2011 Rugby World Cup
Posted: Wednesday, September 7, 2011 at 4:54:58 PM EST by
On the 9th of September the Rugby World Cup will kick off.
This will be the seventh time rugby nations have come together to be crowned world champions. The winner of the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 was New Zealand. They defeated France in the final with a score of 29-9. Australia finished fourth after losing to Wales 22-21 in the third place playoff. The games were played throughout Australia and New Zealand as they were two countries that put forth the concept of a World Cup.
The 1991 World Cup was played throughout Europe with Australia defeating England 12-6 in the final, and the previous World Cup winner New Zealand finishing third after beating Scotland 13-6 in the third place playoff.
1995 was the first World Cup that was played in just one country, South Africa, who won the cup defeating New Zealand 15-12. Australia, unfortunately, didn’t make it past the quarter finals.
The fourth Rugby World Cup in 1999, was the first cup in which the big eight nations didn’t automatically qualify. Only the first, second and third placed nations from the previous World Cup, along with the host nation, automatically qualified. Australia notched up their second World Cup win after beating France 35-12 in Cardiff. South Africa, last cup’s winner, finished third after beating New Zealand 22-18 also in Cardiff.
The World Cup of 2003 was one that Australia bitterly remembers to this day. Australia was on the cusp of writing World Cup history in becoming the first nation to win back to back campaigns. As history reminds us, a Johnny Wilkinson drop goal sealed the final for England with a score of 20-17 at Telstra Stadium in Sydney. One thing that Australia can take from that World Cup is their slaughtering of Namibia.The score line at fulltime was 142-0, the biggest winning margin in a World Cup game thus far.
The most recent World Cup in 2007 again saw Australia defeated in the quarter finals. Argentina racked up their highest finish in a World Cup, beating France 34-10 in the third place playoff. England got their due from the last World Cup at the hands of South Africa, with a score of 15-6 at Stade de France.
In a little over 14 days the world will come together in this sporting event. Can South Africa win two World Cups in a row? Can Australia make it past the quarter finals, and win the Cup? Will New Zealand or England join Australia and South Africa in being the only nations to win two World Cups? Or will there be a fairy tale of an unknown nation claiming Rugby royalty?
To keep up to date on all things Rugby World Cup visit the website here.
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