Only five nations have qualified for the Rugby World Cup final since it was first held in New Zealand 33 years ago, when the All Blacks lifted the trophy with a 29-9 victory against France. Since that time those five countries have fought out the finals, but only one is conspicuous for never having claimed…
Last week, on 24 June, it was the 25th anniversary of the 1995 Rugby World Cup final when Francois Piennar inspired a nation by leading South Africa to their first World Cup triumph on home soil, earning great praise for his leadership from South African president Nelson Mandela. The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the…
Siya Kolisi followed in the footsteps of Springbok legends Francois Piennar and John Smit in lifting the Webb Ellis Cup after leading South Africa to Rugby World Cup glory in a one-sided victory over England in the final at the Yokohama Stadium. England started favourites after their stunning demolition of the All Blacks in the…
Ireland are the top seeds in the pool, with Scotland and Japan the other automatic qualifiers. European qualifiers Russia and play-off winners Samoa complete the group. The opening game in the pool gets the tournament underway when Japan face Russia at Tokyo Stadium on 20 September. MATCH NO DATE TEAMS KICKOFF TIME VENUE 1 Friday,…
Reigning champions New Zealand are the top seeds in Pool B, where they are joined by automatic qualifiers South Africa and Italy, with repechage champions Canada and Africa qualifiers Namibia completing the group. The opening game in the pool sees the top two nations going head-to-head with the All Blacks taking on South Africa on…
With England, France and 2015 semi-finalists Argentina in the group, Pool C is perhaps the toughest of the four sections. And with Americas 1 qualifiers the United States and Oceania 2 representatives Tonga in the pool it is understandably being dubbed a group of death. France and Argentina get proceedings in the pool off to…
Australia, 2015 runners-up, top the seedings in the pool with Wales and Georgia the other teams automatically through to the finals. Americas 2 qualifiers Uruguay and Oceania 1 representatives Fiji complete the group. The opening game sees Australia take on Fiji at the Sapporo Dome on 21 September. MATCH NO DATE TEAMS KICKOFF TIME VENUE…
Canada became the final qualifier for Rugby World Cup 2019 after beating Hong Kong 27-10 in the concluding match of the repechage tournament in Marseille yesterday. The Canucks join defending champions New Zealand, two-time winners South Africa, Italy and African qualifiers Namibia in Pool B, with their first match against the Azzurri in Fukuoka on…
Namibia secured the Africa Gold Cup and their place at the 2019 World Cup with a 53-28 win over Kenya in Windhoek today. The Welwitschias, coached by former Wales lock Phil Davies, scored seven tries to ensure they topped the table with a perfect 25 points from five matches to seal the championship and book…
STADIUMS Sapporo DomeSAPPORO DOME (41,410) Located in Sapporo City, one of the host venues for the 1972 Winter Olympics and one of >> Read moreKamaishi StadiumKAMAISHI UNOSUMAI STADIUM (16,187) Kamaishi has long been known for steelmaking, being the site of Japan’s oldest steelworks. This also >> Read moreKumagaya StadiumKUMAGAYA RUGBY GROUND (24,000) Opened in 1991,…
Just two places at Rugby World Cup 2019 remain to be decided, with five teams still in contention for the final berths in next year’s competition in Japan. One of those places will be decided next month in Windhoek when the final round of the Rugby Africa Championship sees Namibia and Kenya going head-to-head on…
Three tries in the last 11 minutes confirmed Samoa a place in Rugby World Cup 2019 with a 42-28 second-leg victory over Germany in Heidelberg. The visitors had virtually assured their place in Pool A with their 66-15 first-leg win in Apia but an unlikely defeat looked on the cards when the hosts took a…
Russia have qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup after Romania, Spain and Belgium were docked points for repeatedly using ineligible players during the European qualifying series. Romania had appeared to be heading to Japan after topping the competition but in a final twist to a complicated and controversial qualification process an investigation by an…
Uruguay’s 32-31 victory in the second leg of their play-off against Canada earned the South Americans a 70-60 aggregate win that booked them a fourth Rugby World Cup appearance next year in Japan. Los Teros will now join Australia, Wales, Georgia and Fiji in Pool D, following qualification in 1999, 2003 and 2015, while Canada…
The first complete pool of the 2019 Rugby World Cup was decided at the weekend when Fiji’s 38-16 win over Samoa in Apia saw them crowned 2017 Pacific Nations Cup champions and sent Tonga through to the finals as Oceania’s second qualifier. Tonga’s passage to Japan completed the line-up for Pool C, which also contains…
