Tournament history

The idea of a Rugby World Cup had long been discussed but it was not until March 1985 that a proposal was put in front of the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) at its annual meeting in Paris. Australia’s Nicholas Shehadie and New Zealand’s Richard Littlejohn had been the driving force behind the proposal, visiting England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales to try to win crucial support from those unions for the proposal. They met with mixed responses, but come the vote the proposal was passed by 10-6 with Australia and New Zealand to co-host the inaugural tournament two years later.

Participation at a Rugby World Cup is now decided by a highly competitive qualification process, but for the inaugural men’s tournament in 1987, nine of the 16 teams were invited to take part with the rest coming from the seven member unions of the then IRFB (now World Rugby) in Australia, England, France, Ireland, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales with South Africa unable to play given their international sporting isolation due to the apartheid regime. 

New Zealand became the first team to hold aloft the Webb Ellis Cup after a 29-9 victory over France in the inaugural final, and have done so again twice since, as hosts again in 2011 and then in England in 2015. Led by the indefatigable Richie McCaw in both triumphs, the All Blacks are the only team to successfully defend the trophy.

South Africa made up for lost time by lifting the Webb Ellis Cup at the first attempt on home soil in 1995 with President Nelson Mandela presenting the trophy to Springbok captain Francois Pienaar in one of the most iconic images in sport. South Africa are level with the All Blacks on three titles, following further successes in 2007 and 2019.

The Springboks did, however, fall victim to what is ranked as the biggest shock in Rugby World Cup history between those two title-winning campaigns, when they lost to Japan in a never-to-be-forgotten encounter in Brighton at RWC 2015. The Brave Blossoms used that 34-32 victory as a springboard for an even better campaign in 2019 when, as Asia’s first hosts, they reached the quarter-finals for the first time.

Along with New Zealand and South Africa, Australia are the other multiple winners of the Webb Ellis Cup, with victories in 1991 and 1999 capping a golden decade for a Wallabies team stacked with exciting talent. While David Campese epitomised the attacking flair of the 1991 team, defence was the cornerstone of the 1999 win, with just one try conceded all tournament.

England are the only team to have broken the southern hemisphere monopoly. In 2003, Clive Woodward’s side faced hosts Australia in the second final to go to extra-time – South Africa v New Zealand in 1995 was the first – and prevailed 20-17 thanks to a last-gasp Jonny Wilkinson drop goal.

The women's tournament

The idea of a women’s Rugby World Cup grew after an international tournament in New Zealand in 1990 and after much hard work and dedication by the four-woman organising committee of Deborah Griffin, Alice Cooper, Sue Dorrington and Mary Forsyth, some 12 teams converged on the Welsh capital Cardiff in April 1991 for nine days of rugby, some having paid their own way to get there.

Ever since that first tournament was scheduled in the same year as the men’s in 1991, the women’s Rugby World Cup has stood alone in the sporting calendar and largely been held every four years, shifting to three years twice – in 1994 to avoid it falling in the same year as the men’s tournament and again in 2017 to ensure it didn’t clash with Rugby World Cup Sevens which had moved to sit in the middle of the Olympic Games cycle.

The USA were crowned inaugural champions in Cardiff after beating England 19-6 and went on to reach the next two Rugby World Cup finals, in 1994 and 1998.

England turned the tables on the Women’s Eagles three years later in Edinburgh before New Zealand became the dominant force, winning the next four Rugby World Cups on offer, adding to their 1998 triumph with more success in 2002, 2006 and 2010 – winning all 19 matches played in those tournaments.

The Black Ferns’ 16-year dynasty of success came to an end at France 2014 when a shock loss to Ireland in the pool phase cost them the chance to defend the trophy. That paved the way for England to claim their second Rugby World Cup title, 20 years after their first, with a 21-9 win against first-time finalists Canada. However, the Black Ferns bounced back to reclaim their crown at Ireland 2017.

While there have only been three winners of the women’s Rugby World Cup, each tournament has had a different host. In 2022, New Zealand will become the ninth country to have that honour with the Black Ferns bidding to become the first host nation to be crowned champions.

New Zealand and South Africa are the most successful teams in men’s Rugby World Cup history, having each lifted the Webb Ellis Cup on three occasions – the All Blacks in 1987, 2011 and 2015 and the Springboks in 1995, 2007 and 2019.

Australia were crowned champions in 1991 and 1999 with England, the only northern hemisphere nation lift the coveted trophy, in 2003. France are the only other nation to have reached a Rugby World Cup final, but they have suffered heartbreak on three occasions, in 1987, 1999 and 2011.

First held in Australia and New Zealand in 1987, the tournament has alternated between the northern and southern hemisphere every four years.

History was made in 2019 when the tournament was hosted in Asia for the first time, with Japan the hosts of a tournament that set records on and off the pitch and created a lasting legacy across the region.

Rugby World Cup 2019 attracted two million new participants to the sport, achieved a 99 per cent attendance rate, set a new fan zone attendance record of 1.13 million and delivered a record nationwide economic impact of £4.3 billion.

MEN'S KNOCKOUT STAGE RESULTS

Rugby World Cup 2019

Japan made history on home soil in 2019, becoming the first Asian side to host a Rugby World Cup and to reach the event's quarter-final stage. Four years earlier in England, the Brave Blossoms had caused arguably the greatest shock in the tournament's history by beating South Africa. Four years on, they performed more heroics by going unbeaten in pool play against Russia, Ireland, Samoa and Scotland.

There was disappointment but no disgrace in bowing out to the eventual champions South Africa in the quarter-finals. 

Rugby World Cup 2015

Four years on from lifting the Webb Ellis Cup on home soil in New Zealand, a feat that had restored the All Blacks' World Cup pride after a 24-year wait, Richie McCaw became the first man to lift the trophy twice.

The All Blacks beat great trans-Tasman rivals Australia in the final at Twickenham, a result which also brought a fitting climax to the international careers of both McCaw and fly-half Daniel Carter.

In the bronze final, South Africa overcame Argentina.

Rugby World Cup 2011

 
Rugby World Cup 2007

Rugby World Cup  2003

 
Rugby World Cup 1999

 
Rugby World Cup 1995

Rugby World Cup 1991

 
Rugby World Cup 1987