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Rugby World Cup

2007 Schools Wikipedia Selection. Related subjects: Sports events

   The Rugby World Cup trophy, the Webb Ellis Cup.
   Enlarge
   The Rugby World Cup trophy, the Webb Ellis Cup.

   The Rugby World Cup is the premier international rugby union
   competition in the world. The event is organized by the sport's
   governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), and is contested
   by the men's national rugby union teams. The inaugural tournament was
   held in 1987, hosted by both Australia and New Zealand, and is now
   contested every four years.

   The winners are awarded the Webb Ellis Cup, named after the Rugby
   School pupil credited with the game's invention. The tournament is one
   of the largest international sporting competitions in the world. The
   title of world champion is currently held by England, who won the 2003
   tournament held in Australia. The next Rugby World Cup will be hosted
   in France during September and October of 2007.

Format

Qualification

   Qualifying tournaments were introduced for the second tournament, where
   eight of the 16 places were contested in a 24 nation tournament. The
   inaugural World Cup in 1987, did not involve any qualifying process;
   instead, the 16 places were automatically filled by seven eligible
   International Rugby Football Board (IRFB, now, International Rugby
   Board) member nations, and the rest by invitation. The current format
   allows for eight of the 20 available positions to be filled by
   automatic qualification, as the eight quarter finalists of the previous
   tournament enter its successor. The remaining 12 positions are filled
   by continental qualifying tournaments. Positions are filled by three
   teams from the Americas, one from Asia, one from Africa, three from
   Europe and two from Oceania. Another two places are allocated for
   repechage. The first repechage place is determined by the runner-up
   from the Africa and Europe qualifying tournament, with that winner then
   playing the Americas runner-up to determine the place. The second
   repechage position is determined between the runners-up from the Asia
   and Oceania qualifiers.

Tournament

   The opening game of the 2003 competition; Argentina and Australia at
   Telstra Stadium in Sydney.
   Enlarge
   The opening game of the 2003 competition; Argentina and Australia at
   Telstra Stadium in Sydney.

   The current model features 20 nations competing over a month in the
   host nation(s). There are two stages, a group and a knock-out. Nations
   are divided into four pools of five nations, A through to D. The pool
   allocation system seeds teams ranked one through to four from the
   previous tournament, into A through to D pools respectively. The other
   four automatic entrants——the losing quarter-finalists from the previous
   tournament are drawn into an individual pool at random.

   The remaining positions in each pool are filled by the qualifiers.
   Nations play four pool games, playing their respective pool members
   once. A nation will gain four points for a win and two points should
   they draw. Bonus points can be gained through scoring four tries in a
   match or by losing by a margin of seven points or fewer. Total points
   determine overall pool positions. The winner (first position) and
   runner-up (second position) of each pool enters the knock-out stage.
   The knock-out stage consists of quarter and semi-finals, and then the
   final. The winner of each pool is placed against a runner-up of an
   opposing pool in a quarter-final. The winner of each quarter-final goes
   on to the semi-finals, where the respective winners proceed to the
   final. Losers of the semi-finals contest for third (and fourth) place.

History

   Prior to the Rugby World Cup, there had been various competitions that
   were similar in nature. One of the largest and oldest international
   rugby union competitions is the Home Nations, first played in 1883
   through to 1909 between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It became
   the Five Nations in 1910 when France joined, although they were
   excluded from 1931 to 1939 amid allegations of professionalism. Though
   the nations' tournament was a European affair, it was one of the few
   consistent international competitions. Rugby union was also played at
   the Summer Olympics, first appearing at the 1900 Paris games and
   subsequently at London in 1908, Antwerp in 1920, and Paris again in
   1924. France won the first gold medal, then Australasia, with the last
   two being won by the United States. The International Olympic Committee
   however cancelled rugby union as an Olympic sport.

   The idea of a Rugby World Cup had been suggested on numerous occasions
   as far back as the 1950s, though the IRFB made it clear that it did not
   want its member unions to get involved in anything like a world
   championship. The idea resurfaced throughout the early 1980s, and was
   dismissed at a 1983 IRFB meeting. It is thought that the defining
   moment in the creation of such a tournament came when the Australian
   Rugby Union (ARU) and the New Zealand Rugby Football Union (NZRFU) each
   independently wrote to the IRFB seeking to conduct a World Cup
   tournament. In 1985 the IRFB approved the inaugural cup, which was to
   be jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand during May and June of
   1987, though the proposition was met with much opposition, led by the
   British and Irish delegations. The decisive vote to approve the
   proposal came from the South African delegates, who voted in favour
   despite knowing that the international sports boycott on their
   country's apartheid regime would prevent their team from participating
   in the tournament.

   The inaugural tournament was contested in Australia and New Zealand
   between 16 nations. The All Blacks (New Zealand) become first ever
   champions, defeating France 29 points to nine. The subsequent 1991
   tournament was hosted by England, with matches also being played
   throughout the rest of Britain, Ireland and France. This tournament
   also saw the abolition of invitation qualification—with a qualifying
   tournament being introduced which involved 35 nations. Australia won
   the second tournament, defeating England, 12 points to six. The 1995
   tournament was hosted by South Africa—the nation that originally tipped
   the vote that saw the first event take place. The tournament was the
   first that South Africa would actually play in, following the end of
   the international sports boycott. The tournament had a fairytale
   ending, as South Africa were crowned champions over the All Blacks,
   which concluded with then President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok
   jersey and matching baseball cap, presenting the trophy to the South
   Africa's captain Francois Pienaar. The moment is seen as one of the
   most emotional in the sport's history.
   Celebrations at Trafalgar Square during a parade after England defeated
   Australia in the 2003 final.
   Enlarge
   Celebrations at Trafalgar Square during a parade after England defeated
   Australia in the 2003 final.

   The tournament in 1999 was hosted by Wales with matches also being held
   throughout the rest of the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. The
   tournament included a repechage system, alongside specific regional
   qualifying places, and an increase from 16 to 20 participating nations.
   Australia claimed their second title, defeating France in the final.
   The 2003 event was hosted by Australia; although it was originally
   intended to be held jointly with New Zealand, disagreements between the
   IRB and the NZRFU over sponsorship, advertising and ticketing saw the
   competition given in its entirety to Australia. England emerged as
   champions defeating Australia in extra time. England's win was unique
   in that it broke the Southern hemisphere's domination of the event.
   Such was the celebration of England's victory, that an estimated
   750,000 people gathered in central London to greet the team, making the
   day the largest sporting celebration of its kind ever in the United
   Kingdom. The 2007 competition will be held in France, with matches also
   being held in Wales and Scotland. The 2011 tournament was awarded to
   New Zealand in November 2005, ahead of bids from Japan and South
   Africa.

Trophy

   The Webb Ellis Cup is the prize presented to winners of the Rugby World
   Cup, named after William Webb Ellis, who is credited with creating the
   game of rugby football. The trophy is also referred to as just, The
   Rugby World Cup. The trophy was chosen in 1987 as an appropriate cup
   for use in the competition. The words 'International Rugby Board' and
   'The Webb Ellis Cup' are engraved on the face of the cup. It stands at
   38 centimetres and is silver gilded in gold, and supported by two cast
   scroll handles, one handle has a head of a satyr, and the other has a
   head of a nymph. The colloquial name of the trophy in Australia is
   "Bill"—a reference to William Webb Ellis. The trophy is currently kept
   in the Museum of Rugby, London.

Selection of hosts

   Tournaments are voted on by the IRB member nations and is organised by
   Rugby World Cup Ltd (RWCL). This decides what nation(s) will host the
   tournament, with the voting procedure managed by a team of independent
   auditors, and the voting kept secret. All the tournaments thus far have
   been held in nations in which rugby union is a popular sport, this
   trend continued when New Zealand was awarded the 2011 event ahead of
   Japan, a traditionally weaker rugby union nation in comparison to New
   Zealand. The allocation of a tournament to a host nation is now made
   five or six years prior to the commencement of the particular event, as
   New Zealand were awarded the 2011 event in late 2005.

   The allocation of a host(s) has been a controversial issue, as it has
   resulted in claims of deals being made between nations to obtain votes.
   In 2006 some media outlets speculated that the Unión Argentina de Rugby
   had only voted for New Zealand's bid for 2011 so they would receive
   regular international competition in return. Argentina is however, the
   only one of the ten nations rated as "Tier 1" by the IRB that is not
   involved in regular competition with other Tier 1 nations.

Results

Tournaments

   Year Host Final Third place match
   Winner Score Runner-up 3rd place Score 4th place
   1987
   Details Australia,
   New Zealand New Zealand
   New Zealand 29–9 France
   France Wales
   Wales 22–21 Australia
   Australia
   1991
   Details England Australia
   Australia 12–6 England
   England New Zealand
   New Zealand 13–6 Scotland
   Scotland
   1995
   Details South Africa South Africa
   South Africa 15–12
   ( aet) New Zealand
   New Zealand France
   France 19–9 England
   England
   1999
   Details Wales Australia
   Australia 35–12 France
   France South Africa
   South Africa 22–18 New Zealand
   New Zealand
   2003
   Details Australia England
   England 20–17
   ( aet) Australia
   Australia New Zealand
   New Zealand 40–13 France
   France
   2007
   Details France
   2011
   Details New Zealand

Performance of nations

   Map of nations best results, excluding nations which unsuccessfully
   participated in qualifying tournaments.
   Enlarge
   Map of nations best results, excluding nations which unsuccessfully
   participated in qualifying tournaments.

   In total, 23 nations have participated at the Rugby World Cup
   (excluding qualifying tournaments). Out of the five tournaments that
   have been held, all but one have been won by a Southern hemisphere
   nation. The All Blacks won the inaugural World Cup in 1987, with
   Australia winning in 1991, South Africa in 1995 and then Australia
   again in 1999. The Southern hemisphere dominance, which extended over
   four World Cups, was broken at in 2003, when England beat Australia in
   the final. The achievements of Northern hemisphere teams should not be
   overlooked, as the only all-Southern final was in 1995 (South Africa
   and the All Blacks), with England (1991) and France (1987 and 1999)
   being runners-up in all the other tournaments before the 2003 Rugby
   World Cup. In addition, the cumulative spread of nations in the
   third/fourth place playoff is equal between both hemispheres over all
   tournaments.

Records and statistics

   The 1987 tournament was evidence of an existing gulf between the top
   nations and the (then) weaker sides. This was shown when the All Blacks
   scoring 74 points against Fiji and France scoring 13 tries against
   Zimbabwe. The most points that have ever been scored against a nation
   during a Rugby World Cup is 145—by the All Blacks against Japan in
   1995, with the widest margin being 142, held by Australia in a match
   against Namibia in 2003.

   The emergence of Jonah Lomu at the 1995 tournament, saw the New
   Zealander break several records including most overall tries in final
   stages—15 in the 1995 to 99 tournaments and most tries in one
   competition, eight in 1999. Several other records are held by prominent
   New Zealand players, including: most points in one competition, Grant
   Fox with 126 in 1987; most points in a match by a player, Simon Culhane
   with 45 in the record breaking match against Japan in 1995; he also
   holds the record for most conversions in a match, being 20. That match
   also saw Marc Ellis set a record for most tries in a match, scoring
   six. The record for most appearances by an individual is also held by a
   New Zealander, Sean Fitzpatrick with 17 from the 1987 to 1995. The most
   overall points accumulated in the final stages is held by Scottish
   player Gavin Hastings with 227 from the 1987 to 1995.

   Retrieved from " http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup"
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