1987 Rugby World Cup
The 1987 Rugby World Cup (Māori: Ipu o te Ao Whutupōro 1987), was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – 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 tournament was won by New Zealand, who were the strong favourites and won all their matches comfortably. 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. Wales finished third, and Australia fourth, after conceding crucial tries in the dying seconds of both their semi-final against France and the third-place play-off against Wales.
| Māori: Ipu o te Ao Whutupōro 1987 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| 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 (1st title) |
Runner-up  |  France |
Third place  |  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 → | |
Seven of the sixteen participating teams were 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. Invitations were given 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] There was no qualification process for the tournament.
The tournament witnessed a number of one-sided matches, with the seven 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. The tournament was seen as a major success and proved that the event was viable in the long term.
Participating nations
The tournament comprised the seven members of the IRFB, and nine teams invited by the IRFB; there was no qualification process for teams.
| IRFB Member Nations | Invited Nations |
|---|---|
- South Africa was excluded due to its pro-apartheid policies.
- Soviet Union were to be invited but declined.
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
- Kerry Fitzgerald
- Bob Fordham
Fred Howard- Roger Quittenton
- René Hourquet
- Guy Maurette
David Burnett- Stephen Hilditch
- Dave Bishop
- Keith Lawrence
Brian Anderson- Jim Fleming
- Derek Bevan
- Clive Norling
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 | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Australia |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 108 | 41 | +67 | 18 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| England |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 100 | 32 | +68 | 15 | 4 | |
 United States |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 39 | 99 | −60 | 5 | 2 | |
 Japan |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 48 | 123 | −75 | 7 | 0 |
| 23 May 1987 |
| Australia | 19–6[2][3] | England |
| Try: Campese Poidevin Con: Lynagh Pen: Lynagh (3) | Try: Harrison Con: Webb |
| Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 17,896 Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand) |
| 24 May 1987 |
| Japan | 18–21[4][5] | United States |
| Try: Taumoefolau (2) Yoshinaga Pen: Yoshinaga Kutsuki | Try: Nelson Purcell Lambert Con: Nelson (3) Pen: Nelson |
| Ballymore, Brisbane Attendance: 4,000 Referee: Guy Maurette (France) |
| 30 May 1987 |
| England | 60–7[6][7] | Japan |
| Try: Harrison (3) Underwood (2) Salmon Richards Redman Rees Simms Con: Webb (7) Pen: Webb (2) | Try: Miyamoto Pen: Matsuo |
| Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 4,893 Referee: René Hourquet (France) |
| 31 May 1987 |
| Australia | 47–12[8][9] | 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 |
| Ballymore, Brisbane Attendance: 10,855 Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland) |
| 3 June 1987 |
| England | 34–6[10][11] | United States |
| Try: Winterbottom (2) Harrison Dooley Con: Webb (3) Pen: Webb (4) | Try: Purcell Con: Nelson |
| Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 8,785 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia) |
Pool 2
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wales |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 82 | 31 | +51 | 13 | 6 | Knockout stage |
| Ireland |
3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 84 | 41 | +43 | 11 | 4 | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Canada |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 65 | 90 | −25 | 8 | 2 | |
 Tonga |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 29 | 98 | −69 | 3 | 0 |
| 24 May 1987 |
| Canada | 37–4[14][15] | Tonga |
| Try: Palmer (2) Vaesen (2) Stuart Frame Penalty try Con: Wyatt (2) Gareth Rees Pen: Rees | Try: Valu |
| McLean Park, Napier Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Clive Norling (Wales) |
| 25 May 1987 |
| Ireland | 6–13[16][17] | Wales |
| Pen: Kiernan (2) | Try: Ring Pen: Thorburn Drop: Davies (2) |
| Athletic Park, Wellington Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia) |
| 29 May 1987 |
| Tonga | 16–29[18][19] | Wales |
| Try: Fielea Fifita Con: Liavaʻa Pen: Liava'a Amone | Try: Webbe (3) Hadley Con: Thorburn (2) Pen: Thorburn (2) Drop: Davies |
| Showgrounds Oval, Palmerston North Attendance: 19,000 Referee: Dave Bishop (New Zealand) |
| 30 May 1987 |
| Canada | 19–46[20][21] | 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 |
| Carisbrook, Dunedin Attendance: 9,000 Referee: Fred Howard (England) |
| 3 June 1987 |
| Canada | 9–40[22][23] | Wales |
| Pen: Rees (3) | Try: Evans (4) Devereux Bowen Hadley Phillips Con: Thorburn (4) |
| Rugby Park, Invercargill Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Dave Bishop (New Zealand) |
Pool 3
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| New Zealand |
3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 190 | 34 | +156 | 30 | 6 | Knockout stage |
 Fiji |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 56 | 101 | −45 | 6 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | |
 Italy |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 40 | 110 | −70 | 5 | 2[lower-alpha 1] | |
 Argentina |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 49 | 90 | −41 | 4 | 2[lower-alpha 1] |
Notes:
- Fiji qualified for the highest number of tries (Fiji 6, Italy 5, Argentina 4)
| 22 May 1987 |
| New Zealand | 70–6 | Italy |
| Try: Kirwan (2) Kirk (2) Green (2) Penalty try Jones Taylor McDowell Stanley Whetton Con: Fox (8) Pen: Fox (2) | Pen: Collodo Drop: Collodo |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 20,000 Referee: Bob Fordham (Australia) |
| 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) |
| Rugby Park, Hamilton Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland) |
| 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) |
| Lancaster Park, Christchurch Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales) |
| 28 May 1987 |
| Argentina | 25–16 | Italy |
| Try: Lanza Gómez Con: Porta Pen: Porta (5) | Try: Innocenti Cuttitta Con: Collodo Pen: Collodo (2) |
| Lancaster Park, Christchurch Attendance: 2,000 Referee: Roger Quittenton (England) |
| 31 May 1987 |
| Fiji | 15–18 | Italy |
| Try: Naivilawasa Con: Koroduadua Pen: Koroduadua (2) Drop: Qoro | Try: Cuttitta Cucchiella Mascioletti Pen: Collodo Drop: Collodo |
| Carisbrook, Dunedin Attendance: 13,000 Referee: Keith Lawrence (New Zealand) |
Pool 4
| Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| France |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 145 | 44 | +101 | 25 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | Knockout stage |
| Scotland |
3 | 2 | 1 | 0 | 135 | 69 | +66 | 22 | 5[lower-alpha 1] | |
.svg.png.webp){kind=small} Romania |
3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 61 | 130 | −69 | 6 | 2 | |
 Zimbabwe |
3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 53 | 151 | −98 | 5 | 0 |
Notes:
- France qualify as pool winner having scored three tries to Scotland's two in their drawn match.
| 23 May 1987 |
| Romania | 21–20 | Zimbabwe |
| Try: Paraschiv Toader Hodorcă Pen: Alexandru (3) | Try: Tsimba (2) Neill Con: Ferreira Pen: Ferreira (2) |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 4,500 Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland) |
| 23 May 1987 |
| France | 20–20 | Scotland |
| Try: Sella Berbizier Blanco Con: Blanco Pen: Blanco (2) | Try: White Duncan Pen: Hastings (4) |
| Lancaster Park, Christchurch Attendance: 18,000 Referee: Fred Howard (England) |
| 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) |
| Athletic Park, Wellington Attendance: 7,000 Referee: Bob Fordham (Australia) |
| 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) |
| Athletic Park, Wellington Attendance: 12,000 Referee: David Burnett (Ireland) |
| 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 |
| Carisbrook, Dunedin Attendance: 14,000 Referee: Stephen Hilditch (Ireland) |
Knockout stage
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 6 June – Christchurch | ||||||||||
| New Zealand | 30 | |||||||||
| 14 June – Brisbane | ||||||||||
| Scotland | 3 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 49 | |||||||||
| 8 June – Brisbane | ||||||||||
| Wales | 6 | |||||||||
| Wales | 16 | |||||||||
| 20 June – Auckland | ||||||||||
| England | 3 | |||||||||
| New Zealand | 29 | |||||||||
| 7 June – Auckland | ||||||||||
| France | 9 | |||||||||
| France | 31 | |||||||||
| 13 June – Sydney | ||||||||||
| Fiji | 16 | |||||||||
| France | 30 | |||||||||
| 7 June – Sydney | ||||||||||
| Australia | 24 | Third place | ||||||||
| Australia | 33 | |||||||||
| 18 June – Rotorua | ||||||||||
| Ireland | 15 | |||||||||
| Wales | 22 | |||||||||
| Australia | 21 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
| 6 June 1987 |
| New Zealand | 30–3 | Scotland |
| Try: Whetton Gallagher Con: Fox (2) Pen: Fox (6) | Pen: Hastings |
| Lancaster Park, Christchurch Attendance: 30,000 Referee: David Burnett (Ireland) |
| 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 |
| Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 14,356 Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland) |
| 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 |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 17,000 Referee: Clive Norling (Wales) |
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) |
| Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 17,768 Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland) |
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 |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 48,035 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia) |
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 |
Fly-half | 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 by TVNZ in New Zealand as host broadcasters supplying their pictures to broadcasters around the world and in the United Kingdom by the BBC and in Ireland by RTÉ.
References
- Fedorets, Alexander (31 July 2007). "Russians target 2011 World Cup". The M&G Online.
- Australia vs England 1987 ESPN Scrum
- Australia vs England 1987 World Rugby
- Japan vs United States 1987 ESPN Scrum
- Japan vs United States 1987 World Rugby
- England vs Japan 1987 World Rugby
- England vs Japan 1987 ESPN Scrum
- Australia vs United States RWC 1987 Archived 15 April 2018 at the Wayback Machine ESPN Scrum
- Australia vs United States RWC 1987 World Rugby
- worldrugby.org. "World Rugby | world.rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- "England v United States of America". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 14 June 2019.
- "Australia v Japan". ESPN scrum. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- worldrugby.org. "World Rugby | world.rugby". www.world.rugby. Retrieved 4 April 2019.
- Canada vs Tonga 1987 ESPN Scrum
- Canada vs Tonga 1987 World Rugby
- Ireland vs Wales 1987 World Rugby
- Ireland vs Wales 1987 ESPN Scrum
- Tonga vs Wales 1987 World Rugby
- Tonga vs Wales 1987 ESPN Scrum
- Canada vs Ireland 1987 ESPN Scrum
- Canada vs Ireland 1987 World Rugby
- Canada vs Wales 1987 Scrum.com
- Canada vs Wales 1987 Worldrugby.com
- Ireland vs Tonga 1987 ESPN Scrum
- Ireland vs Tonga 1987 World Rugby
