The 2003 Rugby World Cup Final was the final match of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, the fifth edition of the Rugby World Cup competition organised by the International Rugby Board (IRB) for national rugby union teams. The match was played at Stadium Australia in Sydney on 22 November 2003, and was contested by Australia (the tournament hosts) and England. The 20-team competition consisted of a group stage, from which eight squads qualified for the knockout stage. En route to the final, Australia finished first in Pool A with four wins and no losses or draws before defeating Scotland in the quarter-final and New Zealand in the semi-final. England finished on top of Pool C and, like Australia, went undefeated with four victories and no draws before beating Wales in the quarter-final and France in the semi-final.
The final was played in front of a Rugby World Cup record crowd of 82,957, with 22 to 30 million television viewers, and was refereed by André Watson of South Africa. Australia scored first when Lote Tuqiri scored a try in the sixth minute, but Elton Flatley failed to score the resulting conversion. England's first points were through a penalty goal scored by Jonny Wilkinson at 11 minutes; Wilkinson scored a second penalty nine minutes later to put his side ahead of Australia. A third Wilkinson penalty goal after 28 minutes and a 38th-minute try by Jason Robinson (which Wilkinson was unable to convert) gave England a 14–5 lead at half-time. The second half saw Flatley score three penalty goals in succession; regular time ended with both teams tied 14–14, and the match went into extra time. Wilkinson scored a fourth penalty goal to put England back ahead of Australia in the second minute of extra time before Flatley equalised again with his fourth penalty goal with two minutes of extra time to play. With 28 seconds remaining, Wilkinson scored a drop goal with his right foot to secure a 20–17 victory for England.
England's win was their first Rugby World Cup title. They were the first Northern Hemisphere team to win the tournament, ending 16 years of dominance by Southern Hemisphere teams. They are currently the only Northern Hemisphere team to have won a Rugby World Cup title. Wilkinson was named man of the match, and the England playing and senior coaching team were appointed to the Order of the British Empire in the 2004 New Year Honours. England failed to defend their trophy at the following 2007 Rugby World Cup (hosted by France), losing 15–6 to South Africa in the final. Australia reached the tournament's quarter-final stage, where they were defeated by England.
^Cite error: The named reference ScrumReport was invoked but never defined (see the help page).
and 25 Related for: 2003 Rugby World Cup final information
The 2003RugbyWorldCupFinal was the final match of the 2003RugbyWorldCup, the fifth edition of the RugbyWorldCup competition organised by the International...
The 2003RugbyWorldCup was the fifth RugbyWorldCup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games...
The 2003RugbyWorldCup was played in Australia between 10 October and 22 November 2003. Head coach: Eddie Jones Note: Flags indicate national union for...
The RugbyWorldCup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised...
The 2019 RugbyWorldCupfinal was a rugby union match played on 2 November 2019 at the International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan. It marked the...
The 1995 RugbyWorldCupFinal was the final match of the 1995 RugbyWorldCup, played in South Africa. The match was played at Ellis Park Stadium, Johannesburg...
2023 RugbyWorldCup (French: Coupe du monde de rugby 2023) was the tenth men's RugbyWorldCup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union...
2027 Men's RugbyWorldCup is scheduled to be the eleventh edition of the RugbyWorldCup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams...
The 2015 RugbyWorldCupfinal was a rugby union match to determine the winner of the 2015 RugbyWorldCup, played between reigning champions New Zealand...
The Rugby League WorldCup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered...
The 2007 RugbyWorldCupfinal was a rugby union match, played on Saturday, 20 October 2007 at the Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris, to determine the...
The 2007 RugbyWorldCup (French: Coupe du monde de rugby 2007) was the sixth RugbyWorldCup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised...
1995 RugbyWorldCup (Afrikaans: Rugbywêreldbeker 1995), was the third RugbyWorldCup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World...
following victory in the 2003RugbyWorldCup. New Zealand took the lead from 14 June 2004. After winning the 2007 RugbyWorldCupfinal, South Africa became...
South Africa have played at 8 of the 10 RugbyWorldCup tournaments, having been unable to compete in the first two tournaments due to a sports boycott...
2011 RugbyWorldCup, was the seventh RugbyWorldCup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board...
The knockout stage at the 2003RugbyWorldCup featured the eight teams that qualified from the pool stage (the top two teams from each of the four pools)...
Global Information
