Wales at the Rugby World Cup
The Wales national rugby union team have played in all eight Rugby World Cup tournaments. Their best finishes were third placing in 1987, when they beat Australia in the bronze final, and fourth placing in 2011.
The 1987 tournament was Wales' most successful; they won all three pool matches and their quarter-final, before losing to the All Blacks in the semi-finals. They then faced Australia in the third place play-off match, which they won 22–21.[1]
In the next two tournaments in 1991 and 1995, Wales failed to progress beyond the pool stage, winning just one match in each tournament.[2] Both the 1999 and 2003 tournaments were more successful, with Wales qualifying for the quarter-finals both times. Wales hosted the event in 1999 and topped their pool only to lose to eventual winners Australia in the quarter-finals.[3] In 2003, they finished second in their pool to the All Blacks and faced England in the quarter-finals, where they lost to the eventual champions, despite scoring more tries than their opponents.[4] In the 2007 World Cup, Wales again failed to progress from the pool stage. After a loss to Australia, and two wins against Japan and Canada, they lost by four points to Fiji, despite scoring more tries than their opponents.[5]
Contents
By position
Year | Round | Position | GP | W | D | L | PF | PA |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1987 (16) | Third place | 3rd | 6 | 5 | 0 | 1 | 126 | 104 |
1991 (16) | Pool stage (11th) | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 32 | 61 |
1995 (16) | Pool stage (9th) | - | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 68 |
1999 (20) | Quarterfinals (7th) | - | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 127 | 95 |
2003 (20) | Quarterfinals (7th) | - | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 149 | 126 |
2007 (20) | Pool stage (9th) | - | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 168 | 105 |
2011 (20) | Fourth place | 4th | 7 | 4 | 0 | 3 | 228 | 74 |
2015 (20) | Quarterfinals (8th) | - | 5 | 3 | 0 | 2 | 130 | 85 |
2019 | ||||||||
Total | 37 | 21 | 0 | 16 | 1049 | 718 |
Team ranking
Pos. | Team | Champion | Runner-up | Third | Fourth |
---|---|---|---|---|---|
1st | New Zealand | 3 (1987, 2011, 2015) | 1 (1995) | 2 (1991, 2003) | 1 (1999) |
2nd | Australia | 2 (1991, 1999) | 2 (2003, 2015) | 1 (2011) | 1 (1987) |
3rd | South Africa | 2 (1995, 2007) | - | 2 (1999, 2015) | - |
4th | England | 1 (2003) | 2 (1991, 2007) | - | 1 (1995) |
5th | France | - | 3 (1987, 1999, 2011) | 1 (1995) | 2 (2003, 2007) |
6th | Wales | - | - | 1 (1987) | 1 (2011) |
7th | Argentina | - | - | 1 (2007) | 1 (2015) |
8th | Scotland | - | - | - | 1 (1991) |
By matches
1987 Rugby World Cup
Pool 2 games -
Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wales | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 31 | 6 |
Ireland | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 84 | 41 | 4 |
Canada | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 90 | 2 |
Tonga | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 98 | 0 |
25 May 1987 |
Ireland | 6 – 13 | Wales |
Pen: Kiernan (2) | Try: Ring Pen: Thorburn Drop: Davies (2) |
Athletic Park, Wellington Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald |
29 May 1987 |
Tonga | 16 – 29 | Wales |
Tries: Fielea Fifita Con: Liava'a Pen: Liava'a Amone |
Tries: Webbe (3) Hadley Con: Thorburn (2) Pen: Thorburn (2) Drop: Davies |
Showgrounds Oval, Palmerston North Referee: David Bishop |
3 June 1987 |
Canada | 9 – 40 | Wales |
Pen: Rees (3) | Tries: Evans (4) Devereux Bowen Hadley Phillips Con: Thorburn (4) |
Rugby Park, Invercargill Referee: David Bishop |
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
6 June - Lancaster Park, Christchurch | ||||||||||
New Zealand | 30 | |||||||||
14 June - Ballymore, Brisbane | ||||||||||
Scotland | 3 | |||||||||
New Zealand | 49 | |||||||||
8 June - Ballymore, Brisbane | ||||||||||
Wales | 6 | |||||||||
Wales | 16 | |||||||||
20 June - Eden Park, Auckland | ||||||||||
England | 3 | |||||||||
New Zealand | 29 | |||||||||
7 June - Eden Park, Auckland | ||||||||||
France | 9 | |||||||||
France | 31 | |||||||||
13 June - Concord Oval, Sydney | ||||||||||
Fiji | 16 | |||||||||
France | 30 | Third place | ||||||||
7 June - Concord Oval, Sydney | ||||||||||
Australia | 24 | |||||||||
Australia | 33 | Wales | 22 | |||||||
Ireland | 15 | Australia | 21 | |||||||
18 June - Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua | ||||||||||
8 June 1987 |
England | 3 – 16 | Wales |
Pen: Webb | Tries: Roberts Jones Devereux Con: Thorburn (2) |
Ballymore, Brisbane Referee: Rene Hourquet |
14 June 1987 |
New Zealand | 49 – 6 | Wales |
Tries: Kirwan (2) Shelford (2) Drake Whetton Stanley Brooke-Cowden Con: Fox (7) Pen: Fox |
Try: Devereux Con: Thorburn |
Ballymore, Brisbane Attendance: 22,576 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald |
18 June 1987 |
Australia | 21 – 22 | Wales |
Tries: Burke Grigg Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh (2) Drop: Lynagh |
Tries: Roberts Moriarty Hadley Con: Thorburn (2) Pen: Thorburn (2) |
Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua Referee: Fred Howard |
1991 Rugby World Cup
Pool C games -
-
Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points Australia 3 0 0 79 25 9 Western Samoa 2 0 1 54 34 7 Wales 1 0 2 32 61 5 Argentina 0 0 3 38 83 3
6 October 1991 |
Wales | 13 – 16 | Western Samoa |
Tries: Emyr, Evans Con: Ring Pen: Ring |
Tries: Vaega, Vaifale Con: Vaea Pen: Vaea (2) |
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Referee: Patrick Robin |
9 October 1991 |
Wales | 16 – 7 | Argentina |
Tries: Arnold Pen: Ring (3), Rayer |
Tries: Simon Pen: Del Castillo |
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Referee: Rene Hourquet |
12 October 1991 |
Wales | 3 – 38 | Australia |
Pen: Ring | Tries: Roebuck (2), Slattery, Campese, Horan, Lynagh Con: Lynagh (4) Pen: Lynagh (2) |
Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Referee: Keith Lawrence |
1995 Rugby World Cup
Pool C games -
-
Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points New Zealand 3 0 0 225 45 9 Ireland 2 0 1 93 94 7 Wales 1 0 2 89 68 5 Japan 0 0 3 55 252 3
27 May 1995 |
Japan | 10 – 57 | Wales |
Tries: Osamu Ota (2) | Tries: Gareth Thomas (3), Ieuan Evans (2), Andrew Moore, Hemi Taylor Con: Neil Jenkins (5) Pen: Neil Jenkins (4) |
Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Attendance: 12 000 Referee: Efrahim Sklar |
31 May 1995 |
New Zealand | 34 – 9 | Wales |
Tries: Marc Ellis, Walter Little, Josh Kronfeld Con: Andrew Mehrtens (2) Pen: Andrew Mehrtens (4) Drop: Andrew Mehrtens |
Pen: Neil Jenkins (2) Drop: Neil Jenkins |
Ellis Park, Johannesburg Attendance: 38 000 Referee: Ed Morrison |
4 June 1995 |
Ireland | 24 – 23 | Wales |
Tries: Eddie Halvey, Nick Popplewell, Denis McBride Con: Eric Elwood (3) Pen: Eric Elwood |
Tries: Jonathan Humphreys, Hemi Taylor Con: Neil Jenkins (2) Pen: Neil Jenkins (2) Drop: Adrian Davies |
Ellis Park, Johannesburg Attendance: 35 000 Referee: Ian Rogers |
1999 Rugby World Cup
Pool 4 games -
-
Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points Wales 2 0 1 118 71 4 Samoa 2 0 1 97 72 4 Argentina 2 0 1 83 51 4 Japan 0 0 3 36 140 0
1 October 1999 |
Wales | 23 – 18 | Argentina |
Tries: Colin Charvis, Mark Taylor Con: Neil Jenkins (2) Pen: Neil Jenkins (3) |
Pen: Gonzalo Quesada (6) |
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Referee: Paddy O'Brien |
9 October 1999 |
Wales | 64 – 15 | Japan |
Tries: Mark Taylor, (2) Robert Howley, Scott Gibbs, David Llewellyn, Gareth Thomas, Allan Bateman, Shane Howarth Con: Neil Jenkins (8) Con: Neil Jenkins |
Tries: Patiliai Tuidraki, Daisuke Ohata Con: Keiji Hirose Pen: Keiji Hirose |
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Referee: Joel Dume |
14 October 1999 |
Wales | 31 – 38 | Samoa |
Tries: Gareth Thomas, Penalty try (2) Con: Neil Jenkins (2) Pen: Neil Jenkins (4) |
Tries: Stephen Bachop (2), Filiga Falaniko, Patrick Lam, Silao Leaegailesolo Con: Silao Leaegailesolo Pen: Silao Leaegailesolo |
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Referee: Ed Morrison |
Quarter finals -
23 October 1999 |
Wales | 9 – 24 | Australia |
Pens: Neil Jenkins (3) | Tries: George Gregan (2), Ben Tune Con: Matthew Burke (3) Pen: Matthew Burke |
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 74,499 Referee: Colin Hawke |
2003 Rugby World Cup
Group D games -
Team | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | BP | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
New Zealand | 4 | 0 | 0 | 282 | 57 | 4 | 20 |
Wales | 3 | 0 | 1 | 132 | 98 | 2 | 14 |
Italy | 2 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 123 | 0 | 8 |
Canada | 1 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 135 | 1 | 5 |
Tonga | 0 | 0 | 4 | 46 | 178 | 1 | 1 |
12 October 2003 |
Wales | 41 – 10 | Canada |
Tries: Parker, Cooper, M. Jones, Charvis, Thomas Con: Harris (5) Pen: Harris (2) |
Tries: Tkachuk Con: Pritchard Drop: Ross |
Telstra Dome, Melbourne Attendance: 24,874 Referee: Chris White |
19 October 2003 |
Wales | 27 – 20 | Tonga |
Tries: Cooper, M. Williams Con: S. Jones Pen: S. Jones (4) Drop: M. Williams |
Tries: Hola, Kivalu, Lavaka Con: Hola Pen: Hola |
Canberra Stadium Attendance: 19,806 Referee: Paul Honiss |
25 October 2003 |
Italy | 15 – 27 | Wales |
Pen: Wakarua (5) | Tries: M. Jones, Parker, D. Jones Con: Harris (3) Pen: Harris (3) |
Canberra Stadium Attendance: 22,641 Referee: Andrew Cole |
2 November 2003 |
New Zealand | 53 – 37 | Wales |
Tries: Rokocoko (2), MacDonald, Williams, Howlett (2), Spencer, Mauger Con: MacDonald (5) Pen: MacDonald |
Tries: Taylor, Parker, Charvis, S. Williams Con: S. Jones (4) Pen: S. Jones (3) |
Telstra Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 80,012 Referee: André Watson |
Quarter finals -
9 November 2003 |
England | 28 – 17 | Wales |
Try: Greenwood 44' c Con: Wilkinson Pen: Wilkinson (6) Drop: Wilkinson 80+1' |
Tries: S. Jones 30' m Charvis 35' m M. Williams 71' c Con: Harris |
Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 45,252 Referee: Alain Rolland |
2007 Rugby World Cup
Pool B games -
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2011 Rugby World Cup
Pool D games -
Team | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | BP | Points |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
South Africa | 4 | 0 | 0 | 282 | 57 | 4 | 20 |
Wales | 3 | 0 | 1 | 132 | 98 | 2 | 14 |
Samoa | 2 | 0 | 2 | 77 | 123 | 0 | 8 |
Fiji | 1 | 0 | 3 | 54 | 135 | 1 | 5 |
Namibia | 0 | 0 | 4 | 46 | 178 | 1 | 1 |
11 September 2011 |
South Africa | 17 – 16 | Wales |
Tries: F. Steyn 3' , Hougaard 65' Con: M. Steyn (2) Pen: M. Steyn |
(Report) | Tries: Faletau 54' Con: Hook Pen: Hook (3) |
Westpac Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 24,874 Referee: Wayne Barnes |
18 September 2011 |
Wales | 17 – 10 | Samoa |
Tries: Williams 67' Con: S. Jones Pen: Hook (2) Priestland (2) |
(Report) | Tries: Perenise 42' Con: Williams Pen: Williams |
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Attendance: 19,806 Referee: Alain Rolland |
26 September 2011 |
Wales | 81 – 7 | Namibia |
Tries: S. Williams (3) 7', 46', 70' Brew 14' Faletau 17' Jenkins 49' North (2) 60', 66' Davies 62' L. Williams 75' Byrne 77' A. Jones 80+' Con: S. Jones (6) Priestland (3) Pen: S. Jones |
(Report) | Tries: Koll 52' Con: Kotzé |
Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth Attendance: 80,012 Referee: Steve Walsh |
2 October 2011 |
Wales | 66 – 0 | Fiji |
Tries: Roberts (2) 5', 50' S. Williams 16' North 32' Warburton 39' Burns 59' Halfpenny 68' Williams 72' Davies 80+' Con: Priestland (5) S. Jones (4) Pen: Priestland |
(Report) |
Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Attendance: 22,641 Referee: Wayne Barnes |
Quarter Final
8 October 2011 |
Ireland | 10 – 22 | Wales |
Tries: S. Jones 30' m Charvis 35' m M. Williams 71' c Con: Harris |
Westpac Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 45,252 Referee: Craig Joubert |
Semi Final
15 October 2011 |
Wales | 8 – 9 | France |
Try: Phillips Pen: Hook |
Pen: Parra (3) |
Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 45,252 Referee: Alain Rolland |
Bronze Medal Match
2015 Rugby World Cup
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Wales started by beating Uruguay, England & Fiji, to then lose to Australia. Then South Africa knocked them out in the quarter-finals.
Hosting
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The Rugby World Cup is held every four years, and up to and including 2015, alternated between traditional rugby heartlands in the southern hemisphere and those in Europe. Wales hosted the tournament in 1999, with Cardiff's Millennium Stadium built to coincide with the event. However, it is common for Rugby World Cups to have matches played outside their official host country, and all four tournaments hosted in Europe have used Wales to some degree as a World Cup venue. After the 2015 event, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and its predecessor will have hosted a total 21 matches over a total of four world cups. This is the largest number of world cup games hosted by one venue.
1991 Rugby World Cup
England was billed as the main host of the second tournament in 1991, hosting the opening ceremony, and final, though the hosting duties were shared between all countries which competed in the Five Nations Championship. France hosted eight games, England and Wales each hosted seven, and Scotland and Ireland five. The National Stadium in Cardiff hosted the third place playoff, whilst all of Pool C's matches were played in Wales. Wales were scheduled to feature in this pool, and all three of their pool matches were hosted in the National Stadium. One game each was played at the club grounds of Pontypridd, Pontypool and Llanelli.
The following Welsh stadiums were used:
City | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|
Cardiff | National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park | 53,000 |
Llanelli | Stradey Park | 10,800 |
Pontypool | Pontypool Park | 8,800 |
Pontypridd | Sardis Road | 7,200 |
1999 Rugby World Cup
Wales was chosen by the International Rugby Board as the principal host for the 1999 event. The centrepiece venue of the tournament, hosting the opening ceremony and final was the Millennium Stadium, a new structure built on the site of the old National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park at a cost of £126 million from private investment. An agreement was reached with the unions of all four rivals in the Five Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland and Scotland), so that, like 1991, the majority of the matches would take place outside the official host nation. In a unique tournament format there were five pools in the opening round. Each of the five unions competed in a separate pool, and acted as host for all of the matches within that pool. All Pool A games were held in Scotland, Pool B games in England, Pool C games in France and Pool E games in Ireland.
Wales hosted Pool D, also featuring Argentina, Samoa and Japan. Four of the pool games were at the Millennium Stadium, with one match each at Stradey Park, Llanelli's rugby stadium, and at The Racecourse, Wrexham, which usually featured Association Football.
Of eleven knock-out games, the Millennium Stadium only hosted three; Australia's defeat of Wales in the quarter final stage, and the third place play-off and final. The other fixtures were played for at a variety of European venues.
The following Welsh stadiums were used:
City | Stadium | Capacity |
---|---|---|
Cardiff | Millennium Stadium | 74,500 |
Wrexham | Racecourse Ground | 15,500 |
Llanelli | Stradey Park | 10,800 |
2007 Rugby World Cup
In a more public bidding process, France beat England to win the right to host the 2007 World Cup. The WRU supported the French bid, in accordance with an agreement between the nations over the 1999 cup.[6] As a result of that agreement, world cup rugby returned to the Millennium Stadium for three pool matches (including two featuring Wales), and a quarter-final.
Ironically, as France were unexpected runners-up to Argentina in their group, the hosts found themselves competing in this, the only knock-out match held outside of their borders. The game was one of the highlights of the tournament, notable for a large number of reasons, though largely for being New Zealand's earliest exit from a Rugby World Cup, after the New Zealand Herald ran the hubristic headline 'France pose absolutely no threat to All Blacks'.[7] The French squad's reply to the Haka, where the squad dressed in red, white and blue shirts, drew some attention, with a number of images of Sebastien Chabal's stony face appearing in the media the following day.[8] Several controversial decisions by referee Wayne Barnes,[9] provoked death threats from some fans.[10] Statistical analysis by New Zealand company Verusco showed the match's playing time, that is time the ball is in play, was the longest of any of the 1,500 games they had ever recorded.[11]
City | Country | Stadium | Capacity | Further reading |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cardiff | Wales | Millennium Stadium | 73,350 | Overview |
2015 Rugby World Cup
In 2009 England were awarded the rights to stage the 2015 tournament. Owing to the proximity of Cardiff, the RFU made it clear that they intended to use the Millennium Stadium as part of its bid,[12] despite initial reluctance from the IRB for multiple hosting nations.[13] The Millennium Stadium is hosting eight games in the tournament, more than in any previous world cup. These include two quarter-finals. This made Cardiff the only venue hosting knock-out matches with the exception of England's national stadium, Twickenham, as well as the venue with the second highest number of games. As Wales and England have been drawn in the same group, Wales only have home advantage for two of their games, against Uruguay and Fiji.
Cardiff is using the world cup to promote tourism in the city,[14] with estimates that the games will add over £300 million to the local economy.[15] A 'Fan Zone' has been created within the grounds of Cardiff Arms Park with a large screen, for enjoying match days.[16] Cardiff Council has commissioned an art installation to mark the tournament, grafting a rugby ball to the prominent Cardiff Castle, to make it appear the ball has smashed straight through the wall.[17] This is similar to a publicity stunt from the 2007 World Cup, where a rugby ball hung from the centre of the Eiffel Tower. No such other sculptures have been created in the other 2015 venue cities.
City | Country | Stadium | Capacity | Further reading |
---|---|---|---|---|
Cardiff | Wales | Millennium Stadium | 73,350 | Overview |
References
- Davies, Gerald (2004) The History of the Rugby World Cup (Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, (ISBN 1860746020)
- Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup, Australian Post Corporation, (ISBN 0-642-36811-2)
- ↑ Lua error in package.lua at line 80: module 'strict' not found.
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- ↑ http://web.archive.org/web/20060903232554/http://rugby.com.au/news/2003_april/france_wins_right_to_host_the_2007_rugby_wor_15381,3851.html
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/france/8779952/Rugby-World-Cup-2011-France-pose-absolutely-no-threat-to-All-Blacks-headline-in-New-Zealand-Herald-in-2007.html
- ↑ http://www.telegraph.co.uk/sport/rugbyunion/international/newzealand/8848272/Rugby-World-Cup-2011-five-best-responses-to-the-haka.html
- ↑ Gower (2007)
- ↑ BBC News (2007)
- ↑ Lampp (2007)
- ↑ http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/rugby_union/8170488.stm
- ↑ [1], Doubt over Wales' 2015 Cup role
- ↑ http://www.independent.ie/life/travel/europe/rugby-world-cup-where-to-eat-drink-and-play-in-cardiff-31538334.html
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-34297975
- ↑ http://www.walesonline.co.uk/whats-on/whats-on-news/rugby-world-cup-fanzone-cardiff-10092938
- ↑ http://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-wales-34282743