2004 Cup Rugby World
2004 Cup Rugby World
The Rugby World Cup is the premier international rugby union competition. The event is organised by the sport's governing body, the International Rugby Board (IRB), and is contested by the men's national teams. The inaugural tournament was held in 1987, hosted by both Australia and New Zealand, and is now contested every four years. The tournament is one of the largest international sporting competitions in the world.
The winners are awarded the William Webb Ellis Cup. William Webb Ellis was the Rugby School pupil who - according to popular myth - invented the game after picking up the ball during a game of football. South Africa are the current World Champions, having won the 2007 Rugby World Cup final in France on 20 October 2007 with victory over England, the 2003 World Champions and current runners-up. The next Rugby World Cup is slated for 2011 in New Zealand. The hosts for 2015 and 2019 have been announced as England and Japan respectively.
Format
Qualification
Main article: Rugby World Cup qualificationQualifying tournaments were introduced for the second tournament, where eight of the sixteen places were contested in a twenty-four-nation tournament. The inaugural World Cup in 1987, did not involve any qualifying process; instead, the 16 places were automatically filled by seven eligible International Rugby Football Board (IRFB, now, International Rugby Board) member nations, and the rest by invitation.
The current format allows for twelve of the twenty available positions to be filled by automatic qualification, as the teams who finish third or better in the group (pool) stages of the previous tournament enter its successor (where they will be seeded) . The qualification system for the remaining eight places will be region-based with Europe and the Americas allocated two qualifying places, Africa, Asia and Oceania one place each, with the last place determined by a play-off .
The old format (2003 & 2007) allowed for eight of the twenty available positions to be filled by automatic qualification, as the eight quarter finalists of the previous tournament enter its successor. The remaining twelve positions were filled by continental qualifying tournaments. Positions were filled by three teams from the Americas, one from Asia, one from Africa, three from Europe and two from Oceania. Another two places were allocated for repechage. The first repechage place was determined by a match between the runners-up from the Africa and Europe qualifying tournaments, with that winner then playing the Americas runner-up to determine the place. The second repechage position was determined between the runners-up from the Asia and Oceania qualifiers.
Tournament
The current model features twenty nations competing over a month in the host nation(s). There are two stages, a group and a knock-out. Nations are divided into four pools, A through to D, of five nations each. The pool allocation system seeds teams ranked one to four from the previous tournament into A to D pools respectively. The other four automatic entrants—the losing quarter-finalists from the previous tournament—are drawn into pools at random.
The remaining positions in each pool are filled by the qualifiers. Nations play four pool games, playing their respective pool members once. A bonus points system is used during pool play. If two or more teams are level on points, a system of criteria is used to determine the higher rank; the sixth and final criterion decides the higher rank through the Official IRB World Rankings.
The winner (first position) and runner-up (second position) of each pool enters the knock-out stage. The knock-out stage consists of quarter- and semi-finals, and then the final. The winner of each pool is placed against a runner-up of a different pool in a quarter-final. The winner of each quarter-final goes on to the semi-finals, where the respective winners proceed to the final. Losers of the semi-finals contest for third place (called the 'Bronze Final'). Should a tie result during an event in the knock-out stages, the winner is determined through extra time. Should that fail, sudden death begins when the next team to score any points is declared with winner; as a last resort, a kicking competition is used.
History
Main article: History of the Rugby World CupPrior to the Rugby World Cup, there were only regional international rugby union competitions. One of the largest and oldest is the Six Nations Championship, which started in 1883 as the "Home Nations" championship, a tournament between England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It became the Five Nations in 1910, when France joined the tournament. France did not participate from 1931 to 1939, during which period it reverted back to a Home Nations championship. In 2000, Italy joined the competition, which became the Six Nations.
In the southern hemisphere, the equivalent competition is the Tri Nations series held between Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa.
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 Australasia, with the last two being won by the United States. However rugby union was soon removed from the Summer Olympic program.
The idea of a Rugby World Cup had been suggested on numerous occasions going back to the 1950s, but met with opposition from most unions in the IRFB. The idea resurfaced several times in the early 1980s, with the Australian Rugby Union (ARU) and the New Zealand Rugby Union (NZRU) independently writing to the IRFB seeking to conduct a World Cup tournament. In 1985, Australia, New Zealand and France were in favour of a world cup and, despite knowing that the international sports boycott on their apartheid regime would prevent their participation, the South African delegates also voted in favour, which was vital in tying the vote 8-8. When one English delegate followed by a Welsh delegate switched sides, by 10 votes to 6 the IRFB finally approved the inaugural cup, jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand in May and June 1987.
The inaugural tournament was contested in Australia and New Zealand between sixteen nations. The All Blacks (New Zealand) became the first ever champions, defeating France twenty-nine points to nine. The subsequent 1991 tournament was hosted by England, with matches also being played throughout the rest of Britain, Ireland and France. This tournament also saw the abolition of invitation qualification—with a qualifying tournament being introduced which involved thirty-five nations. Australia won the second tournament, defeating England, twelve points to six. The 1995 tournament was hosted by South Africa, which had originally tied the vote that eventually saw the first event take place. The tournament was the first that South Africa would actually play in, following the end of the international sports boycott. The tournament had a fairytale ending, as South Africa were crowned champions over the All Blacks, which concluded with then President Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok jersey and matching baseball cap, presenting the trophy to the South Africa's captain Francois Pienaar.
The tournament in 1999 was hosted by Wales with matches also being held throughout the rest of the United Kingdom, Ireland and France. The tournament included a repechage system, alongside specific regional qualifying places, and an increase from sixteen to twenty participating nations. Australia claimed their second title, defeating France in the final. The 2003 event was hosted by Australia; although it was originally intended to be held jointly with New Zealand. 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 was hosted by France, with matches also being held in Wales and Scotland. South Africa claimed their second title by defeating defending champions England fifteen points to six. The 2011 tournament was awarded to New Zealand in November 2005, ahead of bids from Japan and South Africa.
Rugby World Cup Limited has recommended to the IRB that the 2015 and 2019 World Cups be held in England and Japan, respectively
Trophy
Main article: Webb Ellis CupThe Webb Ellis Cup is the prize presented 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 simply as the Rugby World Cup . The trophy was chosen in 1987 as an appropriate cup for use in the competition. The words 'International Rugby Board' and 'The Webb Ellis Cup' are engraved on the face of the cup. It stands at thirty-eight 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 in Australia is "Bill" (a reference to William Webb Ellis).
Selection of hosts
Main article: Rugby World Cup hostsTournaments are voted on by the IRB member nations and are organised by Rugby World Cup Ltd (RWCL). This decides what nation(s) will host the tournament, with the voting procedure managed by a team of independent auditors, and the
BBC SPORT | Rugby Union | Rugby World Cup
Rugby World Cup ... More of your photos from the World Cup victory parade ... US Sport | Other Sport | Olympics 2004 Scores ...
Samoa Rugby Union - Rugby World Cup 2007
Results 2004-2009 News ... victory over England, the 2003 World Champions and current runners-up. The next Rugby World Cup ...
Rugby World Cup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
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 ...
Rugby World Cup 2004
The John Fisher School Welcome to The John Fisher School photo gallery
Winning!: The Story of England's Rise to Rugby World Cup Glory: Amazon ...
The Lombardi Rules: 26 Lessons from Vicni Lombardi--The World's Greatest Coach: 26 Lessons from Vince Lombardi - the World's Greatest Coach (McGraw-Hill Professional Education ...
Rugby World Cup: The Final [DVD] [2003]: Amazon.co.uk: DVD
Amazon.co.uk - Buy Rugby World Cup: The Final at a low price; free delivery on qualified orders. See reviews & details on a wide selection of Blu-ray & DVDs, both new & used.
World Rugby News
World Rugby News is an unofficial news website that reports on the Rugby World Cup, IRB Sevens ... part in the qualification stages which have been running since September 2004 ...
Google Holiday Logos: Rugby World Cup 2007
2004; 2005; 2006; 2007 2008; 2009. Months: Jan-Mar; Apr-Jun; Jul-Sep; Oct-Dec ... Sep 07, 2007 Rugby World Cup - Argentina Sep 07, 2007 Rugby World Cup - France
2007 Rugby World Cup - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial ... the regional qualifying competitions that began in 2004 - of them, Portugal was the only World Cup debutant
International Rugby Board - New Zealand's Series, Fiji's World Cup
While Fiji won the prized 2005 Rugby World Cup Sevens in Hong Kong, the title of Series champions once again went to New Zealand.
