Rugby World Cup History

The Rugby World Cup is now one of the largest sporting competitions in the world. This competition involves sixteen of the world's best rugby nations competing for the William Webb Ellis trophy. This trophy is named after the man who "invented" the sport of Rugby in the early 19th century, when he picked up the ball and ran with it while playing a game of football.The next Rugby World Cup in September and October 2007 is to be hosted by France, and will be the 6th time the William Webb Ellis trophy is up for grabs since the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987.The inaugural Rugby World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand, and was won by New Zealand. Australia and South Africa are the only nations to win the competition more than once.The final match results of the previous Rugby World Cup tournaments are as follows:
1987
Winner: New Zealand
Location: Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Final Score: New Zealand 29,France 9
1991
Winner: Australia
Location: Twickenham, London, England
Final Score: Australia 12, England 6
1995
Winner: South Africa
Location: Ellis Park, Johannesburg, South Africa
Final Score: South Africa 15, New Zealand 12
1999
Winner: Australia
Location: Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, Wales
Final Score: Australia 35, France 12
2003
Winner: England
Location: Telstra Stadium, Sydney, Australia
Final Score: England 20, Australia 17
2007
Winner: South Africa
Location: Stade de France, Paris, France
Final Score: South Africa 15, England 6
2011
Winner: ?
Location: Eden Park, Auckland, New Zealand
Final Score: ?
The New Zealand Rugby Union won the rights to host the 2011 Rugby World Cup after going head-to-head with Japan in the final round of voting on the 18th of November 2005. Japan were firm favourites leading into the final round, however New Zealand came away with a remarkable victory for the small nation of just four million people.