Rugby World Cup Winners

Rugby World Cup Winners

Winners of the Rugby World Cup

There have been four Rugby World Cup winners from the seven Rugby World Cups to date. The New Zealand All Blacks, Australia Wallabies and South Africa Springboks have been Rugby World Cup winners twice while the England rugby team have won the Rugby World Cup once.

The first Rugby World Cup, in 1987, and the most recent Rugby World Cup in 2011 were won by the New Zealand Rugby team, better known as the All Blacks. The South Africa rugby team, the Springboks won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, which was the first tournament they competed in. The 1987, 1995 and 2011 Rugby World Cups were won by the host nation. The Springboks also won the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. Australia were the Rugby World Cup winners of the 1991 tournament (in England, France, Ireland, Scotland & Wales) and the 2003 tournament in Wales. England are the only Northern Hemisphere Rugby World Cup winners, and they gained their trophy at the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. The other three Rugby World Cup winners are all from the Southern Hemisphere and all compete in the annual Tri-Nations (soon to be Rugby Championship alongside Argentina)

The France rugby team are the most successful team never to be the Rugby World Cup winners. They were losing finalists at the inaugural and most recent tournaments, as well as in 1999. They have made the quarter finals every tournament and the semi finals in 1995, 2003 and 2007. The 1991 Rugby World Cup is the only time they have failed to advance beyond the quarter finals.

The All Blacks have also only failed to advance beyond the quarter finals once (in 2007). South Africa have the best strike rate, having been Rugby World Cup winners twice out of five attempts. However, in those five attempts they have been knocked out of the quarter finals twice.

1987 Rugby World Cup

Hosts: Australia & New Zealand

1987 Rugby World Cup Winner: New Zealand

1987 Rugby World Cup Final: New Zealand 29–9 France
1987 Rugby World Cup Bronze Final: Wales 22–21 Australia

Quarter Finalists:
New Zealand, Scotland, Wales, England, France, Fiji, Australia, Ireland, Wales, England

Participants:
England, France, Ireland, Australia, New Zealand, Scotland, Wales, Zimbabwe, Argentina, Canada, United States, Japan, Italy, Romania, Fiji, Tonga

1991 Rugby World Cup

Hosts: England, France, Ireland, Scotland & Wales

1991 Rugby World Cup Winner: Australia

1991 Rugby World Cup Final: Australia 12–6 England
1991 Rugby World Cup Bronze Final: New Zealand 13–6 Scotland

Quarter Finalists:
New Zealand, England, Scotland, Ireland, Australia, Western Samoa, France, Canada

Participants:
New Zealand, England, Italy, United States, Scotland, Ireland, Japan, Zimbabwe, Australia, Wales, Western Samoa, Argentina, France, Fiji, Canada, Romania

1995 Rugby World Cup

Host: South Africa

1995 Rugby World Cup Winner: South Africa

1995 Rugby World Cup Final: South Africa 15–12 New Zealand
1995 Rugby World Cup Bronze Final: France 19–9 England

Quarter Finalists:
South Africa, Australia, England, Western Samoa, New Zealand, Ireland, France, Scotland

Participants:
South Africa, Australia, Romania, Canada, England, Western Samoa, Italy, Argentina, New Zealand, Ireland, Wales, Japan, France, Scotland, Tonga, Ivory Coast

1999 Rugby World Cup

Host: Wales

1999 Rugby World Cup Winner: Australia

1999 Rugby World Cup Final: Australia 35–12 France
1999 Rugby World Cup Bronze Final: South Africa 22–18 New Zealand

Quarter Finalists:
Wales, Australia, England, South Africa, Argentina, France, Scotland, New Zealand

Participants:
South Africa, Australia, Romania, Canada, , England, Western Samoa, Italy, Argentina, , New Zealand, Ireland, Wales, Japan, , France, Scotland, Tonga, Ivory Coast

2003 Rugby World Cup

Host: Australia

2003 Rugby World Cup Winner: England

2003 Rugby World Cup Final: England 20–17 Australia
2003 Rugby World Cup Bronze Final: New Zealand 40–13 France

Quarter Finalists:
New Zealand, South Africa, Australia, Scotland, France, Ireland, England, Wales

Participants:
Australia, Ireland, Argentina, Namibia, France, Scotland, Fiji, Japan, South Africa, England, Samoa, Georgia, New Zealand, Wales, Italy, Canada

2007 Rugby World Cup

Host: France

2007 Rugby World Cup Winner: South Africa

2007 Rugby World Cup Final: South Africa 15–6 England
2007 Rugby World Cup Bronze Final: Argentina 34–10 France

Quarter Finalists:
Australia, England, New Zealand, France, South Africa, Fiji, Argentina, Scotland

Participants:
USA, Samoa, Tonga, South Africa, USA, Japan, Canada, Fiji, Australia, Italy, Portugal, Romania, New Zealand, Argentina, Namibia, Georgia, Ireland, England, France, Scotland

2011 Rugby World Cup

Host: New Zealand

2011 Rugby World Cup Winner: New Zealand

2011 Rugby World Cup Final: New Zealand 8–7 France
2011 Rugby World Cup Bronze Final: Australia 21–18 Wales

Quarter Finalists:
Ireland, Wales, England, France, South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, Argentina

Participants:
Argentina, Australia, Canada, England, Fiji, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Namibia, New Zealand, Romania, Russia, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, USA and Wales.