Rugby Union
Rugby World Cup Winners List: A Comprehensive Guide
With the 2023 Rugby World Cup fast approaching, we are going to take a look back at each and every previous tournament. We will take a deep dive into the winners, runners-up and memorable moments from every tournament since the first of its kind in 1987.
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Introduction to the Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup is the pinnacle of International rugby and has been since its inauguration in 1987. It brings teams from far and wide together and has seen everything from awe-inspiring underdog stories to incredible dominance, transcending rugby every step of the way.
The Rugby World Cup comes around one every four years, giving teams lots of time to prepare their squads. 16 teams competed in 1987, that number rose to 20 in 1999 and has continued with that figure split between four groups ever since.
Previous Winners of the Rugby World Cup
In this section we will go through each of the previous Rugby World Cup tournaments and take a look at the champions, runner-up and memorable moments from the tournaments.
Since the tournament’s first edition in 1987 there have been four different champions across nine tournaments, with the southern hemisphere seeing the majority of the success.
New Zealand and South Africa are tied at the top of the standings with three wins each, Australia have won the competition twice, whilst England became the only northern hemisphere side to have won the competition with their sole victory coming in 2003.
Inaugural Tournament: 1987
The inaugural Rugby World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand in 1987. 16 teams entered the tournament and there were a total of 32 matches, with 21 played in New Zealand and the other 11 in Australia.
Under the leadership of captain David Kirk, New Zealand breezed to the title winning all of their matches and beating France 29-9 in the final.
Arguably the most memorable match, especially for Wales fans, came in the third-place playoff between Australia and Wales. The Welsh clung on to a one point lead against an onslaught from the host nation and ran out 21-22 victors to finish third in the tournament, a finish which they are still yet to match.
Subsequent Championships
1991 Rugby World Cup
Champions: Australia
Runner-up: England
The 1991 Rugby World Cup was hosted across Great Britain & Ireland and France, with Australia winning the tournament after beating England in the final at Twickenham Stadium.
The Australia team consisted of standout fly-half Michael Lynagh, who scored 66 points during the tournament, a tally only bettered by Ireland’s Ralph Keys.
The tournament’s most memorable game came between Ireland and Australia in the quarterfinals as Ireland scored a late try to take a three-point lead, before their dreams would be crushed by a Michael Lynagh try in the dying embers of the match to hand the eventual champions a 19-18 victory.
1995 Rugby World Cup
Champions: South Africa
Runner-up: New Zealand
The 1995 Rugby World Cup was certainly one for South Africa to remember as they both hosted and won the tournament. French fly-half Thierry Lacroix was one of the standout players of the tournament as he scored 112 points in just six matches, scoring four tries and kicking a whopping 26 penalties. The infamous Kiwi pairing of Jonah Lomu and Marc Ellis finished the tournament joint as top try-scorers with seven each.
The final was one of the most memorable in recent history as South Africa took on a formidable New Zealand side with both teams heading to Johannesburg unbeaten. South Africa led the tie at half time by just three points with the game balanced on a knife edge. After a tight second half the game was forced to extra time, with a Joel Stransky drop goal sending the South African’s into delirium as the secured their first World Cup triumph. What followed was one of the most iconic moments in sporting history as Nelson Mandela, sporting a South Africa jersey and cap, handed the trophy to captain François Pienaar.
1999 Rugby World Cup
Champions: Australia
Runner-up: France
The 1999 Rugby World Cup was yet another hosted in stadiums across Great Britain & Ireland and France, with the final taking place at the Millenium Stadium in Cardiff.
Australian full-back Matt Burke was the talk of the tournament as the all-scoring all-kicking number 15 scored 101 points in six matches with two tries, 17 conversions and 19 penalties.
One of the most memorable matches came in the semi-finals as France took on the well-fancied New Zealand, a side that boasted names such as Jonah Lomu and Andrew Mehrtens. The All-Blacks looked to have a much-anticipated choke hold on the match when Mehrtens nudged over to make the scores 24-10 in his side’s favour, but all was about to change. France would, unanswered, score three tries, two penalties and two drop goals in the next 30 minutes to take the scores to 43-24. New Zealand’s last-minute try was to be but a consolation as the French marched on to the final.
2003 Rugby World Cup
Champions: England
Runner-up: Australia
The 2003 Rugby World Cup saw a return to the southern hemisphere with Australia hosting the tournament and hoping to secure a third victory in four years.
England fly-half Jonny Wilkinson was the standout player of the tournament, with his exceptional kicking game making him the top point scorer at the tournament. Despite not scoring a try, Wilkinson racked up 113 points over six matches as he scored 10 conversions, 23 penalties and eight drop goals, one of which would be remembered by English fans forever.
The final stole the headlines and got underway with Lote Tuqiri getting the Aussies off to the perfect start as he dotted over in the sixth minute. England would fight back valiantly with a try from Jason Robinson and three penalty kicks from Jonny Wilkinson to head into half time with a 14-5 lead. Australia dominated the second half and kicked over three penalties to see the game end 14-14 with extra time looming. With the scores level at 17-17 in the final minutes of extra time, player of the tournament and Man of the Match in the final, Jonny Wilkson, would slot into the pocket almost 100ft from the posts and smash over the most memorable three points in the history of English rugby to secure their first and only Rugby World Cup victory.
2007 Rugby World Cup
Champions: South Africa
Runner-up: England
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was held largely in France, but it was not the outcome the French side would have hoped for as they bowed out at the semi-final stage.
Bryan Habana stole the headlines as the South African winger scored 40 points in just seven matches without kicking a single point, with all of his points coming from his tally of eight tries as his South Africa side went on to win the tournament, defeating England in the final.
The most memorable match came in the quarter-final stage as home nation France took on a stacked New Zealand team, boasting names such as Dan Carter, Richie McCaw and Luke McAlister. With a swarm of French fans travelling to the Millenium Stadium, France certainly had the majority of the stadium behind them. France looked down and out as they trudged into the changing rooms at half-time 13-3 down. The tide would turn early in the second half as Luke McAlister was sin-binned and France managed to level the scores. New Zealand fought back to regain the lead at 18-13, but France would come back with a try of the own, this time converted, to make the score 20-18 in their favour and after 15 minutes of bodies-on-the-line defending, the French team would overcome the Kiwis.
2011 Rugby World Cup
Champions: New Zealand
Runner-up: France
The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the first to be held solely in New Zealand and the host nation certainly didn’t disappoint as they beat France 9-8 in a true war of attrition in the final.
With no players having outstandingly amazing point or try-scoring tournaments, the best performance was produced by the whole New Zealand team who functioned like a well-oiled machine and truly stamped their authority on world rugby.
England and Scotland were drawn in the same group, so it was always going to be an exciting match and with Scotland just 12-9 ahead with two minutes to play, they might’ve thought that they would get the better of their bitter rivals. However, with the game in its dying embers, Toby Flood threw a looping miss pass out to Chris Ashton who would go over in the 78th minute, sending the England fans into hysteria and crushing Scotland’s hopes of reaching the knockouts in the process.
2015 Rugby World Cup
Champions: New Zealand
Runner-up: Australia
The Rugby World Cup returned to England and Wales in 2015, but it was a tournament to forget for the English as they crashed out in the group stages almost without a fight.
Julian Savea was the standout player of the tournament with the New Zealand winger equalling the record for ties scored in a single tournament as he touched down eight times on his way to lifting the trophy with New Zealand who beat local rivals Australia in the final at Twickenham.
The most memorable game came in the first round of pool matches. Eddie Jones’ Japan side played a carefree, attractive style of rugby to give themselves a chance against the Springboks as they made it to half-time just 12-10 down. With 10 minutes left to play, the game was level and Japan’s World Cup dream was still alive. A penalty for South Africa saw them hit the 80-minute mark three points ahead, but that was about to change. After five minutes of scrummaging and forward crashing, space opened up for Karne Hesketh in the 84th minute to win the match for Japan and he duly obliged, creating the greatest underdog story in Rugby World Cup history.
2019 Rugby World Cup
Champions: South Africa
Runner-up: England
The 2019 World Cup was hosted in Japan in and was one of the most feel-good World Cups to date, with the host nation doing their fans proud in reaching the quarter-finals.
South African back-row Siya Kolisi was the standout story of the tournament, and although he may not have been the best player in the tournament or even on his own team, his leadership and determination dragged his South Africa side to their third victory at the tournament.
The most memorable match came in the semi-final stage as South Africa defeated Wales by a tight scoreline of 19-16. With South Africa having broken Welsh hearts in 2015, this was a huge match for the fans. Wales looked like they had every chance of getting their own back with the scores level at 16-16, but a late penalty from Hendre Pollard would seal the win for South Africa to push them through to the final against England which they would go on to win in emphatic style.
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Most Successful Teams in Rugby World Cup History
Rugby World Cup success has been split between four teams over the nine editions of the tournament. New Zealand and South Africa are the two most successful teams with three wins each, whilst Australia have two and England have a sole victory.
South Africa won most recently in 2019 and are also the only team to have won all of their finals, whilst New Zealand have won three out of four. However, the All Blacks do have one standalone record as the only team to have won consecutive tournaments with wins in 2011 and 2015, the most dominant era in world rugby.
Evolution of the Rugby World Cup
The Rugby World Cup started in 1987 with 16 teams, nine of which were invited whilst the other seven were the members of the IRFB, or World Rugby. The teams were split into four pools of four with the top two from each group qualifying for the quarter-finals.
The format has remained similar with the expansion to 20 teams by simply adding an extra team into each of the four groups, still with the top two teams heading to the quarter-finals. However, the qualification process has changed as 12 spaces are taken up by the top three finishing teams from each four groups of the previous tournament, with the rest of the nations competing with other teams from their region to take up one of the eight qualifying spots.
Notable Moments in Rugby World Cup History
The Rugby World Cup has its fair share of iconic moments. From last-minute victories to underdog stories, there have been many memorable matches at the tournament.
The most notable upset came when Japan defeated South Africa 34-32 in the pool stage of the 2015 World Cup. The match put Eddie Jones and Japan as a rugby nation on the map.
One of the most memorable finals came between England and Australia in 2003 as England and Jonny Wilkinson left it late with a memorable drop goal to break the southern hemisphere monopoly and secure England’s first and only World Cup victory to date.
