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For the World Cup that is contested in rugby league, see Rugby League World Cup.

The Rugby World Cup is the premier international rugby union competition in the world. The event is organised by the the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), and is contested by the men's national rugby union teams. The inaugural tournament was held in 1987, hosted by both Australia and New Zealand, and now held every four years. The winners are awarded the William Webb Ellis Trophy which is named after the pupil of Rugby school credited with the game's invention. The tournament is one of the largest international national sporting competitions in the world, with the FIFA World Cup and the Summer Olympics being the paramount events. The title of world champions is currently held by England, who won the 2003 tournament held in Australia. The next Rugby World Cup will be hosted in France during September and October of 2007.

Format

Qualification

Qualifying tournaments were introduced in for the second tournament, where eight of the 16 places were contested in a 32 nation tournament. The inaugural World Cup in 1987, did not involve any qualifying process, instead, the 16 places were automatically filled by seven eligible International Rugby Football Board (IRFB, now, International Rugby Board) member nations, and the rest by invitation. The current format allows for eight of the 20 available positions to be filled by automatic qualification, as the eight quarter finalists of the previous tournament enter its successor.

The remaining 12 positions are filled by continental qualifying tournaments. Positions are filled by three teams from the Americas, one from Asia, one from Africa, three from Europe and two from Oceania. Another two places are allocated for repechage. The first repechage place is determined by the runner-up from the Africa and Europe qualifying tournament, with that winner then playing the Americas runner-up to determine the place. The second repechage position is determined between the runners-up from the Asia and Oceania qualifiers.

Tournament

The current model features 20 nations competing over a month in the host nation(s). There are two stages, a group and a knock-out. Nations are divided into four pools of five nations, A through to D. The pool allocation system seeds teams ranked one through to four from the previous tournament, into A through to D pools respectively. The other four automatic entrants - the losing quarter-finalists from the previous tournament are drawn into an individual pool at random.

The remaining positions in each pool are filled by the qualifiers. Nations play four pool games, playing their respective pool members once. A nation will gain four points for a win and two points should they draw. Bonus points can be gained through scoring four tries in a match or by losing by a margin of seven points or less. Total points determine overall pool positions. The winner (first position) and runner-up (second position) of each pool enters the knock-out stage. The knock-out stage consists of quarter and semi-finals, and then the final. The winner of each pool is placed against a runner-up of an opposing pool in a quarter-final. The winner of each quarter-final goes on to the semi-finals, where there, the respective winners proceed to the final. Losers of the semi-finals contest for third (and fourth) place.

History

Prior to the Rugby World Cup, there had been various competitions that were similar in nature. One of the largest and oldest international rugby union competitions is the Home Nations, first played in 1883 through to 1909 between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It became the Five Nations in 1910 when France joined, although they were excluded from 1931 to 1939 amid allegations of professionalism. Though the nations' tournament was a European affair, it was one a the few consistent international competitions. Rugby union was also played at the Summer Olympics, first appearing at the 1900 Paris games and subsequently at London in 1908, Antwerp in 1920, and Paris again in 1924. France won the first gold medal, then Australasia, with the last two being won by the United States. The International Olympic Committee however cancelled rugby union as an Olympic sport.

The idea of a Rugby World Cup had been suggested on numerous occasions as far back as the 1950s, though the IRFB made it clear that it did not want its member unions to get involved in anything like the Football World Cup. The idea resurfaced throughout the early 1980s, and was dismissed at a 1983 IRFB meeting. It is thought that the defining moment in the creation of such a tournament came when the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) each independently wrote to the IRFB seeking to conduct a World Cup tournament. In 1985 the IRFB approved the inaugural cup, which was to be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand during May and June of 1987, though the proposition was met with much opposition, led by the British and Irish delegations. The decisive vote to approve the proposal came from the South African delegates, who voted in favor despite knowing that the international sports boycott on their country's apartheid regime would prevent their team from participating in the tournament.

The inaugural tournament was contested in Australia and New Zealand between 16 nations. The All Blacks (New Zealand) become first ever champions, defeating France 29 points to nine. The subsequent 1991 tournament was hosted by England, with matches also being played throughout the rest of the Britain, Ireland and France. This tournament also saw the abolition of invitation qualification - with a qualifying tournament being introduced which involved 35 nations. Australia won the second tournament, defeating England, 12 points to six. The 1995 tournament was hosted by South Africa - the nation that originally tipped the vote that saw the first event take place. The tournament was the first that South Africa would actually play in, following the end of the international sports boycott. The tournament had a fairytale ending, as South Africa were crowned champions over New Zealand, which concluded with then President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok jersey and matching baseball cap, presenting the trophy to the South Africa's captain Francois Pienaar. The moment is seen as one of the most emotional in the sport's history.

The tournament in 1999 was hosted by Wales with matches also being held in throughout the rest of the United Kingdom and France. The tournament included a repechage system, alongside specific regional qualifying places, and an increase of 16 to 20 participating nations. Australia claimed their second title, defeating France in the final. The 2003 event was hosted by Australia, though it was originally intended to be held jointly with New Zealand, though disagreements between the IRB and the NZRFU, over sponsorship, advertising and ticketing, saw the competition given in its entirety to Australia. England emerged as champions defeating Australia in extra time. England's win was unique in that it broke the Southern hemisphere's domination of the event. Such was the celebration of England's victory, that an estimated 750,000 people gathered in central London to greet the team, making the day the largest sporting celebration of its kind ever in the United Kingdom. The 2007 competition will be held in France, with matches also being held in Wales and Scotland. The 2011 tournament was awarded to New Zealand in November 2005, ahead of bids from Japan and South Africa.

Trophy

The William Webb Ellis Cup is the prize presented to winners of the Rugby World Cup, named after William Webb Ellis, who is credited with creating the game of rugby football. The trophy is also referred to as just, The Rugby World Cup. The trophy was chosen in 1987 as an appropriate cup for use in the competition. The words 'International Rugby Board' and 'William Webb Ellis Cup' are engraved on the face of the cup. It stands at 38 centimetres and is silver gilded in gold, and supported by two cast scroll handles, one handle has a head of a satyr, and the other has a head of a nymph. The colloquial name of the trophy is 'Bill' - a reference to William Webb Ellis. The trophy is currently kept in the Museum of Rugby, London.

Selection of hosts

Tournaments are voted on by the IRB member nations and is organised by Rugby World Cup Ltd (RWCL). This decides what nation(s) will host the tournament, with the voting procedure managed by a team of independent auditors, and the voting kept secret. All the tournaments thus far have been held in nations in which rugby union is a popular sport, this trend continued when New Zealand was awarded the 2011 event ahead of Japan, a traditionally weaker rugby union nation in comparison to New Zealand. The allocation of a tournament to a host nation is now made five or six years prior to the commencement of the particular event, as New Zealand were awarded the 2011 event in late 2005.

The allocation of a host(s) has been a controversial issue, as it has resulted in claims of deals being made between nations to obtain votes. In 2006 some media outlets speculated that the Unión Argentina de Rugby had only voted for New Zealand's bid for 2011 so they would receive regular international competition in return.

Media coverage

The first world cup, in 1987, had a cumulative world television audience of 300 million; its successor, the 1991 event in England, reached 1.75 billion. South Africa's 1995 tournament reached 2.67 billion, and the 1999 Welsh hosted event reached 3 billion. The 2003 tournament had a cumulative world television audience of 3.5 billion, and the final, between Australia and England, became the most watched football match in the history of Australian television. The event was broadcast in 205 countries. The 2003 event had 48 matches, with an average attendance of 38,282 and a total of 1,837,547.

Results

Tournaments

Year	Host		Final				Third place match
			Winner	Score	Runner-up		3rd place	Score	4th place
1987 Details	Australia, New Zealand		New Zealand	29 - 9	France		Wales	22 - 21	Australia
1991 Details	England		Australia	12 - 6	England		New Zealand	13 - 6	Scotland
1995 Details	South Africa		South Africa	15 - 12 (aet)	New Zealand		France	19 - 9	England
1999 Details	Wales		Australia	35 - 12	France		South Africa	22 - 18	New Zealand
2003 Details	Australia		England	20 - 17 (aet)	Australia		New Zealand	40 - 13	France
2007 Details	France
2011 Details	New Zealand

Performance of nations

In total, 22 nations have participated at the Rugby World Cup (excluding qualifying tournaments). Out of the five tournments that have been held, all but one have been won by a Southern hemisphere nation. New Zealand won the inaugural World Cup in 1987, with Australia winning in 1991, South Africa in 1995 and then Australia again in 1999. The Southern hemisphere dominance, which extended over four World Cups, was broken at in 2003, when England beat Australia in the final. The achievements of Northern hemisphere teams should not be overlooked, as the only all-Southern final was in 1995 (South Africa and New Zealand), with England (1991) and France (1987 and 1999) being runners-up in all the other tournaments before the 2003 Rugby World Cup. In addition, the cumulative spread of nations in the third/fourth place playoff is equal between both hemispheres over all tournaments.

Records and statistics

The 1987 tournament was evidence of an existing gulf between the top nations and the (then) weaker sides. This was shown when the All Blacks scoring 74 points against Fiji and France scoring 13 tries against Zimbabwe. The most points that have ever been scored against a nation during a Rugby World Cup is 145 - by the All Blacks against Japan in 1995, with the widest margin being 142, held by Australia in a match against Namibia in 2003.

The emergence of Jonah Lomu at the 1995 tournament, saw the New Zealander break several records including most overall tries in final stages - 15 in the 1995 to 99 tournaments and most tries in one competition, eight in 1999. Several other records are held by prominent New Zealand players - inlcuding, most points in one competition, Grant Fox with 126 in 1987, most points in a match by a player, Simon Culhane with 45 in the record breaking match against Japan in 1995, he also holds the record for most conversions in a match, being 20. That match also saw Marc Ellis set a record for most tries in a match, scoring six. The record for most appearances by an individual is also held by a New Zealander, Sean Fitzpatrick with 17 from the 1987 to 1995. The most overall points accumulated in the final stages is held by Scottish player Gavin Hastings with 227 from the 1987 to 1995.

See also

References

1. "Scores at the Rugby World Cup" (PDF). amlinkevents.com. Retrieved April 25. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
2. "From the World Trade Organisation to the Rugby World Cup..." austrade.gov.au. Retrieved 25 April. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
3. "Wales Drawn With Australia". wru.co.uk. Retrieved 11 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
4. "Professionalism". wesclark.com. Retrieved 3 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
5. ^ "The History of RWC". worldcupweb.com. Retrieved 25 April. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
6. "Wilkinson's moment after meeting doubts head-on". rugbyheaven.com.au. Retrieved 3 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
7. "England honours World Cup stars". bbc.co.uk. Retrieved 3 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
8. "The History of the Williams Webb Ellis Cup". wesclark.com. Retrieved 3 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
9. "Argentina spills the beans on 2011". planetrugby.com. Retrieved 1 July. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
10. "Rugby World Cup 2003". sevencorporate.com.au. Retrieved 25 April. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
11. "Visa International Renews Rugby World Cup Partnership". corporate.visa.com. Retrieved 25 April. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
12. "Rivals must assess impact of Cup fever". smh.com.au. Retrieved 1 July. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
13. "Another Side of the Rugby World Cup". abc.net.au. Retrieved 3 May. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)
14. "RWC 2003: "The Best Ever"". rwc2003.irb.com. Retrieved 1 July. {{cite web}}: Check date values in: |accessdate= (help); Unknown parameter |accessyear= ignored (|access-date= suggested) (help)

External links

Official

• Rugbyworldcup.com Official site of the Rugby World Cup.
• France2007.fr Official site of the coming event in 2007 in France.
• IRB.com Official site of the International Rugby Board.
• Rth07.com - Official travel and hospitality of the Rugby World Cup.

News and resources

• Worldcupweb.com Tournament informations, news and statistics.
• Planet Rugby News regarding the 2007 event.

• Rugby World Cup