Mundial de Rugby · History

The Rugby World Cup, run by World Rugby, has been staged ten times between 1987 and 2023, and only four nations have won it. South Africa have four titles (1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023), New Zealand three (1987, 2011 and 2015), Australia two (1991 and 1999) and England one (2003). The winners receive the Webb Ellis Cup. The tournament is held every four years: it began with 16 teams, grew to 20 in 1999 and expands to 24 for the 2027 edition.

Origins: a vote in 1985

For decades the International Rugby Football Board, the body later renamed World Rugby, resisted the idea of a world championship. In the early 1980s the Australian and New Zealand unions kept pushing the proposal, and in 1985 the board approved it by a 10-6 vote. The first tournament was played two years later.

1987 and 1991: New Zealand and Australia

New Zealand and Australia co-hosted the inaugural event in 1987. The All Blacks beat France 29-9 in the final at Eden Park in Auckland, and Grant Fox scored 126 points over the tournament, still the record for a single edition. South Africa missed both that event and the 1991 one because of the sporting boycott against apartheid. England were the main hosts in 1991, with matches also played in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France. Australia won the final at Twickenham 12-6 against England, through a Tony Daly try and Michael Lynagh's penalties.

1995 and 1999: Ellis Park and Cardiff

South Africa made their debut as hosts in 1995 and won. The final against New Zealand at Ellis Park, Johannesburg, was the first to go to extra time; a Joel Stransky drop goal made it 15-12, and Nelson Mandela handed the trophy to captain Francois Pienaar. At that tournament the All Blacks beat Japan 145-17, the highest score by a team in a World Cup match, with Marc Ellis scoring six tries in the game. In 1999, with Wales as lead host and the final at the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, Australia beat France 35-12 and became the first nation to win the cup twice.

2003 and 2007: Wilkinson's drop goal

Australia hosted the 2003 tournament. The final at Stadium Australia in Sydney was level at 14-14 after 80 minutes, and in the last minute of extra time Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal gave England a 20-17 win, the first title for a Northern Hemisphere side. At the same event Australia beat Namibia 142-0, the widest margin in the competition's records. In 2007, in France, South Africa took their second title by beating England 15-6 at the Stade de France, with Percy Montgomery kicking three first-half penalties.

2011 to 2023: back-to-back champions

New Zealand won at home again in 2011, edging France 8-7 at Eden Park; a penalty from replacement fly-half Stephen Donald held off a late Thierry Dusautoir try. In 2015 at Twickenham they beat Australia 34-17 to become the first team to retain the trophy and the first to reach three titles. South Africa won in Japan in 2019, beating England 32-12 in Yokohama with 22 points from Handré Pollard, and became the first champions to have lost a pool match. In 2023, again at the Stade de France, the Springboks retained the title with a 12-11 win over New Zealand, having also won their quarter-final and semi-final by a single point.

Records and participants

Jonny Wilkinson is the tournament's leading points scorer with 277 points between 1999 and 2011. Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana share the try record with 15 each, while the mark of eight tries in a single edition belongs to Lomu (1999), Habana (2007), Julian Savea (2015) and Will Jordan (2023). Ten nations played in all ten tournaments held up to 2023: Argentina, Australia, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland and Wales. Only three hosts have been champions: New Zealand in 1987 and 2011 and South Africa in 1995. World Rugby awarded the 2027 tournament to Australia, the first with 24 teams, and the 2031 edition to the United States.