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 RUGBY
WORLD CUP 2007
The official website for the Rugby World Cup 2007 is
www.rugbyworldcup.com
The Rugby World Cup is the premier international rugby
union contest in the world. The event is organised by the International
Rugby Board (IRB), the sport's governing body, and is contested by the
men's national rugby union teams. It was first held in 1987, hosted by
both Australia and New Zealand, and now held every four years. The prize
is the William Webb Ellis Trophy which is named after the pupil of Rugby
school credited with the game's invention.
The tournament is claimed to be one of the top three international
national sporting competitions in the world, with the FIFA WorldCup and
the Summer Olympics being the paramount events. The title of world
champions is currently held by England, who won the 2003 tournament
held in Australia. Qualification
Qualifying tournaments were introduced for the second
tournament in 1991, where eight of the 16 places were filled through a
process which involved 32 sides. The inaugural World Cup in 1987, did not
involve any qualifying process, instead, the 16 places were automatically
filled by the seven eligible International Rugby Football Board (IRFB,
now, International Rugby Board) member nations and the rest by invitation.
The current format allows eight of the 20 available positions to be filled
by automatic qualification, as the eight quarter finalists of the previous
tournament will enter its successor. The remaining 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. The remaining two places are determined by repechage.
Repechage one consists of a runner-up from the Africa and Europe
qualifiers, who play eachother, with the winner playing the Americas
runner-up to determine the place. The second repechage is determined
between the runners-up from the Asia and Oceania qualifiers.
Tournament
The current tournament features 20 nations competing
over a month in the host nation(s). There are two stages, a group and a
knock-out. Nations compete in 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
places are filled by the assigned 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 seven points
or less. The winner and runner-up of each pool qualifies for the knock-out
stage of the tournament. The knock-out stage consists of four qualifying
games, the winner of each pool being put against a runner-up of an
opposing pool. The winner of each qualifier goes on to the semi-finals,
where the respective winners go on to the final. Losers of the semi-finals
contest for third and fourth place.
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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 a 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 Australiasia, 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. It is thought that the defining prospect of such a
tournament was proposed in 1983, when the Australian Rugby Union and the
New Zealand Rugby Football Union each independently wrote to the IRFB
seeking to conduct a World Cup tournament. In 1985 the IRFB approved the
inaugural Rugby Union World Cup to be jointly staged in Australia and New
Zealand during May and June of 1987, though the proposition was met with
much opposition, namely from the British and Irish members. The vote was
won through the support of South Africa who had the deciding vote. They
voted in favour of the idea even though they knew they would not be allowed
to participate, due to the international sports boycott against the
apartheid regime. Wales' Millennium Stadium - The first purpose built stadium for the 1999
Rugby World Cup final. The inaugural tournament was contested in Australia
and New Zealand between 16 nations. New Zealand become first ever
champions, defeating France 29 points to nine. The subsequent 1991
tournament was hosted by England, with matches being played in France,
Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This tournament also saw the abolition of
invitation qualification - with a qualifying tournament being brought that
involved 35 countries. Australia won the second tournament, defeating
hosts England, 12 points to 6. 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 their international sports boycott.
The tournament had a fairytale ending, as South Africa were crowned
champions over New Zealand, which concluded with President Nelson Mandela,
wearing a Springbok jersey and matching baseball cap, present 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. The tournament in 1999 was hosted by Wales with matches being held in
England, France, Scotland and Ireland. The tournament included a repechage
system, alongside specific regional qualifying places, and an increase of
16 to 20 participating nations. Australia claimed their second title,
defeating France in the final. The 2003 cup was hosted by Australia,
though 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 games
being played 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
William Webb Ellis Cup is the prize presented to 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 made in 1906, being chosen in 1987 as an
appropriate cup for use in the World Cup. The words 'International Rugby
Board' and 'William 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 is 'Bill' - a
reference to William Webb Ellis. The trophy is currently kept in the
Museum of Rugby, London. Hosts
The first World Cup was submitted as a joint proposal
by the ARU and the NZRU. The IFRB members voted on the proposal to stage a
World Cup. Tournaments are now voted on by the IRB member nations, who
decide what nation will host the World Cup, with the voting procedure
managed by a team of independent auditors. 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 World Cup 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 World Cup in late 2005.
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