Records and statistics of the Rugby World Cup

Main article: Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup records have been accumulating since the first Rugby World Cup tournament was held in 1987.

Team records

Titles

Most titles won

Titles	Team	Tournaments
4	South Africa	1995, 2007, 2019, 2023
3	New Zealand	1987, 2011, 2015
2	Australia	1991, 1999
1	England	2003

Title win rate

Win rate

Win rate	Team
40%	South Africa
30%	New Zealand
20%	Australia
10%	England

Most semi-finals

Most semi-finals

App	Team	Tournaments
9	New Zealand	1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023
6	Australia	1987, 1991, 1999, 2003, 2011, 2015
	England	1991, 1995, 2003, 2007, 2019, 2023
	France	1987, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011
	South Africa	1995, 1999, 2007, 2015, 2019, 2023

Most quarter-finals

Most quarter-finals

App	Team	Tournaments
10	New Zealand	1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023
	France	1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023
9	Australia	1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019
	England	1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2019, 2023
8	Ireland	1987, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023
	South Africa	1995, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023

Most appearances

Most appearances

App	Team(s)
10	Argentina,   Australia,   England,   France,   Ireland,   Italy,   Japan,   New Zealand,   Scotland,   Wales
9	Canada,   Fiji,   Romania,   Samoa,   Tonga
8	South Africa,   United States
7	Namibia
6	Georgia

• 10 teams appeared in every World Cup:
•   Samoa/Western Samoa also qualified for every World Cup but was not invited to the 1987 Rugby World Cup.
•   South Africa was banned from competing in 1987 and 1991 due to the sporting boycott of South Africa but appeared in every World Cup since the ban was lifted.

Points

Most overall pool points by a team ^[1]

Pool Points	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	W%	TB	LB
238	New Zealand	64	54	1	9	2,888	842	+2,046	84.38	20	0
186	South Africa	50	42	0	8	1,720	641	+1,079	84.00	16	2
156	Australia	57	44	0	13	1,887	845	+1,042	77.19	15	2
153	England	58	42	1	15	1,790	822	+968	72.41	12	1
147	France	58	40	2	16	1,823	1,027	+796	68.97	13	3

Last updated: 28 October 2023

Most points by a team in a single match ^[2]

Points	Team	Opponent	Score	Date
145	New Zealand	Japan	145–17	4 June 1995
142	Australia	Namibia	142–0	24 October 2003
111	England	Uruguay	111–13	2 November 2003
108	New Zealand	Portugal	108–13	15 September 2007
101	New Zealand	Italy	101–3	14 October 1999
	England	Tonga	101–10	15 October 1999

Margins

Biggest winning margins ^[3]

Margin	Team	Opponent	Score	Date
142	Australia	Namibia	142–0	24 October 2003
128	New Zealand	Japan	145–17	4 June 1995
98	New Zealand	Italy	101–3	14 October 1999
	England	Uruguay	111–13	2 November 2003
96	France	Namibia	96–0	21 September 2023

Tries

Most tries by a team in a single match ^[4]

Tries	Team	Opponent	Score	Date
22	Australia	Namibia	142–0	24 October 2003
21	New Zealand	Japan	145–17	4 June 1995
17	England	Uruguay	111–13	2 November 2003
16	New Zealand	Portugal	108–13	15 September 2007
14	New Zealand	Italy	101–3	14 October 1999
	France	Namibia	96–0	21 September 2023
	New Zealand	Italy	96–17	29 September 2023

Player records

Points

Jonny Wilkinson holds the record for the most points scored (277), most penalties (58) & most drop goals (14) in Rugby World Cups.

Most overall points ^[5]

Points	Name	Team	App.	Tries	Con.	Pen.	Drop	Tournaments
277	Jonny Wilkinson	England	19	1	28	58	14	1999, 2003, 2007, 2011
227	Gavin Hastings	Scotland	13	9	39	36	0	1987, 1991, 1995
195	Handré Pollard	South Africa	17	0	24	46	3	2015, 2019, 2023
	Michael Lynagh	Australia	15	4	36	33	2	1987, 1991, 1995
191	Dan Carter	New Zealand	15	3	58	17	3	2003, 2007, 2011, 2015

Key: App = Appearances. Con = conversions. Pen = penalties. Drop = drop goals.

Most points in one tournament ^[6]

Points	Name	Team	Tournament
126	Grant Fox	New Zealand	1987
113	Jonny Wilkinson	England	2003
112	Thierry Lacroix	France	1995
105	Percy Montgomery	South Africa	2007
104	Gavin Hastings	Scotland	1995

Most points in a match by a player ^[7]

Points	Name	Team	Opponent	Date
45	Simon Culhane	New Zealand	Japan	4 June 1995
44	Gavin Hastings	Scotland	Ivory Coast	26 May 1995
42	Mat Rogers	Australia	Namibia	25 October 2003
36	Tony Brown	New Zealand	Italy	14 October 1999
	Paul Grayson	England	Tonga	15 October 1999

Tries

Bryan Habana & Jonah Lomu share the record for the most tries (15) in Rugby World Cups, and share the record for most tries in a single World Cup tournament (8) with Julian Savea (below), and Will Jordan

Julian Savea scored a joint record eight tries in New Zealand's progress to the 2015 final, including two hat-tricks

Most overall tries ^[8]

Tries	Name	Team	Tournaments
15	Jonah Lomu	New Zealand	1995–1999
	Bryan Habana	South Africa	2007–2015
14	Drew Mitchell	Australia	2007–2015
13	Doug Howlett	New Zealand	2003–2007
12	Adam Ashley-Cooper	Australia	2007–2019

Most tries in one tournament ^[9]

Tries	Name	Team	Tournament
8	Jonah Lomu	New Zealand	1999
	Bryan Habana	South Africa	2007
	Julian Savea	New Zealand	2015
	Will Jordan	New Zealand	2023
7	Marc Ellis	New Zealand	1995
Jonah Lomu	New Zealand	1995
Doug Howlett	New Zealand	2003
Mils Muliaina	New Zealand	2003
Drew Mitchell	Australia	2007
Josh Adams	Wales	2019

Most tries in a match by a player ^[10]

Tries	Name	Team	Opponent	Date
6	Marc Ellis	New Zealand	Japan	4 June 1995
	Julia Schell	Canada	Fiji	23 August 2025
5	Chris Latham	Australia	Namibia	25 October 2003
	Josh Lewsey	England	Uruguay	2 November 2003
	Henry Arundell	England	Chile	23 September 2023
4	John Gallagher	New Zealand	Fiji	27 May 1987
	Craig Green	New Zealand	Fiji	27 May 1987
	Ieuan Evans	Wales	Canada	3 June 1987
	Brian Robinson	Ireland	Zimbabwe	6 October 1991
	Gavin Hastings	Scotland	Ivory Coast	26 May 1995
	Chester Williams	South Africa	Samoa	10 June 1995
	Jonah Lomu	New Zealand	England	18 June 1995
	Keith Wood	Ireland	United States	2 October 1999
	Mils Muliaina	New Zealand	Canada	17 October 2003
	Bryan Habana	South Africa	Samoa	9 September 2007
	Vereniki Goneva	Fiji	Namibia	10 September 2011
	Zac Guildford	New Zealand	Canada	2 October 2011
	Darcy Graham	Scotland	Romania	30 September 2023

Youngest try scorer in a World Cup game

• George North (  Wales), aged 19 years, 166 days (2 tries v   Namibia, 26 September 2011) ^[11]

Oldest try scorer in a World Cup game

• Diego Ormaechea (  Uruguay), aged 40 years, 13 days (v   Spain, 2 October 1999) ^[12]

Conversions

Dan Carter holds the record for the most conversions in Rugby World Cups.

Most overall conversions ^{[13] [14]}

Con.	Name	Team	Tournaments
58	Dan Carter	New Zealand	2003–2015
39	Gavin Hastings	Scotland	1987–1995
38	Richie Mo'unga	New Zealand	2019–2023
37	Grant Fox	New Zealand	1987–1991
36	Michael Lynagh	Australia	1987–1995

Most conversions in one tournament ^[15]

Con.	Name	Team	Tournament
30	Grant Fox	New Zealand	1987
23	Dan Carter	New Zealand	2015
21	Thomas Ramos	France	2023
20	Michael Lynagh	Australia	1987
	Simon Culhane	New Zealand	1995
	Leon MacDonald	New Zealand	2003
	Nick Evans	New Zealand	2007
	Richie Mo'unga	New Zealand	2019

Most conversions in a match by a player ^[16]

Con.	Name	Team	Opponent	Date
20	Simon Culhane	New Zealand	Japan	4 June 1995
16	Mat Rogers	Australia	Namibia	25 October 2003
14	Nick Evans	New Zealand	Portugal	15 September 2007
12	Paul Grayson	England	Tonga	15 October 1999
	Leon MacDonald	New Zealand	Tonga	24 October 2003
	Thomas Ramos	France	Namibia	21 September 2023

Penalty goals

Scotland's Gavin Hastings was the first player to kick eight penalties in a Rugby World Cup match.

Most overall penalties ^{[17] [18]}

Pen.	Name	Team	Tournaments
58	Jonny Wilkinson	England	1999–2011
46	Handré Pollard	South Africa	2015–2023
36	Gavin Hastings	Scotland	1987–1995
35	Gonzalo Quesada	Argentina	1999–2003
33	Michael Lynagh	Australia	1987–1995
	Andrew Mehrtens	New Zealand	1995–1999

Most penalties in one tournament ^[19]

Pen.	Name	Team	Tournament
31	Gonzalo Quesada	Argentina	1999
26	Thierry Lacroix	France	1995
23	Jonny Wilkinson	England	2003
	Handré Pollard	South Africa	2015
21	Grant Fox	New Zealand	1987
	Elton Flatley	Australia	2003

Most penalties in a match by a player ^[20]

Pen.	Name	Team	Opponent	Date
8	Gavin Hastings	Scotland	Tonga	30 May 1995
	Thierry Lacroix	France	Ireland	10 June 1995
	Gonzalo Quesada	Argentina	Samoa	10 October 1999
	Matt Burke	Australia	South Africa	30 October 1999
7	Gonzalo Quesada	Argentina	Japan	16 October 1999
	Jonny Wilkinson	England	Fiji	20 October 1999
	David Humphreys	Ireland	Argentina	20 October 1999
	Gonzalo Quesada	Argentina	Ireland	20 October 1999
	Matt Burke	Australia	France	6 November 1999
	Piri Weepu	New Zealand	Argentina	9 October 2011
	Dan Biggar	Wales	England	26 September 2015

Drop goals

Most overall drop goals ^{[21] [22]}

Drop	Name	Team	Tournaments
14	Jonny Wilkinson	England	1999–2011
6	Jannie de Beer	South Africa	1999
5	Rob Andrew	England	1987–1995
	Gareth Rees	Canada	1987–1999
4	Juan Martín Hernández	Argentina	2003–2015

Most drop goals in one tournament ^[23]

Drop	Name	Team	Tournament
8	Jonny Wilkinson	England	2003
6	Jannie de Beer	South Africa	1999
5	Jonny Wilkinson	England	2007
4	Juan Martín Hernández	Argentina	2007
3	Jonathan Davies	Wales	1987
	Rob Andrew	England	1995
	Andrew Mehrtens	New Zealand	1995
	Joel Stransky	South Africa	1995
	Gregor Townsend	Scotland	1999
	Theuns Kotzé	Namibia	2011
	Dan Parks	Scotland	2011
	George Ford	England	2023

Most drop goals in a match by a player ^[24]

Drop	Name	Team	Opponent	Date
5	Jannie de Beer	South Africa	England	24 October 1999
3	Juan Martín Hernández	Argentina	Ireland	30 September 2007
	George Ford	England	Argentina	9 September 2023
	Theuns Kotzé	Namibia	Fiji	10 September 2011
	Jonny Wilkinson	England	France	16 November 2003

Appearance statistics

Sam Whitelock holds the appearance record in Rugby World Cups with 26 matches.

Most appearances, matches ^{[25] [26]}

App.	Name	Team	Tournaments
26	Sam Whitelock	New Zealand	2011–2023
22	Agustin Creevy	Argentina	2011–2023
	Jason Leonard	England	1991–2003
	Richie McCaw	New Zealand	2003–2015
21	Alun Wyn Jones	Wales	2007–2019
	James Slipper	Australia	2011–2023

Most appearances, tournaments

App.	Name	Team	Tournaments
5	Brian Lima	Samoa	1991–2007
	Mauro Bergamasco	Italy	1999–2015
	Sergio Parisse	Italy	2003–2019
4	Gareth Rees	Canada	1987–1999
	Pedro Sporleder	Argentina	1991–2003
	Al Charron	Canada	1991–2003
	Jason Leonard	England	1991–2003
	Fabien Galthié	France	1991–2003
	Carlo Checchinato	Italy	1991–2003
	George Gregan	Australia	1995–2007
	Mike James	Canada	1995–2007
	Rod Snow	Canada	1995–2007
	Mike Catt	England	1995–2007
	Alessandro Troncon	Italy	1995–2007
	Gareth Thomas	Wales	1995–2007
	Romeo Gontineac	Romania	1995–2007
	Felipe Contepomi	Argentina	1999–2011
	Mario Ledesma	Argentina	1999–2011
	Martín Scelzo	Argentina	1999–2011
	Jonny Wilkinson	England	1999–2011
	Nicky Little	Fiji	1999–2011
	Brian O'Driscoll	Ireland	1999–2011
	Chris Paterson	Scotland	1999–2011
	Stephen Jones	Wales	1999–2011
	James Pritchard	Canada	2003–2015
	Jamie Cudmore	Canada	2003–2015
	Giorgi Chkhaidze	Georgia	2003–2015
	Merab Kvirikashvili	Georgia	2003–2015
	Paul O'Connell	Ireland	2003–2015
	Andrea Masi	Italy	2003–2015
	Martin Castrogiovanni	Italy	2003–2015
	Dan Carter	New Zealand	2003–2015
	Keven Mealamu	New Zealand	2003–2015
	Richie McCaw	New Zealand	2003–2015
	Dănuț Dumbravă	Romania	2003–2015
	Ovidiu Tonița	Romania	2003–2015
	Paulică Ion	Romania	2003–2015
	Schalk Burger	South Africa	2003–2015
	Victor Matfield	South Africa	2003–2015
	Gethin Jenkins	Wales	2003–2015
	Juan Manuel Leguizamón	Argentina	2007–2019
	Adam Ashley-Cooper	Australia	2007–2019
	D. T. H. van der Merwe	Canada	2007–2019
	Davit Kacharava	Georgia	2007–2019
	Mamuka Gorgodze	Georgia	2007–2019
	Rory Best	Ireland	2007–2019
	Alessandro Zanni	Italy	2007–2019
	Luke Thompson	Japan	2007–2019
	Eugene Jantjies	Namibia	2007–2019
	Alun-Wyn Jones	Wales	2007–2019
	Agustin Creevy	Argentina	2011–2023
	Nicolas Sanchez	Argentina	2011–2023
	James Slipper	Australia	2011–2023
	Dan Cole	England	2011–2023
	Courtney Lawes	England	2011–2023
	Ben Youngs	England	2011–2023
	Lasha Khmaladze	Georgia	2011–2023
	Alexander Todua	Georgia	2011–2023
	Keith Earls	Ireland	2011–2023
	Conor Murray	Ireland	2011–2023
	Johnny Sexton	Ireland	2011–2023
	Shota Horie	Japan	2011–2023
	Michael Leitch	Japan	2011–2023
	PJ van Lill	Namibia	2011–2023
	Sam Whitelock	New Zealand	2011–2023
	George North	Wales	2011–2023

Most winning appearances ^[27]

App.	Name	Team	Tournaments
23	Sam Whitelock	New Zealand	2011–2023
20	Richie McCaw	New Zealand	2003–2015
19	Keven Mealamu	New Zealand	2003–2015
18	Sonny Bill Williams	New Zealand	2011–2019
17	François Steyn	South Africa	2007, 2011, 2019

Most losing appearances ^[28]

App.	Name	Team	Tournaments
14	Eugene Jantjies	Namibia	2007–2019
12	PJ van Lill	Namibia	2011–2023
	Ovidiu Tonița	Romania	2003–2015
	D.T.H. van der Merwe	Canada	2007–2019
11	Jacques Burger	Namibia	2007–2015
	Jamie Cudmore	Canada	2003–2015
	Tinus du Plessis	Namibia	2007–2015
	Romeo Gontineac	Romania	1995–2007
	Hugo Horn	Namibia	1999–2011
	Merab Kvirikashvili	Georgia	2003–2015
	Johnny Redelinghuys	Namibia	2007–2015
	Aranos Coetzee	Namibia	2015–2023

Oldest player to appear in a World Cup match

• Diego Ormaechea,   Uruguay, aged 40 years, 26 days (v   South Africa, 15 October 1999) ^{[29] [30]}

Oldest player to appear in a World Cup final

• Duane Vermeulen,   South Africa, aged 37 years, 117 days (v   New Zealand, 28 October 2023)

Oldest player to win a World Cup final

• Schalk Brits,   South Africa, aged 38 years, 170 days (v   England, 2 November 2019)

Youngest player to appear in a World Cup match

• Vasil Lobzhanidze,   Georgia, aged 18 years, 340 days (v   Tonga, 19 September 2015) ^[31]

Youngest player to appear in a World Cup final

• Jonah Lomu,   New Zealand, aged 20 years, 43 days (v   South Africa, 24 June 1995) ^[29]

Youngest player to win a World Cup final

• François Steyn,   South Africa, aged 20 years, 159 days (v   England, 20 October 2007) ^[29]

By tournament

Year	Top points scorers	Top try scorers	Team records
1987	126* – Grant Fox (  New Zealand) 082 – Michael Lynagh (  Australia) 062 – Gavin Hastings (  Scotland)	6 – Craig Green (  New Zealand) 6 – John Kirwan (  New Zealand)	Most points in a match	74	New Zealand (74–13 v Fiji)
			Biggest winning margin	64	New Zealand (70–6 v Italy)
			Most tries in a match	13	France (70–12 v Zimbabwe)
1991	68 – Ralph Keyes (  Ireland) 66 – Michael Lynagh (  Australia) 61 – Gavin Hastings (  Scotland)	6 – David Campese (  Australia) 6 – Jean-Baptiste Lafond (  France)	Most points in a match	55	Ireland (55–11 v Zimbabwe)
			Biggest winning margin	44	Ireland (55–11 v Zimbabwe)   Japan (52–8 v Zimbabwe)
			Most tries in a match	9	Japan (52–8 v Zimbabwe)
1995	112 – Thierry Lacroix (  France) 104 – Gavin Hastings (  Scotland) 084 – Andrew Mehrtens (  New Zealand)	7 – Jonah Lomu (  New Zealand) 7 – Marc Ellis (  New Zealand)	Most points in a match	145*	New Zealand (145–17 v Japan)
			Biggest winning margin	128
			Most tries in a match	21
1999	102 – Gonzalo Quesada (  Argentina) 101 – Matt Burke (  Australia) 097 – Jannie de Beer (  South Africa)	8* – Jonah Lomu (  New Zealand)	Most points in a match	101	England (101–10 v Tonga)   New Zealand (101–3 v Italy)
			Biggest winning margin	98	New Zealand (101–3 v Italy)
			Most tries in a match	14
2003	113 – Jonny Wilkinson (  England) 103 – Frédéric Michalak (  France) 100 – Elton Flatley (  Australia)	7 – Doug Howlett (  New Zealand) 7 – Mils Muliaina (  New Zealand)	Most points in a match	142	Australia (142–0 v Namibia)
			Biggest winning margin	142*
			Most tries in a match	22*
2007	105 – Percy Montgomery (  South Africa) 091 – Felipe Contepomi (  Argentina) 067 – Jonny Wilkinson (  England)	8* – Bryan Habana (  South Africa)	Most points in a match	108	New Zealand (108–13 v Portugal)
			Biggest winning margin	95
			Most tries in a match	16
2011	62 – Morné Steyn (  South Africa) 52 – James O'Connor (  Australia) 45 – Kurt Morath (  Tonga)	6 – Chris Ashton (  England) 6 – Vincent Clerc (  France)	Most points in a match	87	South Africa (87–0 v Namibia)
			Biggest winning margin	87
			Most tries in a match	12	South Africa (87–0 v Namibia)   Wales (81–7 v Namibia)   New Zealand (79–15 v Canada)
2015	97 – Nicolás Sánchez (  Argentina) 93 – Handré Pollard (  South Africa) 82 – Bernard Foley (  Australia)	8* – Julian Savea (  New Zealand)	Most points in a match	65	Australia (65–3 v Uruguay)
			Biggest winning margin	64	South Africa (64–0 v United States)
			Most tries in a match	10
2019	69 – Handré Pollard (  South Africa) 58 – Owen Farrell (  England) 54 – Richie Mo'unga (  New Zealand)	7 – Josh Adams (  Wales)	Most points in a match	71	New Zealand (71–9 v Namibia)
			Biggest winning margin	63	New Zealand (63–0 v Canada)
			Most tries in a match	11	New Zealand (71–9 v Namibia)
2023	75 – Owen Farrell (  England) 74 – Thomas Ramos (  France) 67 – Emiliano Boffelli (  Argentina)	8* – Will Jordan (  New Zealand)	Most points in a match	96	France (96–0 v Namibia)   New Zealand (96–17 v Italy)
			Biggest winning margin	96	France (96–0 v Namibia)
			Most tries in a match	14	France (96–0 v Namibia)   New Zealand (96–17 v Italy)

Note: * denotes an all-time record

Miscellaneous

Winning coaches and captains

A foreign coach has never managed a World Cup-winning team.

Year	Host(s)	Champion	Winning coach	Winning captain
1987	Australia   New Zealand	New Zealand	Brian Lochore	David Kirk
1991	England   France   Ireland   Scotland   Wales	Australia	Bob Dwyer	Nick Farr-Jones
1995	South Africa	South Africa	Kitch Christie	Francois Pienaar
1999	Wales   England   France   Ireland   Scotland	Australia	Rod MacQueen	John Eales
2003	Australia	England	Clive Woodward	Martin Johnson
2007	France   Scotland   Wales	South Africa	Jake White	John Smit
2011	New Zealand	New Zealand	Graham Henry	Richie McCaw
2015	England   Wales	New Zealand	Steve Hansen	Richie McCaw
2019	Japan	South Africa	Rassie Erasmus	Siya Kolisi
2023	France	South Africa	Jacques Nienaber	Siya Kolisi

Discipline

Further information: List of Rugby World Cup red cards

Team	Red Cards	Tournaments
Canada	4	1995, 1995, 1999, 2019
Samoa	4	1991, 2011, 2019, 2023
Tonga	4	1995, 1999, 2007, 2023
Namibia	3	2007, 2023, 2023
Argentina	2	1991, 2019
New Zealand	2	2023, 2023
South Africa	2	1995, 1999
Uruguay	2	2015, 2019
Wales	2	1987, 2011

Draws

Team	Score	Opponent	Date
France	20–20	Scotland	23 May 1987
Canada	12–12	Japan	12 September 2007
Canada	23–23	Japan	27 September 2011
New Zealand	0–0(1)	Italy	12 October 2019
England	0–0(1)	France	12 October 2019
Namibia	0–0(1)	Canada	13 October 2019
Georgia	18–18	Portugal	23 September 2023

• ¹ During the 2019 tournament, Typhoon Hagibis caused the matches New Zealand v Italy, England v France and Namibia v Canada to be cancelled and recorded as 0–0 draws.

Nil points

Team	Score	Opponent	Date
Ivory Coast	0–89	Scotland	26 May 1995
Canada	0–20	South Africa	3 June 1995
Spain	0–48	Scotland	16 October 1999
Namibia	0–142	Australia	25 October 2003
England	0–36	South Africa	14 September 2007
Romania	0–42	Scotland	18 September 2007
Scotland	0–40	New Zealand	23 September 2007
Namibia	0–30	Georgia	26 September 2007
Namibia	0–87	South Africa	22 September 2011
Fiji	0–66	Wales	2 October 2011
United States	0–64	South Africa	7 October 2015
Samoa	0–34	Scotland	30 September 2019
Canada	0–63	New Zealand	2 October 2019
Russia	0–35	Ireland	3 October 2019
Russia	0–61	Scotland	9 October 2019
New Zealand	0–0(1)	Italy	12 October 2019
England	0–0(1)	France	12 October 2019
Namibia	0–0(1)	Canada	13 October 2019
Romania	0–76	South Africa	17 September 2023
Namibia	0–96	France	21 September 2023
Chile	0–71	England	23 September 2023
Romania	0–84	Scotland	30 September 2023
Uruguay	0–73	New Zealand	5 October 2023

• ¹ During the 2019 tournament, Typhoon Hagibis caused the matches New Zealand v Italy, England v France and Namibia v Canada to be cancelled and recorded as 0–0 draws.

Highest attendance

• 89,267 –   Ireland v   Romania, 27 September 2015 at Wembley Stadium, London, England. ^[32]

Highest attendance (Final)

• 82,957 –   Australia v   England, 22 November 2003 at Stadium Australia, Sydney, Australia ^[33]

Lowest attendance

• 2,000 –   Argentina v   Italy, 28 May 1987 at Lancaster Park, Christchurch, New Zealand.

Hosting

Eden Park was the first stadium to host the World Cup Final twice

• Eden Park in Auckland Park was the first stadium to host the Rugby World Cup Final twice, with the 1987 and 2011 finals having been held there. Twickenham Stadium has also hosted the final twice in 1991 and 2015, as has the Stade de France in 2007 and 2023.
• The record for the city that has been a part of most Rugby World Cups is currently four and is held by Cardiff that hosted matches in 1991, 1999, 2007 and 2015. If the definition of "city" includes its metropolitan area, Paris has also hosted matches in four tournaments. The city of Paris hosted matches in 1991, its adjacent suburb of Saint-Denis hosted matches in 1999 and 2023, and both cities hosted matches in 2007. Edinburgh and Toulouse hosted matches in three tournaments.

Head-to-head

The highest number of head-to-head matches between two nations currently stands at eight meetings, encompassing four teams (Australia, France, New Zealand, and Wales) in two Rugby World Cup rivalries. The following table lists the head-to-head statistics of the Rugby World Cup, ranging from the inaugural tournament in 1987 to the latest tournament in 2023. It is organised first numerically, with the more head-to-head meetings appearing at the top of the table and the fewer meetings, such as one meeting between two nations appearing at the bottom of the table, and second, alphabetically by teams.

Legend
R1	Round 1 (pool stage)
R2	Round 2 (quarter-final playoff / last 16)(2)
QF	Quarter-finals
SF	Semi-finals
3rd	3rd/4th place playoff (bronze final)
F	Final

Games	Team 1	Head-2-Head Wins (Draws)	Team 2	Year(s)	Rounds
8	Australia	5–3	Wales	1987, 1991, 1999, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023	3rd, R1, QF, R1, 3rd, R1, R1, R1
	France	3–5	New Zealand	1987, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2011, 2015, 2023	F, SF, 3rd, QF, R1, F, QF, R1
7	Australia	3–4	England	1987, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2007, 2015, 2019	R1, F, QF, F, QF, R1, QF
	Italy	0–6 (& 1 Draw)(3)	New Zealand	1987, 1991, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2019, 2023	R1, R1, R1, R1, R1, R1, R1
6	England	3–2 (& 1 Draw)(3)	France	1991, 1995, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2019	QF, 3rd, SF, SF, QF, R1
	England	1–5	South Africa	1999, 2003, 2007, 2007, 2019, 2023	QF, R1, R1, F, F, SF
	New Zealand	3–3	South Africa	1995, 1999, 2003, 2015, 2019, 2023	F, 3rd, QF, SF, R1, F
5	Argentina	0–5	England	1995, 2011, 2019, 2023, 2023	R1, R1, R1, R1, 3rd
	Australia	4–1	Ireland	1987, 1991, 1999, 2003, 2011	QF, QF, R1, R1, R1
	Fiji	1–4	Wales	2007, 2011, 2015, 2019, 2023	R1, R1, R1, R1, R1
	New Zealand	5–0	Scotland	1987, 1991, 1995, 1999, 2007	QF, 3rd, QF, QF, R1
	Samoa (1)	0–5	South Africa	1995, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015	QF, R1, R1, R1, R1

• ¹ Samoa competed as Western Samoa from 1924 to 1997.
• ² Round 2 was introduced at the 1999 Rugby World Cup and consisted of the five group runners-up and the best third-placed team playoff for one of three places in the quarter-final. It was discontinued for the 2003 to 2023 Rugby World Cups. Round 2 will be re-introduced for the 2027 Rugby World Cup and will consist of the last 16 teams made up from the top two placed teams from six groups and the best four third-placed teams. ^[34]
• ³ Three Rugby World Cup 2019 matches; involving Namibia versus Canada, New Zealand versus Italy, and England versus France, were cancelled and recorded as a 0–0 draw due to Typhoon Hagibis.

Tier 1 nations head-to-head

The table below shows the current dominance in the head-to-head meetings of Tier 1 nations at the Rugby World Cup from the first tournament in 1987 to the latest tournament in 2023 (as of 20 October). Currently, New Zealand has the best record amongst the other Tier 1 nations, achieving more wins and culminating in a superior head-to-head record over seven other Tier 1 nations, and equal with two others (Australia and South Africa). Italy are at the bottom of the table, and have an inferior head-to-head record with eight other Tier 1 nations, and parity with one other nation (Argentina). However, as of the 2023 tournament Japan are the bottom team. There are two Tier 1 head-to-head meetings that have never been played at a Rugby World Cup: England–Ireland, and Scotland–Wales.

Team ranking	Tier 1 nations head-to-head wins (draws)												Total head-to-head meetings
	Argentina	Australia	England	France	Ireland	Italy	Japan	New Zealand	Scotland	South Africa	Wales		Superior	Equal	Inferior	Never played
New Zealand	4–0	2–2	3–1	5–3	3–0	6–0 (1)(1)	2–0	—	5–0	3–3	4–0		8	2	0	—
Australia	3–0	—	3–4	1–1	4–1	1–0	2–0	2–2	2–0	2–1	5–3		7	2	1	—
South Africa	2–0	1–2	5–1	2–0	0–1	1–0	1–1	3–3	3–0	—	3–0		6	2	2	—
England	5–0	4–3	—	3–2 (1)(1)	NP	3–0	1–0	1–3	2–0	1–5	1–2		6	0	3	1
Wales	2–1	3–5	2–1	1–1	2–1	1–0	3–0	0–4	NP	0–3	—		5	1	3	1
France	2–2	1–1	2–3 (1)(1)	—	3–1	2–0	2–0	3–5	2–0 (1)	0–2	1–1		4	3	3	—
Ireland	1–3	1–4	NP	1–3	—	2–0	2–1	0–3	2–1	1–0	1–2		4	0	5	1
Argentina	—	0–3	0–5	2–2	3–1	1–1	2–0	0–4	2–0	0–2	1–2		3	2	5	0
Scotland	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2 (1)	1–2	1–0	3–1	0–5	—	0–3	NP		2	0	7	1
Japan	0–2	0–2	0–2	0–2	1–2	NP	—	0–2	1–3	1–1	0–3		0	1	8	1
Italy	1–1	0–1	0–3	0–2	0–2	—	NP	0–6 (1)(1)	0–1	0–1	0–1		0	1	8	1

• ¹ Two Tier 1 Rugby World Cup 2019 matches; involving New Zealand versus Italy, and England versus France, were cancelled and recorded as a 0–0 draw due to Typhoon Hagibis.

Trivia

• England became the first sole host nation to be eliminated in the pool stage of a Rugby World Cup in 2015. Wales, as joint hosts, were eliminated in the pool stage in 1991.
• Four match-ups have occurred twice in the same World Cup:
  • 2007 Argentina defeated France in the opening match 17–12, and went on to beat them 34–10 in the bronze final.
  • 2007 South Africa defeated England 36–0 in the pool stage, and went on to play them in the final, winning 15–6.
  • 2011 New Zealand defeated France 37–17 in the pool stage, and went on to play them in the final, winning 8–7.
  • 2023 England defeated Argentina 27–10 in the pool stage, and went on to beat them 26–23 in the bronze final.
• There are two tier 1 head-to-head meetings that have never been played at a Rugby World Cup: England versus Ireland, and Scotland versus Wales.
• Four nations have reached a Rugby World Cup Final having previously lost a game in that tournament: England in 1991 and 2007, South Africa in 2019 and 2023, New Zealand in 2023 and France in 2011, the latter being the only team to reach the final having lost two games. The 2023 final is the only one with both teams having previously lost a game in the tournament.
• New Zealand have been involved in four World Cup opening matches, the most by any other team. The All Blacks defeated Italy in 1987, England in 1991, and Tonga in 2011, but lost to France in 2023. Argentina have participated in three World Cup opening matches. The Pumas participated in the first three World Cup openers of the professional era – losing to Wales and Australia in 1999 and 2003 respectively, and defeating France in 2007.
• France and New Zealand are the only nations to have made it to at least the quarter-finals of every Rugby World Cup. Furthermore, South Africa have also done so since they started participating in 1995.
• France is the only non English-speaking country to have made it to a Rugby World Cup final – in 1987, 1999 and 2011. It is also the only country to reach a final without ever winning it.
• The only Tier 2 country to have participated in every Rugby World Cup is Japan, with Canada only failing to qualify for the first time in 2023, making it to one quarter-final in 1991 and Japan reaching the quarter finals in 2019.
• Japan is the only team to have won three matches in a tournament where they did not progress beyond the pool stage, losing out to South Africa and Scotland in their pool by points difference in 2015.
• Among the Tier 1 nations, Italy is the only one not to have made it to at least the quarter-finals in any Rugby World Cup. Conversely, four Tier 2 countries have made it to the quarter-finals – Fiji in 1987, 2007 and 2023, Samoa (then called Western Samoa) in 1991 and 1995, Canada in 1991 and Japan in 2019.
  • Arguably, Argentina in 1999 could also be regarded as having been a Tier 2 nation at the time, since they were not yet in the southern-hemisphere Rugby Championship: although official "Tiers" were not recognised at the time, this match can be regarded as the start of their actual period of achievement which led to them later earning recognition at the top table. Similarly, Japan's achievements in 2019, added to their defeat of South Africa in 2015, were eventually recognised by formally admitting them to the definition of a Tier 1 nation in May 2023.
• The 2015 final between Australia and New Zealand is the highest scoring Rugby World Cup final, with New Zealand winning that match 34–17.
• After the 2015 final, New Zealand became the first team to win the Rugby World Cup three times, and the first team to have successfully defended its title. South Africa became the second team to defend its title in 2023 and the first to win the Rugby World Cup on four occasions, as well as the first to win successive titles away from home.
• Wales have had the most upsets in the Rugby World Cup, having lost to Samoa both in 1991 and 1999, then losing to Fiji in 2007. Other major upsets include Ireland and Scotland losing to Japan in 2019, France losing to Tonga in 2011, South Africa losing to Japan in 2015 and Australia losing to Fiji in 2023. Argentina's defeat of Ireland in 1999 was also regarded as an upset at the time.
• South Africa became the first nation to win a World Cup after losing a match in the pool stage in 2019 and did so again in 2023.
• New Zealand were the last Tier 1 team to experience defeat in the pool stages of a Rugby World Cup. They were defeated by France in 2023. ^[35]

See also

• Sports portal

• List of rugby union playing countries
• List of Rugby World Cup hat-tricks
• Rugby World Cup try scorers
• Rugby World Cup Overall Record
• National team appearances in the Rugby World Cup
• List of winners of multiple Rugby World Cups
• List of Rugby World Cup finals
• Rugby World Cup
• International rugby union team records
• International rugby union player records

References

1. "Team Records". ESPN. Retrieved 13 November 2019.
2. "Most team points in a match". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
3. "All Time RWC Team Records". Rugbyworldcup.com. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
4. "Most team tries in a match". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
5. "All Time RWC Player Statistics". Rugbyworldcup.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
6. "Most individual points in a tournament/season". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
7. "All Time RWC Player Records". Rugbyworldcup.com. 26 September 2015. Archived from the original on 27 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
8. "RWC ALL TIME MOST TRIES SCORED". Rugbyworldcup.com. 30 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
9. "Most individual tries in a tournament/season". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
10. "Most individual tries in a match". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
11. "Youngest tryscorer". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
12. "Oldest tryscorer". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
13. "RWC ALL TIME MOST CONVERSIONS". Rugbyworldcup.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
14. "Most individual conversions". Espnscrum.com. 2 October 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2015.
15. "Most individual conversions in a tournament/season". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
16. "Most individual conversions in a match". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
17. "RWC ALL TIME MOST PENALTIES SCORED". Rugbyworldcup.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
18. "Most individual penalty goals". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
19. "Most individual penalty goals in a tournament/season". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
20. "Most individual penalty goals in a match". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
21. "RWC ALL TIME MOST DROP GOALS". Rugbyworldcup.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
22. "Most individual drop goals". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
23. "Most individual drop goals in a tournament/season". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
24. "Most individual drop goals in a match". Espnscrum.com. 26 September 2015. Retrieved 26 September 2015.
25. "RWC ALL TIME MOST MATCHES PLAYED". Rugbyworldcup.com. 2 October 2019. Archived from the original on 26 September 2015. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
26. "Most matches". Espnscrum.com. 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
27. "Player Records: Overall figures, Rugby World Cup, won match". ESPN (UK). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
28. "Player Records: Overall figures, Rugby World Cup, lost match". ESPN (UK). 2 October 2019. Retrieved 2 October 2019.
29. Griffiths, John (12 September 2011). "Victors in the Five/Six Nations, Tri-Nations and the World Cup, the youngest and oldest players, referees and close encounters". Ask John. ESPN Scrum. Retrieved 13 September 2011.
30. For the specific match where Ormaeches established the current record, see the list of his Test matches at ESPN Scrum.
31. "Georgia spring first surprise by taking down Tonga". ESPN (UK). PA Sport. 19 September 2015. Retrieved 19 September 2015.
32. "Rugby World Cup - Highest attendance". ESPN. 2 November 2019. Retrieved 2 November 2019.
33. 2003 Rugby World Cup Final
34. Phillips, Mitch (24 October 2023). "World Cup expands to 24 teams amid radical new calendar". Reuters . Archived from the original on 31 October 2023. Retrieved 16 November 2023.
35. "New Zealand discipline poor again as Rugby World Cup pools streak ends". AP. 8 September 2023. Retrieved 8 September 2023.

External links

• All Time RWC Team Statistics on Rugbyworldcup.com
• All Time RWC Player Statistics on Rugbyworldcup.com
• IRB Rugby World Cup Records on Espnscrum.com