereux ensured Wales of a win against rivals England in a scrappy quarter-final, before New Zealand proved one step too far in the last four. Missing key figures like second-row Bob Norster through injury and down to 14 men after the dismissal of his replacement Huw Richards, Wales were no match for the eventual world champions and lost 49-6.
Even so, Wales picked themselves up admirably to beat Australia to third place after Paul Thorburn landed a magnificent touchline conversion following Adrian Hadley’s late try for a 22-21 win.
With so many of their stars switching codes to play Rugby League, a transitional Wales side were unable to make it past the pool stages at the 1991 and 1995 editions.
Rocked by the resignation of head coach Ron Waldron on the eve of the 1991 tournament, Wales’ challenge was effectively over before it started after they fell to a humbling 16-13 defeat to Western Samoa in Cardiff.
History repeated itself in 1995 when Alan Davies, who had taken over from Waldron, left his post with the tournament in South Africa only a few months away.
With Australian Alex Evans as caretaker coach, Wales kicked off their campaign with a 57-10 win against Japan in Bloemfontein, debutant Gareth Thomas giving an early glimpse of his try-scoring pedigree with a hat-trick. But defeats to New Zealand (34-9) and Ireland (24-23) saw them make an early exit.
Enter the ‘Great Redeemer’ – Graham Henry. The New Zealander had restored confidence and raised expectations leading into RWC 1999 with notable wins over France in Paris and South Africa in Cardiff in the build-up.
As host nation, Wales started solidly enough with victories over Argentina and Japan but a 10-match winning run was halted by old foes Samoa. A 24-9 quarter-final defeat by Australia at the Millennium Stadium signalled the end of their campaign.
RWC 2003 proved something of a turning point for Wales on the Rugby World Cup stage, scintillating performances against New Zealand and eventual winners England proving that their exciting brand of rugby could trouble the best.
Now coached by Steve Hansen, Wales had gone into the tournament on the back of a Six Nations whitewash, and there were few signs of a revival in the pool stages with largely unconvincing wins over Canada, Tonga and Italy earning them a quarter-final against England.
Free from any pressure, Wales went out to express themselves in the final pool game against New Zealand and had the All Blacks in some trouble, before going on to lose an epic encounter 53-37.
Shane Williams’ brilliance caught England off guard until Mike Catt’s kicking game and their forward dominance eventually told and Wales bowed out in Brisbane on the back of a 28-17 defeat.
There were shades of 1991 and 1999 at RWC 2007, when Fiji emulated Samoa and sent Wales crashing out of the tournament prematurely after a 38-34 victory in Nantes.
Wales exorcised those ghosts four years later in New Zealand, a 66-0 win over Fiji being one step on a remarkable Rugby World Cup journey that captivated the nation and almost delivered historic success.
Having lost by a single point to South Africa in their opening pool game, Wales were up against it from the off in New Zealand. But they came through a tough encounter with Samoa before beating Namibia 81-7 as Scott Williams became the fourth Welsh player to score a Rugby World Cup hat-trick.
With Fiji brushed aside, Wales had a quarter-final against Ireland to look forward to in Wellington – 24 years after their first-ever RWC match in the ‘windy city’. Tries from Shane Williams, Mike Phillips and Jonathan Davies earned them a deserved 22-10 victory.
Masterminded by Shaun Edwards, Wales had a defence the envy of every other nation at RWC 2011, conceding just five tries and 56 points in six matches up to their bronze final showdown with Australia.
Not even Wales, though, could cope, however manfully they tried, with the loss of inspirational captain Sam Warburton to an 18th-minute red card and they slipped to an agonising 9-8 semi-final defeat to France.
RWC 2015 had its own mix of ecstasy and agony for Warren Gatland’s men. Drawn in the ‘Pool of Death,’ Wales at least had the comfort of starting off against rank outsiders Uruguay. After a slow start, they put 50 points on the South Americans with Cory Allen adding his name to the roster of hat-trick heroes before limping off with a tournament-ending injury.
Gareth Davies’ late try from Lloyd Williams’ brilliant cross-field kick and 23 points from Dan Biggar’s unblemished boot sealed a remarkable 28-25 victory over England at Twickenham, before a win over Fiji confirmed Wales’ place in the last eight.
Wales faced Australia in a play-off to decide who would top Pool A and it was the Wallabies who came out on top, 15-6, to extend their winning run over the men in red to 11 consecutive matches.
Another inspired performance by Biggar gave his side a 13-12 half-time lead in the quarter-final against South Africa, but the Springboks rallied well and ultimately broke Welsh hearts when scrum-half Fourie du Preez finished off a blindside move with five minutes to go.
Wales had come within touching distance of glory once again but to no avail.
RECORD BREAKERS
Dan Biggar broke Neil Jenkins’ record for points in a match at a Rugby World Cup with his 23-point haul against England at Twickenham.
HIGH POINT
The Bronze Age. Wales surprised the rugby world by finishing third at the expense of co-hosts Australia in the inaugural tournament in 1987 – still their best finish to date in the history of the competition. Wales would have to wait 18 years before they would beat the Wallabies again in a senior international match.
LOW POINTS
Sam Warburton’s sending off for a dangerous tackle on Vincent Clerc inside the first quarter of their semi-final against France at RWC 2011 was totally gut-wrenching.
Western Samoa – not even the whole of Samoa, as one journalist joked – left Wales red-faced after a 16-13 victory in Cardiff at RWC 1991.
QUOTE, UNQUOTE
“At the end of the day South Africa did what South Africa do. They got one chance and they took it and that was the result.” – Warren Gatland on Wales’ RWC 2015 quarter-final loss to South Africa.
STATS-AMAZING
Dan Biggar’s 75th-minute penalty not only clinched victory against England at Twickenham at RWC 2015, it also saw the Welsh reach the 1,000-point milestone in Rugby World Cup history.
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