New Zealand national rugby union team celebrate their victory in the 2011 Rugby World Cup final
Sport
Rugby union
Instituted
1987
Number of teams
20
Country
International (World Rugby)
Holders
South Africa (2023)
Most titles
South Africa (4 titles)
The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition established in 1987. It is contested by the men's national teams of the member unions of the sport's governing body, World Rugby, and takes place every four years. The winners of the first final were New Zealand, who beat France. South Africa are the latest winners, having won the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France.
The Rugby World Cup final is the last match of the competition. The winning team is declared world champion and receives the Webb Ellis Cup.[1] If the score is a draw after 80 minutes of regular play, an additional 20-minute period of play, called extra time, is added. If the score remains tied, an additional 10 minutes of sudden-death extra time are played, with the first team to score points immediately declared the winner. If no team is able to break the tie during extra time, the winner is ultimately decided by a penalty shootout.[2] Two finals have gone to extra time: South Africa's victory against New Zealand in the 1995 final, and England's triumph against Australia in the 2003 final.[3]
Only five nations have ever made it into a Rugby World Cup final. South Africa is the most successful team in the history of the tournament, with four wins, followed by New Zealand with three wins. New Zealand and South Africa are the only teams to have won consecutive tournaments, with New Zealand winning in 2011 and 2015, and South Africa winning in 2019 and 2023, Springboks currently being the only team to have won every World cup final they were in. Australia have won the competition twice, while England have one win; they are the only nation from the Northern Hemisphere to have won the competition.[4] France are the only team to appear in a final without ever winning one, losing all three finals they have contested.[5] Note that South Africa, due to international sanctions, was not permitted to play in the 1987 and 1991 tournaments.
^"A guide to the Webb Ellis Cup". World Rugby. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
^"Tournament Rules". Rugby World Cup. Archived from the original on 1 February 2016. Retrieved 12 December 2015.
^Woolford, Anthony (2019-09-09). "The tragedy of South Africa's 1995 World Cup-winning team". walesonline. Retrieved 2019-11-04.
^Linden, Julian (19 October 2015). "Southern hemisphere completes sweep of Rugby World Cup quarterfinals". Stuff.co.nz. Retrieved 11 December 2015.
^Fordyce, Tom (23 October 2011). "New Zealand 8–7 France". BBC Sport. Retrieved 10 December 2015.
and 24 Related for: List of Rugby World Cup finals information
RugbyWorldCup is an international rugby union competition established in 1987. It is contested by the men's national teams of the member unions of 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...
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 Rugby League WorldCup is an international rugby league tournament contested by the top national men's representative teams. The tournament is administered...
2023 RugbyWorldCup (French: Coupe du monde de rugby 2023) was the tenth men's RugbyWorldCup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union...
The RugbyWorldCup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised...
1991 RugbyWorldCupFinal was the final match of the 1991 RugbyWorldCup, the second edition of the rugby union competition, to decide the world champions...
The Rugby League WorldCup is an international men's rugby league competition contested every several years between national teams of the members of International...
The knockout stage of the 2023 RugbyWorldCup is the second and final stage of the competition, following the pool stage. Played from 14 to 28 October...
RugbyWorldCup records have been accumulating since the first RugbyWorldCup tournament was held in 1987. 10 teams appeared in every WorldCup: Samoa/Western...
2011 RugbyWorldCup, was the seventh RugbyWorldCup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board...
This article documents the statistics of the 2023 RugbyWorldCup that was held in France from 8 September to 28 October. The following table shows the...
Listof European Rugby Champions Cupfinals European Rugby Challenge Cup (Tier 2) Rugby Europe Super Cup (Tier 3) Premiership (England) United Rugby Championship...