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Archive for the ‘Rugby’ Category

This is a list of the current top ten rugby teams as decided by the IRB (International Rugby Board) as of February 2nd, 2009. I have kept their list the same but I have added some facts and history on each team. I have also included some videos that I have found on YouTube showing the teams in play. [JFrater: when you see item one you will understand why this list had to be posted!]

1: New Zealand

The New Zealand National Rugby Team, nicknamed the All Blacks is the most famous and respected team in the world with winning records against all national sides. The first team from New Zealand to compete in a match was against New South Wales in 1883 and their first international test was against Australia in 1903. Rugby has since then become New Zealand’s national sport with the All Blacks conquering just about every team in their way. They have a record of 330 wins out of 443 matches which makes them the most successful team in rugby history; the IRB has also named them team of the year in 2005, 2006 and 2008. Out of the Southern nations, the All Blacks retain the top Tri-Nations record with nine series wins while the Springboks and the Wallabies only have two. The All Blacks have also been able to retain the Bledisloe Cup from Australia for many years at a time. In addition, the All Blacks have only lost one test series to the British and Irish Lions and have won more Grand Slam tours of Europe than any other Southern Hemisphere team. The All Blacks hosted the first Rugby World Cup along with Australia and David Kirk would be the first to lift the William Webb Ellis trophy as the All Blacks easily defeated all the opposition including France in the final with the score of 29 to 9. The All Blacks have brought about many rugby legends to the field including Sean Fitzpatrick, John Kirwan, Grant Fox, Ian Kirkpatrick, Christian Cullen, Andrew Mehrtens, Tana Umaga, Carlos Spencer, Richie McCaw and of course Jonah Lomu. With the great players and talent that New Zealand has, the only question asked is why they have only won the Rugby World Cup once because they have gone into every tournament as the favorites to win. The New Zealand All Blacks have also gained fame from doing the Haka or the Kapo-o-Panga before every match.

2:South Africa

The South Africa national team is nicknamed the Springboks and began playing international rugby when a British Isles team toured South Africa in 1891. In the early 20th century rugby grew so rapidly in South Africa that a cease fire was held in the Second Boer War so that the British and Boer forces could play each other. South Africa took their first tour of the British Isles and France in 1906. Although still being involved in international test matches, the Apartheid Laws saw the South Africa Rugby Union highly criticized by other teams which led to the Springboks being unable to participate in the first two Rugby World Cups although their vote won the debate on whether or not to have the tournament. This changed in 1995 when South Africa was included and hosted the third Rugby World cup and defeated the New Zealand All blacks 15 to 12 in the final. The Springboks would only go on to the semi-finals in 1999 and the quarter finals in 2003 until they defeated England in 2007 to become the second nation to win the world cup twice. The success of the 1995 tournament in South Africa influenced the rugby laws to be changed to allow professional rugby teams to emerge. South Africa plays annually in the Super Twelve tournament and the Tri-Nations against New Zealand and Australia. South Africa is one of many teams to utilize all aspects of the game to produce exiting matches incorporating running, kicking, passing, and forward drives.

3:Australia

The Australian Rugby Union team is nicknamed the Wallabies and is considered one of the best teams in the history of the game. They compete annually in the Tri-Nations Tournament against New Zealand and South Africa. Australia was one of the founders of the Rugby World Cup and shared the first tournament with New Zealand in 1987. The New South Wales Rugby Union became the first team to tour overseas by playing New Zealand in 1883. Australia was later toured by a British Isles team for the first time in 1888. In the century that followed, rugby grew very fast in Australia with the national team touring across Europe on a yearly base. In 1984 the Wallabies became the first Australian team to achieve a grand slam by defeating all the large European teams in one tour. Australia has participated in all six world cups and has the best record of all the participating nations. The Wallabies are one of two teams to win the tournament twice by winning in 1991 and 1999, and they came in as runners up in 2003. In 1995 Australia along with New Zealand and South Africa formed the first professional rugby union known as the Super Ten Competition. The Wallabies have produced a large number of outstanding rugby players including Tim Horan, David Campese, John Eales, and the most capped player of all time, George Gregan. The Wallabies are always entertaining to watch because they take risks in games that other teams wouldn’t event attempt. They are usually acknowledged as having one of the best defenses in world rugby and have great ball retention which allows continuous phases.

4:Argentina

The Argentina National rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, had its first international test against a touring British Isles team in 1910. Argentina is ranked as by far the best team in the Americas and although rugby isn’t close to as popular as soccer, it has grown a following due to Argentina’s success in the Rugby World Cups. The only problem is that being on the other side of the world of the other major rugby teams; Argentina does not always get the highly publicized matches it deserves. Argentina has participated in all the Rugby World Cups but was left disappointed until a much more experienced side made it to the 1999 quarter finals. In 2007 a very strong and experienced Pumas side made it to semi finals after producing a handful of upsets. They went on to win 3rd place in the tournament which has let many of their players receive overseas contracts to play professional rugby in Europe. Argentina has generally used an outstanding forward pack mixed in with a barrage of backline passing.

5:Wales

The Wales National Rugby team was started in 1881 and that same year they had their first test match against England. Wales has had many different golden ages of rugby through the 19th and 20th centuries. During these times they have produced who some consider the best rugby players to ever play the game including J.P.R Williams, Gerald Davies, and of course Gareth Edwards. Wales competes in the Six Nations tournament every year and has won it 24 times (only second to England) with the most recent in 2008. Wales has been active in all six rugby world cups but unfortunately their best result was in 1987 when they reached the semi-finals but lost to New Zealand. Wales currently is improving rapidly and their play has always been recognized with some of the best sidestepping in the game. Just watch the video and see.

6:England

Though facing a few difficulties in the last year, The England National rugby team has always been considered one of the best sides in the world. They have produced many legends of the game such as Martin Johnson and Jonny Wilkinson who is the top point scorer in rugby world cup history. They are the only team from Europe to win the Rugby World Cup when they defeated Australia in 2003 and also came as runners up in 1991 and 2007. They participate annually in the Six Nations tournament and have been crowned champions 25 times. Their style of play can often be characterized by using their strong forwards and running with backs utilizing kicks and open field play, if that doesn’t work, they will kick for points every chance they get.

7:France

Rugby was first introduced to France in 1872 by the British and since then has become a very competitive and popular sport. France is home to one of the top rugby leagues in the world and sees players coming from all over the world to play for one of their teams. France’s national team is considered the best on continental Europe and competes annually in the Six Nations tournament. The French have competed in every world cup and have made it to more finals than any other team without winning the William Webb Ellis Cup. One of France’s most famous games was against New Zealand in the 1999 world cup where they upset the favored All Blacks in the semi-final. France plays with a free flowing flair that is rivaled by only a few teams in the rugby world and one of the best things about them is that they are always able to produce an upset.

8:Ireland

The Irish Rugby Football Union was founded in 1874 and was another founding member or the IRB. Ireland competes annually in the Six Nations tournament which they have won eight times. They have participated in every world cup and have been eliminated in the quarter finals every year except 1999 and 2007. The Ireland national team forms a quarter of the British and Irish Lions along with England and Wales every four years. The Irish rugby team has been home to some of the world’s top class players including Brian O’Driscoll who is Irelands top try scorer and considered the best centre in world rugby.

9:Scotland

The Scottish Rugby Union was founded in 1873 and is one of the oldest teams in the world. They were a founding member of the IRB and participated in the first international match against England where Scotland won 4-1. Scotland participates and is a contender in the Six Nations tournament held every year in Europe. Scottish rugby players are also selected every four years to play for the Barbarians against other national teams. Scotland has taken part in all the Rugby World Cups which they have made the quarter or semi-finals every year except 2007.

10:Fiji

Fiji’s national rugby team is a part of the Pacific Islands rugby Alliance along with Samoa and Tonga. Fiji was one of the sixteen teams to participate in the 1987 rugby world cup and made it to the quarter finals only to be beaten by France. Between 1987 and 2007, Fiji has only made it to the quarter finals twice, losing to England in the quarter finals in 1999 and losing to South Africa in the semi-finals in 2007. Fiji has an outstanding Rugby Sevens team and they play their fifteens very similar, with lots of exiting running rugby.

Rugby World Cup – The Origins

The notion of a Rugby World Cup had first been contemplated in 1979, but it was not until late-1983 that the Australian Rugby Union and New Zealand Rugby Football Union submitted written proposals to the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB).

Neither was aware of the other’s proposal with Australia wanting to stage a tournament to coincide with their Bicentenary in 1988 and New Zealand proposing the previous year.

Both proposals were turned down but Australia and New Zealand pooled their resources to conduct a feasibility study, which would then be presented at the IRFB’s annual meeting in March 1985.

Australia and New Zealand settled on 1987 as the year, whereby avoiding any clash with the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup, and a vote was held on the proposal at the IRFB meeting in the French capital Paris.

The vote between the eight IRFB members – Australia, New Zealand, South Africa, France, England, Scotland, Ireland and Wales – came down in favour of a World Cup by six votes to two.

Ireland and Scotland were against the proposal as it appeared to threaten the amateur status of the sport, while France were in favour only if countries from outside the IRFB were invited to take part.

South Africa would not be allowed to take part in any tournament, they were the subjects of an international sports boycott because of the apartheid regime, but nonetheless voted in favour.

The positive decision was an important one because it ensured that a tournament, there were no plans for a second at that stage, would be run by the world body and not businessmen and television companies interested in simply making money.

This green light left little more than two years to lay the foundations of a tournament, which finally provided the vehicle to establish a ‘world champion’ and would be held in New Zealand with Australia as sub-hosts.

Argentina were invited to take South Africa’s place with other invitations extended to Fiji, Tonga, Japan, Canada, Romania, Zimbabwe, Italy and the United States for the 16-team tournament to be held in May and June 1987.

These teams were split into four pools of four, three of which were based in New Zealand with the other, featuring Australia, hosted in Sydney and Brisbane with the top two nations in each pool progressing to the quarter-finals.

The inaugural match between New Zealand and Italy took place on 22 May at Eden Park in Auckland, a match the hosts won easily 70-6 and one which went a long way to uniting a country divided by the Cavaliers’ tour of South Africa in April 1986.

However the stadium was only half full, perhaps the consequence of the match being played on a Friday, but while New Zealanders embraced the World Cup in Australia the tournament was struggling to capture the public’s imagination.

That inaugural tournament saw 600,000 people pass through the turnstiles with 300 million in 17 countries watching the action on television, figures that would increase to 2.25 million and four billion in 200 territories respectively for the 2007 event.

The Rugby World Cup is now established as the third biggest sporting event behind the Olympic Games and FIFA World Cup, having achieved its goal of merging the traditional powers with new and emerging nations to make it a truly worldwide sport.

One person who played a key role in this journey was the late Vernon Pugh QC, the International Rugby Board and Rugby World Cup Limited Chairman who was instrumental in the expansion of the governing body.

Rugby World Cup – 2007 Tournament

The third Rugby World Cup to be held in Europe proved to be the most successful yet with 2.25 million spectators passing through the turnstiles in France, Scotland and Wales and four billion in 200 territories watching the action unfold on television.

They were treated to a tournament which defied expectations and dented a few reputations along the way before South Africa were crowned world champions for the second time with a 15-6 victory over surprise finalists England at the Stade de France.

Never before had a tournament produced so many surprises, the tone having been set from the opening match on 7 September when Argentina defeated France 17-12, the Pumas going at their hosts with an unrelenting ferocity from the opening whistle.

However, Argentina were not alone in the upset stakes with Fiji becoming the latest Pacific Islanders to cause Wales heartbreak on the RWC stage, delighting their new army of fans with another dashing display in winning 38-34 in Nantes.

Graham Dewes’ try four minutes from time secured victory for the Fijians and a place in the quarter-finals for the first time since the inaugural tournament in 1987, although their colourful campaign would end there against South Africa.

These wins were nearly overshadowed by arguably the greatest upset in RWC history when Georgia came within a whisker of beating Ireland, only a Girvan Dempsey try sparing Irish blushes and denying their opponents a maiden victory to savour.

Georgia would ultimately claim that piece of history 11 days later, beating Namibia 30-0 in Lens, but their performance against Ireland showed the great strides forward they had taken since their debut four years earlier in Australia.

Their tournament was over at the end of the pool stages, but for four of the nations heading home at that point there was some solace in having confirmed their place at RWC 2011 after finishing third in their respective pools.

Returning home before the quarter finals was not what Ireland, Italy and Wales had in mind when they arrived in France and Tonga were no doubt the happier of the quartet, their 19-15 victory over Samoa ensuring they wouldn’t have to negotiate the qualifying process.

Eight nations remained and while Fiji’s challenge ended against the Springboks, the shockwaves continued to reverberate around RWC 2007 as defending champions England, who had stuttered through the pool stages, edged Australia 12-10 in the first quarter final.

A bigger shock was to follow, though as France again proved the nemesis of New Zealand on the Rugby World Cup stage, Les Bleus able to cast aside the burden of playing before their expectant fans and blossom at the Millennium Stadium to stun the All Blacks 20-18.

While New Zealand’s wait to lift the Webb Ellis Cup would grow to 24 years, Argentina’s fairytale continued with a 19-13 win over Scotland securing a first ever semi final. The emotional rollercoaster ended against South Africa, but the Pumas had made their mark.

Another passionate and pulsating performance from Agustín Pichot and co saw off France for the second time in the Bronze Final, a stark contrast to the title decider between England and South Africa a day later at the Stade de France.

The Final was a heavyweight contest with expansive rugby at a premium, a far cry from other matches at France 2007, but it mattered little to the Springboks after the boots of Percy Montgomery and Francois Steyn kicked them to a second world title.

RWC 2007 had been a record breaker long before the first whistle was blown, the race to get to France involving a record 86 countries and territories playing in 191 matches over 932 days as Argentina, Canada, USA, Romania, Italy, Namibia, Japan, Georgia, Tonga and RWC debutants Portugal booked their place alongside the 2003 quarter finalists.

Rugby World Cup – 2003 Tournament

Rugby World Cup 2003 captured the imagination of the Australian public, just as the Sydney Olympics had three years earlier, and thousands and thousands of them attended matches across the country, not just in the traditional heartlands of the Game.

A total of 1,837,547 fans saw the 48 matches across 10 host cities with clever initiatives helping to get local people behind the smaller nations, including those born in odd years backing one team and even years the other when Romania faced Namibia in Tasmania.

It was impossible not to know that Rugby World Cup was in town, the only thing missing come the final whistle was a successful defence of the Webb Ellis Cup for Australia, who had been in the unique position as hosts and defending champions.

Australia came pretty close to creating RWC history as the first side to successfully defend the title, denied a third title in four tournaments when Jonny Wilkinson kicked that drop goal in the dying seconds of extra-time to give England a 20-17 victory at Telstra Stadium.

Martin Johnson duly became the first northern hemisphere captain to hold aloft the coveted Webb Ellis Cup after a final which had kept a record crowd of 82,957 on the edge of their seats for 100 dramatic and tense minutes.

Fifty-thousand England fans flocked to Sydney in the build up to the Final, many of them watching the action unfold on a giant screen with the iconic Opera House and Harbour Bridge as a backdrop, partying the night away thanks to Jonny, Johnno and Co.

A then record 80 countries and territories had taken part in the 162-match qualifying process for RWC 2003 to determine who would join the eight quarter-finalists from the tournament four years earlier on the plane to Australia.

Canada, Fiji, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Namibia, Romania, Samoa, Tonga, Uruguay and USA duly emerged, along with first time qualifiers Georgia, an emerging nation who proved a big hit with the fans even though they would return home without a win.

The 20 teams were this time divided into four pools of five, removing the need for quarter-final play-offs as in 1999, and while the usual suspects progressed to the last eight, the pool stages were not without their moments.

While Australia and England both surpassed a century against Namibia and Uruguay respectively – the Wallabies’ 142-0 win the biggest margin in RWC history with Chris Latham scoring five tries and Mat Rogers 42 points – some matches were much closer.

Australia only edged Ireland 17-16 to confirm top spot in Pool A with the Irish then beating Argentina by a single point to avenge their quarter-final play-off loss in 1999, while Scotland battled past Fiji 22-20 to join France as Pool B representatives in the last eight.

England had won the crunch Pool C encounter with South Africa 21-6 to avoid New Zealand in the quarter-finals, the Springboks bowing out at that stage following a 29-9 loss to the All Blacks and the arrival of Mike Catt off the bench helping the English overcome Wales 28-17.

They were joined in the semi-finals by hosts Australia and France with a northern-southern hemisphere decider guaranteed for the fourth time in five World Cups as traditional rivals went head to head at Telstra Stadium.

It was only the second time Australia and New Zealand had met in a RWC semi-final and, just as in 1991, it was the Wallabies emerging victorious 22-10 with 17 points from the boot of Elton Flatley and a Stirling Mortlock try.

The other semi-final would also be decided by the boot, Wilkinson scoring all of England’s points with three drop goals and five penalties in a 24-7 victory in the wind and rain which also saw Jason Leonard become the world’s most capped player, surpassing Philippe Sella’s 111 caps for France.

Rugby World Cup – 1999 Tournament

The fourth Rugby World Cup broke new ground as, for the first time, the big eight nations did not automatically qualify with only the champions, runners-up and third place playoff winners from 1995 and host nation afforded that luxury.

This meant that South Africa, New Zealand, France and Wales respectively were assured of their places in the expanded 20-team tournament with 65 nations taking part in the qualification process for the other 16 places.

Another innovation for the 1999 tournament, which also featured matches in England, France, Scotland and Ireland, was the introduction of a Répechage, a second chance for teams that had finished as runners-up in each zone.

Uruguay and Tonga were the first nations to profit from the Répechage to take their place alongside fellow qualifiers Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Argentina, Fiji, Romania, Canada, Namibia, Japan, Spain and the United States.

These 20 nations were split into five pools of four, a scenario that necessitated a quarter-final play-off round involving the five runners-up and best third placed team to decide who would join the Pool winners in the last eight.

The pool stages saw England and New Zealand score 101 points against Tonga and Italy respectively, while Argentina ended a run of eight straight World Cup defeats to claim their place in the quarter-final play-offs as the best third placed team.

Romania also ended their losing run, beating the USA Eagles 27-25 for their first win since the 1991 tournament, while Uruguay enjoyed a dream debut by beating fellow new boys Spain 27-15.

The first World Cup in the professional era saw defending champions South Africa, Australia, New Zealand, France and Wales top the five pools to secure the direct route to the quarter-finals.

Scotland, England, Fiji, Argentina and Ireland went into the play-offs as runners-up with Samoa the best third placed team. England proved too strong for Fiji with a 45-24 victory, while Scotland ended Samoa’s hopes of another last eight appearance 35-20.

Ireland had been expected to progress to a quarter-final at Lansdowne Road but, despite leading 21-9 midway through the second half, it was Argentina who emerged 28-24 victors to reach the quarter-finals for the first time.

Destroyed by New Zealand wing Jonah Lomu four years earlier, it was one man who would again prove England’s downfall. That man was Jannie de Beer, the Springbok fly half kicking a world record five drop goals to clinch a 44-21 victory.

The other quarter-finals saw New Zealand beat Scotland 30-18, Australia overcome Wales 24-9 – the first time the hosts had failed to reach the final – and France defeat Argentina 47-26.

Rugby World Cup 1999 truly came alive in the semi-finals with Australia needing extra-time to win a tight contest with South Africa 27-21, Stephen Larkham’s drop goal in the second period breaking the deadlock.

New Zealand were to be their expected opponents in the final, especially after establishing a 24-10 lead. However France suddenly sparked into life with 26 points in a 13-minute spell in the third quarter to emerge shock 43-31 winners.

France had reached the inaugural final in 1987 but, just as on that occasion, they simply had nothing left in the tank as Australia became the first nation to win the World Cup twice with a 35-12 triumph.

John Eales lifted the Webb Ellis Cup – together with Tim Horan and Jason Little having also played in Australia’s 1991 success – as the Wallabies retained their mantle as the only team to win the World Cup away from home.

Horan, arguably the greatest centre of his generation, was deservedly named Player of the Tournament, although De Beer and Argentina’s Golden Boot winner Gonzalo Quesada also deserve special mention.

Rugby World Cup – 1995 Tournament

The first tournament to be held in one country, Rugby World Cup 1995 was the first to feature South Africa following the end of their international sports boycott because of the apartheid regime. It was also one few people will ever forget.

South Africa, as hosts, adopted the slogan ‘one team, one nation’ as they sought to reunite a nation bearing the scars of 40 years of apartheid through a sport that had been seen as a white man’s game.

The Springbok jersey was a symbol of this, but the appearance of a frail 76-year-old black man, himself a political prisoner for 26 years on Robben Island, wearing the famous green and gold jersey bearing the number of the white captain changed that.

That man was, of course, President Nelson Mandela who, also sporting a Springbok baseball cap, presented the Webb Ellis Cup to South Africa captain Francois Pienaar to the delight of the capacity crowd at Ellis Park in Johannesburg.

The game on 24 June was trivial to such an occasion, but for the record South Africa had beaten New Zealand 15-12 after extra-time courtesy of Joel Stransky’s late drop goal, the score having been 9-9 at the end of normal time.

South Africa had opened the tournament with a 27-18 defeat of defending champions Australia – the most points anyone would score against them in the tournament – and never looked back with wins over Romania, Canada, Western Samoa and France.

Forty-five nations had taken part in the qualifying campaign for Rugby World Cup 1995, which would again involve 16 teams – England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland, Argentina, Italy, Japan, Tonga and the Ivory Coast joining the aforementioned.

The standout result from the pool stages was the 145-17 rout of Japan by New Zealand’s second string – the highest score and biggest winning margin in the history of the Rugby World Cup at the time.

Other records to fall were the number of tries by a team (21), the most tries by an individual (six by wing Marc Ellis) and the most points and conversions by an individual (45 and 20 by debutant fly half Simon Culhane).

Sadly the pool stages will also be remembered for a tragedy, a sixth minute tackle in the Ivory Coast’s encounter with Tonga in Rustenberg leaving their wing Max Brito paralysed following a neck injury.

The quarter-finals had a familiar look about them with seven of the big nations and Western Samoa, who proved their passage to the last eight in 1991 was no one-off.

France dominated in the final quarter to beat Ireland 36-12 in Durban, South Africa ended the hopes of Western Samoa 42-14 in Johannesburg and New Zealand overcame Scotland 48-30 in Pretoria.

The match of the quarter-finals though was the first meeting of Australia and England since the 1991 final; a game won 25-22 after Rob Andrew’s injury-time drop goal and one that saw Michael Lynagh became the first to reach 900 points in Test rugby.

Torrential rain had turned the King’s Park pitch into a lake for the South Africa-France semi-final, a match that would end 19-15 in the Springboks’ favour. If this match had been affected by the rain, the other semi-final was one to remember.

The match as a contest was over inside 10 minutes. A reversed kick-off saw New Zealand wing Jonah Lomu brush aside Tony Underwood, beat captain Will Carling for pace and then run straight through Mike Catt to score within two minutes.

Rugby, which would turn professional just two months after the World Cup, had a new star with Lomu scoring four of New Zealand’s six tries in their 45-26 victory in Cape Town.

Rugby World Cup – 1991 Tournament

If the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 had been dominated, as expected, by the eight International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) members, the second tournament would herald the emergence of other nations onto the world stage.

The tournament again involved 16 teams – Australia, New Zealand, England, France, Scotland, Ireland, Wales, Argentina, Fiji, Western Samoa, Japan, Italy, Romania, Canada, Zimbabwe and the United States – split between four pools.

However unlike four years earlier, the IRFB members – Australia, New Zealand, England, France, Scotland, Ireland and Wales – and Fiji were not joined by invitees but by nations who came through a qualifying process involving 32 nations.

The desire to share in the occasion saw five nations – England as hosts with Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France – stage matches, despite a belief that the tournament would work better were it staged in one country.

England and New Zealand had the honour of opening the tournament at Twickenham on 3 October, a match the defending champions won 18-12, but it was not until three days later that Rugby World Cup 1991 really came to life with an unthinkable result.

Wales, still basking in the glory of finishing third in 1987, met debutants Western Samoa at Cardiff Arms Park in a match that would go down in the history books of both Rugby World Cup and the sport in general.

Western Samoa made Wales pay for underestimating their challenge with a 16-13 victory they truly deserved, becoming the first of the ‘minnow’ nations to beat one of the IRFB members in the process.

History had been made but Western Samoa were not finished there. A respectable 9-3 loss to Australia and a 35-12 defeat of Argentina saw them reach the quarter-final with Wales the first of the big eight not to reach the knockout phase.

However Western Samoa were not the only emerging nation to reach the last eight with Canada having beaten Fiji and Romania, while losing narrowly to France, to progress from Pool 4 … the World Cup was achieving its goal of widening the sport.

The fairytale would end in the last eight with New Zealand unconvincingly beating Canada 29-13 and Scotland ending the hopes of Western Samoa, who returned home to a heroes’ welcome in the capital Apia, with a 28-6 victory.

England overcame France 19-10 in Paris, a match that saw the 93rd and last appearance by Serge Blanco – a hero four years previously in France’s semi-final against Australia, but the best game would be Australia versus Ireland in Dublin.

Expected to win, and comfortably, Australia instead found themselves 18-15 down with five minutes to go following a try by flanker Gordon Hamilton which brought Lansdowne Road to its feet.

Australia though did not panic, stand-in captain Michael Lynagh simply called for a planned move and, as in practice sessions, it worked to put the fly-half over in the corner to clinch a 19-18 victory.

The final would feature a northern and southern hemisphere divide after England overcame Scotland, Rob Andrew’s drop goal sealing a 9-6 victory, and Australia ended New Zealand’s reign with a 16-6 success.

A capacity crowd at Twickenham saw Australia triumph 12-6 against an England side that had suddenly abandoned their feared forward approach to play a running game.

However the game was not without its controversy and is remembered for the perceived deliberate knock-on by David Campese, a star of this World Cup, which denied Rory Underwood a certain try and England a likely 12-9 lead.

The Rugby World Cup was here to stay, having captured the imaginations of a television audience of 1.75 billion across 103 countries, compared to 300 million in 17 countries in 1987.

Rugby World Cup – 1987 Tournament

The desire for a competition to determine the pecking order in world rugby was realised following the International Rugby Football Board’s (IRFB) approval for an inaugural Rugby World Cup to be held in New Zealand and Australia in 1987.

Seven of the 16 places were automatically filled by the IRFB members – New Zealand, Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France – with South Africa unable to compete because of the international sports boycott due to apartheid.

There would be no qualification process to fill the remaining nine spots with invitations instead sent out to Argentina, Fiji, Italy, Canada, Romania, Tonga, Japan, Zimbabwe and the United States.

The inaugural match took place on 22 May between New Zealand and Italy at Eden Park in Auckland, a match the hosts won convincingly 70-6 with Michael Jones, Grant Fox and Oscar Collodo scoring the first ever try, conversion and penalty.

New Zealand was a country divided by the Cavaliers’ rebel tour to South Africa 13 months earlier, but this match and a moment of inspiration from wing John Kirwan would reunite the rugby-loving nation.

Kirwan, who ironically would become Italy coach more than a decade later, received the ball near his own line and took on virtually the entire Italian team in a 70-metre run for his second try of the game.

This pattern of one-sided matches was a regular occurrence with the seven IRFB members proving too strong for the others – half of the 24 matches across the four pools saw one team score 40 or more points with no record score lasting very long.

The quarter-finals were, as expected, filled by the seven IRFB members with Fiji, whose place in the tournament had been in doubt because of a military coup, completing the line up.

In the first quarter-final New Zealand proved too strong for Scotland and won 30-3 in Christchurch, while the next day France, who had drawn with Scotland in their first game, ended the hopes of the entertainers from Fiji with a 31-16 victory at Eden Park.

The other quarter-finals took place in Australia with the home side, despite the loss of Nick Farr-Jones after just three minutes, running out 33-15 winners over Ireland. The final match saw Wales overcome England 16-3 in an uninspiring encounter.

Australia and France met in Sydney in a match regarded by many as one of the greatest ever, one Australia led three times but was clinched by a late moment of magic from wing Serge Blanco with a try in the corner to clinch a shock 30-24 win.

If the first semi-final had been a classic, the second was a one-sided affair with New Zealand simply unstoppable against Wales, scoring eight tries in a 49-6 win in a game that saw Huw Richards become the first player to be sent off at a Rugby World Cup.

The final though proved a match too far for France with New Zealand, who were unquestionably the best team in the tournament, emerging the 29-9 winners to allow captain David Kirk to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

New Zealand had scored 298 points in six matches, 126 of them by fly half Fox to set a tournament record that still stands today, with 43 tries scored and only four conceded emphasizing their dominance.

Wales beat Australia 22-21 with a late try by Adrian Hadley to finish third.