Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is the world's premier Rugby Union competition - a tournament played played every four years between the best international teams and which decides the World Champions and the holders of the Webb Ellis Cup. The competition was first staged in 1987 and has taken place on five subsequent occasions, most recently in 2007. The current World Champions are South Africa.
The next tournament will take place in New Zealand, with 20 teams competing from 9th September 2011 through to the final, which will take place in Auckland on 23rd October 2011.
Origin
The decision to establish a Rugby World Cup tournament was made by the International Rugby Football Board (now the IRB) in 1985, following a joint proposal by New Zealand and Australia, with a vote of 6-2 in favour of running such a competition. The opposing votes came from Ireland and Scotland, who feared that the competition would affect the then entirely amatuer status of the game.
Results
| Year | Main Host | Additional host(s) | Winning team | Runner up | Final score |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 | New Zealand | Australia | New Zealand | France | 29 - 9 |
| 1991 | England | Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France | Australia | England | 12 - 6 |
| 1995 | South Africa | - | South Africa | New Zealand | 15 - 12 (aet) |
| 1999 | Wales | England, France, Scotland and Ireland | Australia | France | 35 - 12 |
| 2003 | Australia | - | England | Australia | 20 - 17 (aet) |
| 2007 | France | Wales and Scotland | South Africa | England | 15 - 6 |
| 2011 | New Zealand | - |