Rugby World Cup

The IRB Rugby World Cup is the most prestigious tournament in the sport of rugby union. It is contested every four years by 20 national teams. It was first held in 1987 but has grown to be one of the world's largest sporting events. The format of the tournament has the teams split into 4 pools, with the top 2 progressing to the knockout stages, starting with quarterfinals. Although it is regarded as the premier event in world Rugby, the sudden death nature of the later stages tend to produce dour rugby that is often unattractive to casual fans [1]

The next Rugby World Cup will be held in England in 2015, followed by Japan in 2019.

## List of Tournament Winners[edit]

1987 New Zealand

1991 Australia

1995 South Africa

1999 Australia

2003 England

2007 South Africa

2011 New Zealand

2015 New Zealand

## References[edit]

1. ↑ A cacophony of whistles; Ian Payten, Daily Telegraphy (Sydney)