1987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co-host the tournament. New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 matches (seven pool matches, two quarter-finals and both semi-finals). The event was won by co-hosts New Zealand, who were the strong favourites and won all their matches comfortably. France were losing finalists and Wales came in third: Australia, having been second favourites, finished fourth after conceding crucial tries in the dying seconds of both the semi-final against France and the third-place play-off against Wales.
 | |
| Tournament details | |
|---|---|
| Host nations |  New Zealand.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Australia |
| Dates | 22 May – 20 June (30 days) |
| No. of nations | 16 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  | New Zealand |
Runner-up  |  France |
Third place  | .svg.png.webp){kind=small} Wales |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 32 |
| Attendance | 478,449 (14,952 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) | Grant Fox (126) |
| Most tries | Craig Green John Kirwan (6 tries each) |
1991 → | |
Sixteen teams competed in the inaugural tournament. Seven of the 16 places were automatically filled by the International Rugby Football Board (IRFB) members – New Zealand, Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France. South Africa was unable to compete because of the international sporting boycott due to apartheid. There was no qualification process to fill the remaining nine spots. Instead invitations were sent out to Argentina, Fiji, Italy, Canada, Romania, Tonga, Japan, Zimbabwe and the United States. This left Western Samoa controversially excluded, despite their better playing standard than some of the teams invited. The USSR were to be invited but they declined the invitation on political grounds, allegedly due to the continued IRFB membership of South Africa.[1]
The tournament witnessed a number of one-sided matches, with the seven traditional IRFB members proving too strong for the other teams. Half of the 24 matches across the four pools saw one team score 40 or more points. 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. The tournament was seen as a major success and proved that the event was viable in the long term. It also led to many countries joining the International Rugby Football Board which in turn led the IRFB to become the true authority for the running of international rugby union.
Participating nations
There was no qualification for the inaugural World Cup so the tournament comprised the seven members of the IRFB, with the remaining nine places filled by teams invited by the IRFB.
| IRFB Member Nations | Invited Nations |
|---|---|
- South Africa was excluded due to its pro-apartheid policies.
Venues
| Auckland |
Wellington |
Christchurch |
Dunedin |
|---|---|---|---|
| Eden Park | Athletic Park | Lancaster Park | Carisbrook |
| Capacity: 48,000 | Capacity: 39,000 | Capacity: 36,500 | Capacity: 35,000 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
| Rotorua |
Napier |
Hamilton |
Brisbane |
| Rotorua International Stadium | McLean Park | Rugby Park | Ballymore Stadium |
| Capacity: 35,000 | Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 24,000 |
 |
|||
| Sydney |
Invercargill |
Palmerston North | |
| Concord Oval | Rugby Park Stadium | Showgrounds Oval | |
| Capacity: 20,000 | Capacity: 30,000 | Capacity: 20,000 | |
 |
 |
 |
Squads
Referees
|
|
Pools and format
| Pool 1 | Pool 2 | Pool 3 | Pool 4 |
|---|---|---|---|
- Pool 1 was played in Australia
- Pool 2 was played with five matches held in New Zealand and one in Australia
- Pool 3 was played in New Zealand
- Pool 4 was played in New Zealand
The inaugural World Cup was contested by 16 nations. There was no qualifying tournament to determine the participants; instead, the 16 nations were invited by the International Rugby Football Board to compete. The simple 16-team pool/knock-out format was used with the teams divided into four pools of four, with each team playing the others in their pool once, for a total of three matches per team in the pool stage. Nations were awarded two points for a win, one for a draw and none for a loss: teams finishing level on points were separated by tries scored, rather than total points difference (had it been otherwise, Argentina would have taken second place in Group C ahead of Fiji, although France would still have won Group D.) The top two nations of every pool advanced to the quarter-finals. The runners-up of each pool faced the winners of a different pool in the quarter-finals. A standard single-elimination tournament followed, with the losers of the semi-finals contesting an additional play-off match to determine third place.
A total of 32 matches (24 in the pool stage and eight in the knock-out stage) were played in the tournament over 29 days from 22 May to 20 June 1987.
Pool stage
Pool 1
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 41 | 18 | 6 |
 England |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 32 | 15 | 4 |
 United States |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 99 | 5 | 2 |
 Japan |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 123 | 7 | 0 |
23 May 1987 |
| Australia |
19–6 | England |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Campese Poidevin Con: Lynagh Pen: Lynagh (3) |
Try: Harrison Con: Webb |
24 May 1987 |
| Japan |
18–21 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Taumoefolau (2) Yoshinaga Pen: Yoshinaga Kutsuki |
Try: Nelson Purcell Lambert Con: Nelson (3) Pen: Nelson |
30 May 1987 |
| England |
60–7 | Japan |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Harrison (3) Underwood (2) Salmon Richards Redman Rees Simms Con: Webb (7) Pen: Webb (2) |
Try: Miyamoto Pen: Matsuo |
31 May 1987 |
| Australia |
47–12 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Leeds (2) Penalty try Campese Smith Slack Papworth Codey Con: Lynagh (6) Pen: Lynagh |
Try: Nelson Con: Nelson Pen: Nelson Drop: Horton |
3 June 1987 |
| England |
34–6 | United States |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Winterbottom (2) Harrison Dooley Con: Webb (3) Pen: Webb (4) |
Try: Purcell Con: Nelson |
Pool 2
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | Tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 31 | 13 | 6 |
 Ireland |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 84 | 41 | 11 | 4 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 90 | 7 | 2 |
 Tonga |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 98 | 3 | 0 |
24 May 1987 |
| Canada |
37–4 | Tonga |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Palmer (2) Vaesen (2) Stuart Frame Penalty try Con: Wyatt (2) Gareth Rees Pen: Rees |
Try: Valu |
29 May 1987 |
| Tonga |
16–29 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Fielea Fifita Con: Liavaʻa Pen: Liavaʻa Amone |
Try: Webbe (3) Hadley Con: Thorburn (2) Pen: Thorburn (2) Drop: Davies |
30 May 1987 |
| Canada |
19–46 | Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Cardinal Pen: Rees (3) Wyatt Drop: Rees |
Try: Crossan (2) Bradley Spillane Ringland MacNeill Con: Kiernan (5) Pen: Kiernan (2) Drop: Ward Kiernan |
3 June 1987 |
| Canada |
9–40 | Wales |
|---|---|---|
| Pen: Rees (3) |
Try: Evans (4) Devereux Bowen Hadley Phillips Con: Thorburn (4) |
Pool 3
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 190 | 34 | 30 | 6 |
 Fiji |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 101 | 6 | 2 |
 Italy |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 110 | 5 | 2 |
 Argentina |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 90 | 4 | 2 |
22 May 1987 |
| New Zealand |
70–6 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Kirwan (2) Kirk (2) Green (2) Penalty try Jones Taylor McDowall Stanley Whetton Con: Fox (8) Pen: Fox (2) |
Pen: Collodo Drop: Collodo |
24 May 1987 |
| Argentina |
9–28 | Fiji |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Penalty try Con: Porta Pen: Porta |
Try: Gale Naivilawasa Nalaga Savai Con: Koroduadua (2) Rokowailoa Pen: Koroduadua (2) |
27 May 1987 |
| New Zealand |
74–13 | Fiji |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Gallagher (4) Green (4) Kirk Kirwan Penalty try Whetton Con: Fox (10) Pen: Fox (2) |
Try: Cama Pen: Koroduadua (3) |
28 May 1987 |
| Argentina |
25–16 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Lanza Gómez Con: Porta Pen: Porta (5) |
Try: Innocenti Cuttitta Con: Collodo Pen: Collodo (2) |
31 May 1987 |
| Fiji |
15–18 | Italy |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Naivilawasa Con: Koroduadua Pen: Koroduadua (2) Drop: Qoro |
Try: Cuttitta Cucchiella Mascioletti Pen: Collodo Drop: Collodo |
Pool 4
| Team | P | W | D | L | PF | PA | tries | Pts |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 145 | 44 | 25 | 5 |
 Scotland |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 135 | 69 | 22 | 5 |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Romania |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 130 | 5 | 2 |
 Zimbabwe |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 53 | 151 | 5 | 0 |
23 May 1987 |
| Romania |
21–20 | Zimbabwe |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Paraschiv Toader Hodorca Pen: Alexandru (3) |
Try: Tsimba (2) Neill Con: Ferreira Pen: Ferreira (2) |
23 May 1987 |
| France |
20–20 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Sella Berbizier Blanco Con: Blanco Pen: Blanco (2) |
Try: White Duncan Pen: Hastings (4) |
28 May 1987 |
| France |
55–12 | Romania |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Lagisquet (2) Charvet (2) Sella Andrieu Camberabero Erbani Laporte Con: Laporte (8) Pen: Laporte |
Pen: Bezuscu (4) |
30 May 1987 |
| Scotland |
60–21 | Zimbabwe |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Tait (2) Tukalo (2) Duncan (2) Paxton (2) Oliver Hastings Jeffrey Con: Hastings (8) |
Try: Buitendag Con: Grobler Pen: Grobler (5) |
2 June 1987 |
| Romania |
28–55 | Scotland |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Murariu (2) Toader Con: Alexandru Ion Pen: Alexandru (3) Ion |
Try: Jeffrey (3) Tait (2) Hastings (2) Duncan Tukalo Con: Hastings (8) Pen: Hastings |
2 June 1987 |
| France |
70–12 | Zimbabwe |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Modin (3) Camberabero (3) Charvet (2) Rodriguez (2) Dubroca Estève Laporte Con: Camberabero (9) |
Try: Kaulback Con: Grobler Pen: Grobler (2) |
Knockout stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 6 June – Lancaster Park, Christchurch | ||||||||||
| New Zealand | 30 | |||||||||
| 14 June – Ballymore, Brisbane | ||||||||||
| Scotland | 3 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 49 | |||||||||
| 8 June – Ballymore, Brisbane | ||||||||||
| Wales | 6 | |||||||||
| Wales | 16 | |||||||||
| 20 June – Eden Park, Auckland | ||||||||||
| England | 3 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 29 | |||||||||
| 7 June – Eden Park, Auckland | ||||||||||
| France | 9 | |||||||||
| France | 31 | |||||||||
| 13 June – Concord Oval, Sydney | ||||||||||
| Fiji | 16 | |||||||||
| France | 30 | |||||||||
| 7 June – Concord Oval, Sydney | ||||||||||
| Australia | 24 | Third place | ||||||||
| Australia | 33 | |||||||||
| 18 June – Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua | ||||||||||
| Ireland | 15 | |||||||||
| Wales | 22 | |||||||||
| Australia | 21 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
7 June 1987 |
| Australia |
33–15 | Ireland |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Burke (2) McIntyre Smith Con: Lynagh (4) Pen: Lynagh (3) |
Try: MacNeill Kiernan Con: Kiernan (2) Pen: Kiernan |
7 June 1987 |
| Fiji |
16–31 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Qoro Damu Con: Koroduadua Pen: Koroduadua (2) |
Try: Rodriguez (2) Lorieux Lagisquet Con: Laporte (3) Pen: Laporte (2) Drop: Laporte |
Semi-finals
13 June 1987 |
| Australia |
24–30 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Campese Codey Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh (3) Drop: Lynagh |
Report | Try: Lorieux Sella Lagisquet Blanco Con: Camberabero (4) Pen: Camberabero (2) |
Third-place play-off
Final
20 June 1987 |
| New Zealand |
29–9 | France |
|---|---|---|
| Try: Jones Kirk Kirwan Con: Fox Pen: Fox (4) Drop: Fox |
Report | Try: Berbizier Con: Camberabero Pen: Camberabero |
Statistics
The tournament's top point scorer was New Zealand's Grant Fox, who scored 126 points. Craig Green and John Kirwan scored the most tries, six in total.
| Player | Team | Position | Played | Tries | Conversions | Penalties | Drop goals | Total points |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Grant Fox | New Zealand |
First five-eighth | 6 | 0 | 30 | 21 | 1 | 126 |
| Michael Lynagh | Australia |
Fly-half | 6 | 0 | 20 | 12 | 2 | 82 |
| Gavin Hastings | Scotland |
Fullback | 4 | 3 | 16 | 6 | 0 | 62 |
| Didier Camberabero | France |
Fly-half | 5 | 4 | 14 | 3 | 0 | 53 |
| Jonathan Webb | England |
Fullback | 4 | 0 | 11 | 7 | 0 | 43 |
| Guy Laporte | France |
Fly-half | 3 | 2 | 11 | 3 | 1 | 42 |
| Paul Thorburn | Wales |
Fullback | 6 | 0 | 11 | 5 | 0 | 37 |
| Mike Kiernan | Ireland |
Centre | 3 | 1 | 7 | 5 | 1 | 36 |
| Severo Koroduadua | Fiji |
Fullback | 4 | 0 | 4 | 9 | 0 | 35 |
| Hugo Porta | Argentina |
Fly-half | 3 | 0 | 3 | 9 | 0 | 33 |
Broadcasters
The event was broadcast in Australia by ABC and in the United Kingdom by the BBC.
