Standings
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 41 | +67 | 18 | 6 | Knockout stage |
 England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 32 | +68 | 15 | 4 | |
 United States | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 99 | −60 | 5 | 2 | |
 Japan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 123 | −75 | 7 | 0 |
Pool 1 of the 1987 Rugby World Cup began on 23 May and was completed on 3 June. The pool was composed of Australia, England, United States and Japan.
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 41 | +67 | 18 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| England | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 32 | +68 | 15 | 4 | |
| United States | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 99 | −60 | 5 | 2 | |
| Japan | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 123 | −75 | 7 | 0 |
| 23 May 1987 |
| Australia | 19–6 [1] | England |
| Try: Campese Poidevin Con: Lynagh Pen: Lynagh (3) | Try: Harrison Con: Webb |
| Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 17,896 Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand) |
          Australia |   England |
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| 24 May 1987 |
| Japan | 18–21 [2] | United States |
| Try: Taumoefolau (2) Yoshinaga Pen: Yoshinaga Kutsuki | Try: Nelson Purcell Lambert Con: Nelson (3) Pen: Nelson |
| Ballymore, Brisbane Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Guy Maurette (France) |
    Japan |   United States |
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| 30 May 1987 |
| England | 60–7 [3] | Japan |
| Try: Harrison (3) Underwood (2) Salmon Richards Redman Rees Simms Con: Webb (7) Pen: Webb (2) | Try: Miyamoto Pen: Matsuo |
| Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 4,893 Referee: René Hourquet (France) |
England | Japan |
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| 31 May 1987 |
| Australia | 47–12 [4] | United States |
| Try: Leeds (2) 43' Penalty try Campese Smith 24' Slack 40' Papworth Codey Con: Lynagh (6) 25', 41' Pen: Lynagh 2' | Try: Nelson 53' Con: Nelson 54' Pen: Nelson 32' Drop: Horton 75' |
| Ballymore, Brisbane Attendance: 10,855 Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland) |
Australia |   United States |
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| 3 June 1987 |
| England | 34–6 [5] | United States |
| Try: Winterbottom (2) Harrison Dooley Con: Webb (3) Pen: Webb (4) | Try: Purcell Con: Nelson |
| Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 8,785 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia) |
England | United States |
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| 3 June 1987 |
| Australia | 42–23 [6] | Japan |
| Try: Slack (2) Burke (2) Tuynman Grigg Hartill Campese Con: Lynagh (5) | Try: Kutsuki (2) Fujita Con: Okidoi Pen: Okidoi (2) Drop: Okidoi |
| Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 8,785 Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland) |
Australia | Japan |
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The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World champions of the sport.
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches while Australia hosted 11 matches. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who were the strong favourites and won all their matches comfortably. New Zealand defeated France 29–9 in the final at Eden Park in Auckland. The New Zealand team was captained by David Kirk and included such rugby greats as Sean Fitzpatrick, John Kirwan, Grant Fox and Michael Jones. Wales finished third, and Australia fourth, after conceding crucial tries in the dying seconds of both their semi-final against France and the third-place play-off against Wales.
The Japan national rugby union team, also known as the Cherry Blossoms, the Brave Blossoms, or simply Sakura, represents Japan in men's international rugby union. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia and has enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years. Rugby union in Japan is administered by the Japan Rugby Football Union (JRFU), which was founded in 1926. They compete annually in the Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) and previously in the Asia Rugby Championship (ARC). They have also participated in every Rugby World Cup (RWC) since the tournament began in 1987, and hosted the event in 2019.
The United States men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States of America Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union. USA Rugby is the national governing body for the sport of rugby union in the United States, and is a member of Rugby Americas North, one of six regional governing bodies under World Rugby. Until rugby returned to Olympic competition, with sevens at the 2016 Rio Games, the United States was the reigning Olympic rugby champion, having won gold at the 1920 and 1924 Summer Olympics.
The Canada men's national rugby union team represents the Canada in men's international rugby union competitions. They are overseen by Rugby Canada the governing body of rugby union in Canada.
The Rugby World Cup host nation for both men and women is selected by World Rugby at a meeting six years before each tournament. Each of the Men's Rugby World Cups from 1987 to 2015 were hosted by countries that are considered the traditional powers in World Rugby. The first non Rugby Championship or Six Nations country to host a Rugby World Cup was Japan in 2019, after failed bids for the 2011 and 2015 tournaments. The women's version of the Rugby World Cup, which is known as the Women's Rugby World Cup, was first held in 1991, alternating with even-numbered non-leap years from 1994 to 2014 before switching to odd-numbered years from 2017 onwards.
For the 1991 Rugby World Cup, 16 nations participated in the finals tournament, half of which came through qualifying matches, and the other were granted automatic entry as they were quarter-finalists at the 1987 Rugby World Cup. The 25 teams taking part in regional qualifiers together with the 8 teams which qualified automatically brings to 33 the total number of teams participating in the 1991 Rugby World Cup.
The Australia national rugby union team, known as the Wallabies, has played in all ten Rugby World Cup tournaments. They have won the World Cup on two occasions; only New Zealand and South Africa have won more. Australia has hosted or co-hosted the tournament twice – in 1987 and 2003, and is scheduled to host it in 2027.
The England national team have competed in every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987. They have played 57 matches in ten tournaments, and won 42 for a winning record of 73.68%. Their best ever position was champions in 2003, whilst they have also participated in three other finals; the 2019 final, the 2007 final and the final of the 1991 competition. They have beaten one country five times, Argentina and three countries four times; Australia, United States and Samoa. Their worst record is against South Africa, who have defeated them in five of their six encounters.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match was played at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chōfu, Tokyo, with the final match being held at International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama. This was the first time that the tournament had taken place in Asia and outside the traditional Tier 1 rugby nations.
Argentina have competed in all the Rugby World Cup tournaments, starting with the inaugural 1987 tournament.
Uruguay has competed in five Rugby World Cup tournaments: 1999, 2003, 2015, 2019, and 2023.
The Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament held every four years and contested by the men's national teams of the member unions of World Rugby. The Wales national rugby union team has participated in all ten Rugby World Cup tournaments. Up to and including 2015, hosting of the tournament alternated between traditional rugby heartlands in the southern hemisphere and those in Europe. Wales was the primary host in 1999, with Cardiff's Millennium Stadium built to coincide with the event, and the other three tournaments played in Europe have also used venues in Wales to some degree. Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and its predecessor, the Cardiff Arms Park, 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.
The Ireland national rugby union team have played in all ten Rugby World Cup tournaments. They have reached the quarter-finals at all but two tournaments, but have yet to progress to the semi-finals. They have finished top of their pool on three occasions.
The Canada national rugby union team has played in every Rugby World Cup except 2023 since the inaugural tournament in 1987. Their best performance was in 1991, when they beat Fiji and Romania, qualifying for the quarter-finals, where they lost to New Zealand.
The Japan national team have competed in every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987. They are so far the only team to reach the Rugby World Cup through Asian regional qualifying. In 2019, they progressed to the quarterfinals for the first time in their participation, making them the first Asian team to do so in the tournament.
The United States national rugby union team has played in all but two Rugby World Cups since the inaugural tournament in 1987. The USA is the second strongest national rugby side in North America, and the third strongest in the Americas after Argentina and Canada.
This article documents the statistics of the 2015 Rugby World Cup which took place in England from 18 September to 31 October.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup final was a rugby union match played on 2 November 2019 at the International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama, Japan. It marked the culmination of the 2019 Rugby World Cup and was played between England and South Africa, a rematch of the 2007 Rugby World Cup final.
This article documents the statistics of the 2019 Rugby World Cup which was held in Japan from 20 September to 2 November.
