Rugby World Cup facts for kids
The Rugby World Cup is a huge rugby union tournament for men's teams from all over the world. It happens every four years, and the winning team is crowned the world champion of rugby.
The Webb Ellis Cup, awarded to the winner of men's Rugby World Cup.
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| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1987 |
| Number of teams | 24 |
| Regions | Worldwide (World Rugby) |
| Holders |  South Africa (2023) |
| Most titles | South Africa (4 titles) |
The tournament is run by World Rugby. This is the main group that manages rugby around the world. The winners get a special prize called the Webb Ellis Cup. It's named after William Webb Ellis. A famous story says he invented rugby by picking up the ball and running with it during a football game.
The first Rugby World Cup was held in 1987. New Zealand and Australia shared the hosting duties. So far, four countries have won the trophy. South Africa has won it four times. New Zealand has won three times. Australia has won twice, and England has won once. South Africa is the current champion. They beat New Zealand in the final of the 2023 tournament.
From 1987 to 1995, sixteen teams played in the tournament. In 1999, it grew to twenty teams. Japan hosted the 2019 Rugby World Cup. France hosted the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The tournament will get even bigger in 2027. Twenty-four teams will play when it is held in Australia.
Since 2021, the women's tournament is also officially called the Rugby World Cup. This helps show that both tournaments are equally important. However, World Rugby later decided that all past and future tournaments would include "Men's" or "Women's" in their names. This makes it clear which tournament is being talked about.
Contents
How the Tournament Works
How Teams Qualify
Right now, twenty teams get to play in each Rugby World Cup. Twelve teams automatically qualify. They are the top three teams from each of the four groups in the last World Cup. These teams are called "seeded" teams.
The other eight spots are decided through regional games. Europe gets eight spots, Oceania gets five, the Americas get three, Africa gets two, and Asia gets one. The very last spot is decided by a play-off game between teams from different parts of the world.
Playing the Tournament
The tournament lasts for six weeks. Twenty nations compete in two main parts. First, there's a group stage, then a knockout round. The teams are split into four groups, from A to D. Each group has five teams.
Teams are placed into groups based on their world ranking. The four highest-ranked teams are put into different groups (A, B, C, D). Then, the next four highest-ranked teams are added, and so on. The remaining spots in each group are filled by the teams that qualified.
Each team plays four games in their group. They play every other team in their group once. A special bonus points system is used during these group games. If teams have the same number of points, there are rules to decide which team is ranked higher.
Eight teams move on to the knockout stage. These are the winner and the second-place team from each of the four groups. The knockout stage has quarter-finals, semi-finals, and then the final. The winner of one group plays against a second-place team from a different group in the quarter-finals.
The winners of the quarter-finals go to the semi-finals. The winners of the semi-finals play in the final game. The teams that lose in the semi-finals play each other for third place. This game is called the 'Bronze Final'. If a knockout game ends in a draw, they play extra time. If it's still a draw, they play sudden death. The first team to score any points wins.
History of the Rugby World Cup
Early Days
Before the Rugby World Cup, there wasn't a single big rugby tournament for the whole world. But there were other important competitions. One of the oldest is the Six Nations Championship. It started in 1883 with England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. France joined in 1910, making it the Five Nations. Italy joined in 2000, and it became the Six Nations.
Rugby union was also played at the Summer Olympic Games. It was part of the Olympics in 1900, 1908, 1920, and 1924. France won the first gold medal. The United States won the last two. But after 1924, rugby union was no longer an Olympic sport.
People had thought about having a Rugby World Cup since the 1950s. But most rugby groups didn't like the idea. The idea came up again in the early 1980s. The Australian and New Zealand rugby groups both suggested a World Cup. In 1985, the idea was finally approved by the main rugby board.
The first tournament was held in May and June 1987. Australia and New Zealand hosted it together. Sixteen nations took part. For this first World Cup, teams didn't have to qualify. Seven member nations of the International Rugby Football Board (now World Rugby) played automatically. Other teams were invited. New Zealand won the first World Cup. They beat France 29–9 in the final.
The next tournament in 1991 was hosted by England. Games were played across Britain, Ireland, and France. For this World Cup, qualifying games were introduced. Eight spots were given to the quarter-finalists from 1987. The other eight spots were decided by qualifying games involving 35 nations. Australia won the second tournament. They beat England 12–6 in the final.
In 1992, South Africa played New Zealand in a special game. This was after the end of apartheid in South Africa. South Africa was chosen to host the 1995 Rugby World Cup. They surprised everyone by beating Australia in the first game. South Africa kept winning until they met New Zealand in the final. It was a very close game that went into extra time. South Africa won 15–12. The President at the time, Nelson Mandela, wore a South African rugby jersey. He gave the trophy to South Africa's captain, Francois Pienaar.
Rugby Becomes Professional
The 1999 tournament was hosted by Wales. Games were also played in the UK, Ireland, and France. More teams played in this tournament. The number of teams went from sixteen to twenty. Australia won their second title. They beat France in the final.
After 1995, rugby became a professional sport. This meant players could get paid to play. With more teams and professional players, some games in 1999 and 2003 had very big score differences. Some teams scored over 100 points. Australia's 142–0 win over Namibia in 2003 is the biggest score difference in Rugby World Cup history.
The 2003 tournament was hosted by Australia. England won, beating Australia in extra time. This was a big win because it broke the southern hemisphere teams' winning streak. Many people celebrated England's victory. About 750,000 people gathered in London to welcome the team home.
The 2007 competition was hosted by France. South Africa won their second title. They beat England 15–6. A big surprise in this tournament was Argentina. They beat strong European teams like France, Ireland, and Scotland. Argentina finished third overall. This success helped rugby become more professional in Argentina.
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New Zealand hosted the 2011 tournament. The All Blacks, New Zealand's team, won the cup again. They had a very close 8–7 win over France in the final.
The 2015 tournament was hosted by England. The biggest surprise happened on the first weekend. Japan, who hadn't won a World Cup game since 1991, beat South Africa. New Zealand won the final again, this time against Australia. They became the first team to win three titles. They were also the first to win two World Cups in a row.
Japan hosted the 2019 World Cup. This was the first time the tournament was held outside the usual rugby countries. Japan won all their group games and reached the quarter-finals for the first time. South Africa won their third trophy, matching New Zealand for the most titles. South Africa beat England 32–12 in the final.
The Trophy
The winners of the Rugby World Cup receive the Webb Ellis Cup. It's named after William Webb Ellis. People sometimes just call it the Rugby World Cup trophy. It was chosen in 1987 for the competition. The trophy was made in 1906 by Garrard's Crown Jewellers.
After each tournament, the trophy is cleaned and fixed by Thomas Lyte. The words 'The International Rugby Football Board' and 'The Webb Ellis Cup' are carved on it. It is 38 centimeters tall and is silver covered in gold. It has two handles. One handle has the head of a satyr, and the other has the head of a nymph. In Australia, people sometimes call the trophy "Bill". This is a short name for William Webb Ellis.
Choosing Host Countries
Rugby World Cup tournaments are organized by Rugby World Cup Ltd (RWCL). This company is owned by World Rugby. The host country is chosen by a vote from the World Rugby Council members. An independent team checks the voting process. The votes are kept secret. The host nation is usually chosen five or six years before the tournament.
Sometimes, more than one country hosts the tournament. For example, Australia and New Zealand co-hosted in 1987. World Rugby says that the host country must have a stadium that can hold at least 60,000 people for the final game. Host nations sometimes build new stadiums or improve old ones for the World Cup. The Millennium Stadium was built for the 1999 tournament. Eden Park was improved for 2011.
Japan was the first country outside the traditional rugby nations to host the tournament in 2019. France hosted the 2023 tournament. The United States will host the 2031 tournament. This will be another first for a country outside the traditional rugby nations.
How the Tournament Has Grown
Media Coverage
The people who organize the Rugby World Cup say it's the third largest sports event in the world. They say only the FIFA World Cup and the Olympics are bigger. But some people question if this is completely true.
World Rugby often talks about how much the tournament is watched on TV. They have reported huge numbers of viewers. For example, 300 million people watched in 1987, and 4 billion in 2007. However, the 4 billion figure was questioned. The total number of people with TVs in the world is about 4.2 billion.
Some independent reviews have looked closely at these numbers. They found that the way these numbers were calculated might not be accurate. They also pointed out that most viewers are from countries where rugby is already very popular. For example, about 97% of the 33 million average viewers for the 2007 final were from Australia, South Africa, the UK, Ireland, and France. It's not just rugby; other sports have also been accused of making their TV audience numbers seem bigger.
Even if the global popularity is debated, people in traditional rugby countries watch a lot. The 2003 final between Australia and England was the most-watched rugby union game ever on Australian TV. The 2023 tournament was watched for 1.33 billion hours in total. This makes it the most-watched rugby event ever.
People Attending Games
| Year | Host(s) | Total attendance | Matches | Avg attendance | % change in avg att. |
Stadium capacity | Attendance as % of capacity |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1987 |  Australia New Zealand |
604,500 | 32 | 20,156 | — | 1,006,350 | 60% |
| 1991 |  England France Ireland Scotland Wales |
1,007,760 | 32 | 31,493 | +56% | 1,212,800 | 79% |
| 1995 | South Africa |
1,100,000 | 32 | 34,375 | +9% | 1,423,850 | 77% |
| 1999 | Wales |
1,750,000 | 41 | 42,683 | +24% | 2,104,500 | 83% |
| 2003 | Australia |
1,837,547 | 48 | 38,282 | –10% | 2,208,529 | 83% |
| 2007 | France |
2,263,223 | 48 | 47,150 | +23% | 2,470,660 | 92% |
| 2011 | New Zealand |
1,477,294 | 48 | 30,777 | –35% | 1,732,000 | 85% |
| 2015 | England |
2,477,805 | 48 | 51,621 | +68% | 2,600,741 | 95% |
| 2019 |  Japan |
1,698,528 | 45* | 37,745 | –27% | 1,811,866 | 90% |
| 2023 |  France |
2,437,208 | 48 | 50,775 | +26% | 2,586,173 | 94% |
| *Typhoon Hagibis caused 3 group stage matches to be cancelled. As a result, only 45 of the scheduled 48 matches were played in the 2019 Rugby World Cup. | |||||||
Tournament Results
Past Tournaments
- Keys
- aet: result/match won after extra time
Team Records
Twenty-five nations have played in the Rugby World Cup. Only New Zealand (1987 and 2011) and South Africa (1995) have hosted and won the tournament. Other host nations have done well too. England (1991) and Australia (2003) finished second. France (2007) finished fourth. Wales (1999) and Japan (2019) reached the quarter-finals.
Wales was the first host nation to be knocked out in the group stage in 1991. England was the first solo host nation to be knocked out in the group stage in 2015. Out of the twenty-five nations that have played, ten of them have been in every tournament.
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third | Fourth | Quarter-finals | Apps in top 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| South Africa |
4 (1995, 2007, 2019, 2023) | N/A | 2 (1999, 2015) | N/A | 2 (2003, 2011) | 8 |
| New Zealand |
3 (1987, 2011, 2015) | 2 (1995, 2023) | 3 (1991, 2003, 2019) | 1 (1999) | 1 (2007) | 10 |
| Australia |
2 (1991, 1999) | 2 (2003, 2015) | 1 (2011) | 1 (1987) | 3 (1995, 2007, 2019) | 9 |
| England |
1 (2003) | 3 (1991, 2007, 2019) | 1 (2023) | 1 (1995) | 3 (1987, 1999, 2011) | 9 |
| France |
N/A | 3 (1987, 1999, 2011) | 1 (1995) | 2 (2003, 2007) | 4 (1991, 2015, 2019, 2023) | 10 |
| Wales |
N/A | N/A | 1 (1987) | 2 (2011, 2019) | 4 (1999, 2003, 2015, 2023) | 7 |
 Argentina |
N/A | N/A | 1 (2007) | 2 (2015, 2023) | 2 (1999, 2011) | 5 |
| Scotland |
N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (1991) | 6 (1987, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2015) | 7 |
| Ireland |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 8 (1987, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023) | 8 |
 Fiji |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 3 (1987, 2007, 2023) | 3 |
 Samoa |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 2 (1991, 1995) | 2 |
 Canada |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (1991) | 1 |
| Japan |
N/A | N/A | N/A | N/A | 1 (2019) | 1 |
Qualification Results
As of the 2023 World Cup, 26 nations have played in the 10 tournaments.
| Team | 1987 |
  1991 |
1995 |
1999 |
2003 |
2007 |
2011 |
2015 |
2019 |
2023 |
2027 |
 2031 |
Years |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Argentina |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 Australia |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 Canada |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | - | TBD | TBD | 9 |
 Chile |
- | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | Q | TBD | TBD | 1 |
 England |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 Fiji |
Q | Q | - | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 10 |
 France |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 Georgia |
N/A | N/A | - | - | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | TBD | 6 |
 Ireland |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 Italy |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 Ivory Coast |
- | - | Q | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | TBD | TBD | 1 |
 Japan |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 Namibia |
- | - | - | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | TBD | 7 |
 New Zealand |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 Portugal |
- | - | - | - | - | Q | - | - | - | Q | TBD | TBD | 2 |
 Romania |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | - | Q | TBD | TBD | 9 |
 Russia |
' | - | - | - | X | - | Q | - | Q | B | TBD | TBD | 2 |
 Samoa |
- | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | TBD | 9 |
 Scotland |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 South Africa |
B | B | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 9 |
 Spain |
- | - | - | Q | - | - | - | - | X | - | TBD | TBD | 1 |
 Tonga |
Q | - | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | TBD | 9 |
 United States |
Q | Q | - | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | - | TBD | Q | 9 |
 Uruguay |
- | - | - | Q | Q | - | - | Q | Q | Q | TBD | TBD | 5 |
 Wales |
Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | Q | TBD | 11 |
 Zimbabwe |
Q | Q | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | - | TBD | TBD | 2 |
| Total | 16 | 16 | 16 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 20 | 24 | 24 |
- Legend
- = Hosts
- Q = Qualified (or just for the 1987 World Cup, invited)
- - = Did not qualify (or not invited to the 1987 World Cup)
- X = Expelled during qualification
- E = Expelled after qualification
- B = Banned
Records and Statistics
The player with the most points in all World Cups is Jonny Wilkinson from England. He scored 277 points. New Zealand's Grant Fox holds the record for most points in one tournament, with 126 in 1987. Jason Leonard of England and Richie McCaw of New Zealand have played in the most World Cup matches, with 22 each.
New Zealand's Simon Culhane holds the record for most points in one match, with 45. He also has the record for most conversions in a match, with 20. Another New Zealander, Marc Ellis, scored the most tries in a single match, with six against Japan in 1995.
Jonah Lomu from New Zealand was the youngest player to play in a final. He was 20 years and 43 days old in the 1995 final. Lomu and South Africa's Bryan Habana share the record for most tries in all World Cups, with 15 each. Lomu (in 1999), Habana (in 2007), Julian Savea (in 2015), and Will Jordan (in 2023) share the record for most tries in one tournament, with 8 each.
South Africa's Jannie de Beer kicked five drop-goals against England in 1999. This is a record for one player in a single World Cup match. The record for most penalties in a match is 8. This record is shared by Matt Burke (Australia), Gonzalo Quesada (Argentina), Gavin Hastings (Scotland), and Thierry Lacroix (France). Quesada also holds the record for most penalties in a tournament, with 31.
The most points scored in a game is 145. This was by New Zealand against Japan in 1995. The biggest winning difference is 142 points. Australia achieved this against Namibia in 2003.
A total of 25 players have been sent off (given a red card) in the tournament. Huw Richards from Wales was the first player to get a red card. This happened when he played against New Zealand in 1987. No player has received more than one red card.
See also
In Spanish: Copa del Mundo de Rugby para niños
- International rugby union player records
- International rugby union team records
- Rugby World Cup Sevens – men's and women's tournaments held simultaneously at a single site
