With the 2015 Rugby World Cup fast approaching, Last Word on Sports looks back at how the participating nations have fared in the previous seven tournaments from the inaugural in 1987 to the most recent in 2011. Today’s focus is New Zealand, who have appeared at each of the seven previous Rugby World Cups.
Rugby World Cup History: New Zealand
1987
New Zealand were co-hosts of the inaugural Rugby World Cup and joined the other six International Rugby Football Board members and the nine invited nations, in competing for the William Webb Ellis trophy. Drawn in Pool 3 with Argentina, Fiji and Italy, the All Blacks got off to a commanding start defeating Italy 70-6. New Zealand also crossed the 70 point mark in their second game, running out 74-13 winners against Fiji. A 46-15 win against Argentina secured top spot in the pool for the All Blacks and passage to the quarter finals. Pool 4 runners up Scotland awaited New Zealand in the quarter finals, and the All Blacks advanced comfortably dispatching the Scots 30-3 to move on to the semi finals. A 49-6 win over Wales secured New Zealand’s place in the first ever Rugby World Cup final. Facing France in the final the All Blacks ran out 29-9 winners over Les Bleus, as captain David Kirk lifted the trophy in front of the home fans in Auckland.
1991
Entering the 1991 World Cup as defending champions, New Zealand would face England, Italy and USA in Pool 1. Opening up against hosts England, the All Blacks won a close game 18-12. A comfortable win over the USA was followed up with a 31-21 win over Italy as New Zealand won the pool. Facing tournament surprise package Canada in the quarter finals, New Zealand dispatched the Canadians 29-13 to go through. A semi final against Bledisloe Cup rivals Australia was all that stood between New Zealand and a second consecutive World Cup final, however the Wallabies inflicted the All Blacks first ever World Cup defeat to move on to the final. The All Blacks finished their World Cup campaign with a 13-6 win over Scotland in the 3rd/4th place playoff.
1995
At the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa, New Zealand were drawn in Pool C with Ireland, Japan and Wales. Starting their campaign with a 43-19 win over Ireland, New Zealand went on to defeat Wales 34-9 in their second game. The All Blacks broke several records in their final pool game winning 145-17 against Japan, including that for most points scored in a World Cup game; most tries scored in a World Cup game by a single player, Marc Ellis with six; and at the time the largest winning margin (this was surpassed with Australia’s 142-0 defeat of Namibia in 2003). The All Blacks repeated their 1987 quarter final victory over Scotland to set up a semi final against England.
New Zealand demolished England in the semi final, with Jonah Lomu the principal tormentor scoring four tries and running riot over the English defence. The final against South Africa was an incredibly tight affair and at full time the score was deadlocked at 9-9, sending the game to extra time. The teams exchanged penalties to take the score to 12-12 before Joel Stransky’s drop goal won the World Cup for South Africa.
1999
New Zealand were drawn in Pool B of the 1999 World Cup held in Wales with England, Italy and Tonga. They started well with a comfortable win over Tonga, before beating England 30-16 in their second match. The All Blacks hit triple figures in their final pool game against Italy crushing the Italians 101-3. For the third time in four World Cups New Zealand met Scotland in the quarter finals (at the other World Cup they met in the 3rd/4th place playoff), and as before the result favoured the All Blacks, winning 30-18 on this occasion. The semi final against France saw the All Blacks establish a 24-10 lead before Christophe Lamaison inspired France to one of the greatest World Cup comebacks as the French won 43-31. New Zealand’s woe was compounded four days later as they lost 22-18 to South Africa in the 3rd/4th place playoff.
2003
Facing Canada, Italy, Tonga and Wales in the 2003 pool stage, New Zealand set the tone for the group stage with an opening 70-7 win over Italy. Comfortable 68-6 and 91-7 wins over Canada and Tonga respectively set up a final pool game against Wales to determine who would win the pool. Although not quite as comfortable as the previous pool games, the All Blacks still racked up over 50 points on their way to a 53-37 win against the Welsh. Facing South Africa in the quarter finals, New Zealand avenged their defeats at the previous two World Cups, as they beat the Springboks 29-9. The All Blacks were defeated in their semi final against Australia, as the Wallabies repeated their 1991 victory. A 40-13 win over France secured a 3rd place finish for the second time.
2007
Italy, Portugal, Romania and Scotland awaited New Zealand in Pool C of the 2007 Rugby World Cup in France. The All Blacks started in exactly the same way as the previous World Cup with a large win against Italy, running out 76-14 winners on this occasion. New Zealand put up over 100 points for the third time in a Rugby World Cup match, as they ran rampant over debutants Portugal. The All Blacks then got their traditional win over Scotland out of the way early, running out 40-0 winners, before a 85-8 win over Romania sealed top spot in the pool. New Zealand were stunned in the quarter final against France, as Les Bleus repeated their 1999 comeback, this time coming from 13-3 down at half time to win 20-18, to prevent New Zealand from advancing to the semi finals for the first time.
2011
New Zealand were hosts of the 2011 Rugby World Cup and faced Canada, France, Japan and Tonga in Pool A. Defeating Tonga in their opening game 41-10, the All Blacks then racked up the points against Japan, although they did not quite reach the record levels of 1995, with the final score 83-7. Exorcising some demons against recent bogie side France the All Blacks secured a 37-17 win against Les Bleus before defeating Canada 79-15 in their final pool match. A 33-10 win over Argentina saw New Zealand safely through to the semi finals where rivals Australia awaited them. Having lost to the Wallabies on the two previous occasions the teams had met at this stage of the competition, New Zealand had their revenge as they ran out 20-6 winners. Facing France for the second time in the tournament, the final was a much tighter affair, however an 8-7 win for New Zealand saw Ritchie McCaw lift the All Blacks’ second Rugby World Cup.
New Zealand are one of the most successful sides in Rugby World Cup history, with two wins alongside Australia and South Africa, the All Blacks have only once failed to make the semi final stage. New Zealand are currently the only team never to lose a pool match at the Rugby World Cup and it would be seen as an upset if that record was to fall in 2015. As perennial favourites, New Zealand will once again be expected to be in the mix at the business end of the tournament as they look to become the first team to retain the William Webb Ellis trophy.
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