Past Tournaments... 1987 : 1991 : 1995 : 1999 : 2003
1987 Rugby World Cup Summary
The inaugural Rugby World Cup was jointly hosted by both Australia and New Zealand in 1987, with the All Blacks triumphing over France 29-9 on home soil in Auckland in the final.
The event was contested by 16 nations. Seven of the places were automatically filled by the International Rugby Board (iRB) founder members – New Zealand, Australia, England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France. The eighth member, South Africa, was unable to compete in this, or any other international rugby tournament, because of the international sports boycott due to apartheid in operation at the time. Unlike the current system, there was no qualification process for the remaining nine spots were filled and instead invitations were sent out to Argentina, Fiji, Italy, Canada, Romania, Tonga, Japan, Zimbabwe and the United States.
The tournament served to demonstrate the vast gap between the top tier nations and the rest of the world. Matches were often won by more than 40 points and many of the records set at this inaugural tournament have yet to be surpassed. Eventual winners New Zealand dominated the tournament, scoring 190 points in their three pool games alone. With his phenomenal kicking, fly half Grant Fox was the tournament’s highest points scorer with 126 in six matches. Team mates Craig Green and John Kirwan top the try scoring table with six each.
Captained by Wakefield wing Mike Harrison, who succeeded Richard Hill, England’s first entry in the RWC history books came on 23 May when the lost the opening match of the tournament 19-6 to Australia in Sydney, despite opening the scoring with a Harrison try, when Australia were awarded a controversial try by winger David Campese in the closing stages, which was subsequently shown not to be grounded).
Wins against Japan (which included a 13 minute hat trick for skipper Harrison) and the USA, however, secured their progress to the quarter finals, where a second defeat, this time 16-3 to Wales, ended their hopes. Wales went on to get hammered by the kiwis in the semis, whilst a French victory over the Wallabies set up a cross-hemisphere final. But it was, by all accounts, a slightly dull, one-sided affair. The All Blacks were at their efficient best, winning 29-9, whilst the French failed to replicate the impressive form they showed against Australia, typified by Serge Blanco’s exceptional try.
Wales’ narrow 22-21 victory over Australia in the play off meant that picked up third place. The result was a positive one for the iRB as two northern and two southern hemisphere nations shared the fop four places, a fact that many in rugby circles took as proof that the north – south divide was narrowing.
Although the final was watched by 600 million people worldwide, the inaugural tournament was a fairly low key affair and has since come to be known as the forgotten World Cup. However, its success propelled rugby into a commercial world and ensured that subsequent tournaments would become truly global affairs. There was no forgetting the players though, with many greats of the world game coming to the fore that year. The roll call included players like the now legendary David Campese, Matt Burke and Michael Lynagh (from Australia), Dean Richards, Wade Dooley, Brain Moore and Rory Underwood (England), France’s Serge Blanco and Phillipe Sella, Michael Jones, John Kirwan and Zinzan Brooke (New Zealand), Wales’ Jonathan Davies and Ieuan Evans and Scotland’s Gavin Hastings.
England results
08.06.87 Brisbane England 3 – 16 Wales (QF)
03.06.87 Sydney England 34 – 6 United States
30.05.87 Sydney England 60 – 7 Japan
23.05.87 Sydney England 6 – 19 Australia
