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Which World Cup winning team overcame the toughest challenge?

By Daniel Gallan
South African Rugby captain Siya Kolisi (C) holds the Web Ellis Trophy during the South African Rugby World Cup winner team's last stop to parade the Web Ellis Trophy on an open top bus in Cape Town, on November 11, 2019. (Photo by David Harrison / AFP) (Photo by DAVID HARRISON/AFP via Getty Images)

Every World Cup winning team deserves its place in rugby’s pantheon. These nine squads, captained by eight men, representing just four nations, are totems of excellence. They are the grand masters of their sport. But they are not necessarily equals.

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To put it another way, not every title run is the same. If one of Ireland, France, New Zealand, South Africa or Scotland lift the Webb Ellis Cup in Paris later this year, they’d have accomplished the greatest challenge this game has ever presented. Their side of the draw resembles Mordor while the other half, one containing England, Wales, Australia, Argentina and Japan, is The Shire by comparison.

With that in mind, and at the risk of angering fans around the world, I’ve ranked each World Cup winner according the hardships they faced in the tournament according to a simple scoring system, awarding one point for each of the following:

    • If the World Cup was away from home.
    • If the World Cup was outside of region (eg. European team in the southern hemisphere)
    • If the team beat the previous champions.
    • If the team beat best ranked team (author’s discretion)
    • If the team beat hosts
    • If the team beat reigning Five/Six Nations champions
    • If the team beat Tri Nations/Rugby Championship champions
    • If the team emerged from group of death (ie, three quality teams)
    • For any victory over a tier one team (competing in that year’s continental competitions)

New Zealand 1987 – 4*
Admittedly, the very first champions would always lose out on some of the above points on offer, but the All Blacks’ march to victory was hardly Hannibal crossing the Alps.

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They whipped Italy, Fiji and Argentina in the group stage, scoring 30 tries along the way, and then made mincemeat of Scotland, Wales and France in the knockout rounds.

Buck Shelford signs
Former All Blacks player Wayne ‘Buck’ Shelford signs his caricature at a 2007 reunion luncheon for the 1987 World Cup champions (Photo by Sandra Mu/Getty Images)

David Kirk’s team pick up three points for these wins, another for getting the better of the reigning Five Nations winners in the final, but that showpiece game was the first real test for what was clearly the best side in the competition.

*Admittedly, this tally needs a caveat given the parameters of the scoring system.

Australia 1991 – 9
The Wallabies under Nick Farr-Jones might not rank alongside future iterations in terms of greatness on the field, but there can be no denying the arduous slog they had to endure to lift Australia’s maiden World Cup.

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Rugby World Cup

They beat Wales in the group stage before edging Ireland by a point in the quarterfinals. Next they beat the reigning champs and favourites, New Zealand, in the semi-finals, and proceeded to get the better of the Five Nations holders, England, in the final.

David Campese finished as the tournament’s top-try scorer and southern hemisphere rugby had officially underlined its status as the game’s epicentre of excellence.

South Africa 1995 – 5
There’s a reason the Springboks’ win just a year after the country’s first democratic elections is the only rugby story to get the Hollywood treatment. It defied belief and was a living example of what is possible when a nation’s divided people can come together for a single purpose.

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Too bad it doesn’t score highly here. Francois Pienaar’s men lose out on points as their tournament was contested on home soil. They were also fortunate in that they played Western Samoa in the quarterfinals, rather than an established tier one nation.

Stransky recalls 1995 World Cup win
(Photo by Media24/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

But that was a consequence of beating the reigning champions Australia in the opening game in Cape Town. They pick up another point for edging France in a thriller in Durban and then the mighty All Blacks, unquestionably the tournament favourites.

Australia 1999 – 9
Another Australian victory across the world earns them four points and they collect another two for squeezing past the previous winners, South Africa, in the semi-finals thanks in large part to Stephen Larkham’s first ever drop goal.

George Gregan (L) and Tim Horan celebrate the Wallabies’ World Cup-winning triumph in 1999. (Photo by WILLIAM WEST/AFP/Getty Images)

Avoiding pre-tournament favourites New Zealand helped, but this was no simple stroll to the final. They beat three tier one teams along the way, including Ireland in Dublin, Wales in Cardiff and the reigning champions, South Africa, before they met France at the end of the road.

Once they got there, they took advantage of a knackered French team that had emptied the tank against the All Blacks the week before. Australia scored two tries and Matt Burke kicked 27 points in a one-sided affair.

England 2003 – 8
Martin Johnson’s side arrived in Australia as the supreme team on the planet, which served them well but isn’t helpful here. They’d already claimed a Six Nations grand slam and boasted several players who were the leading figures in their respective positions.

Professional Rugby highs lows
(Photo by Steve Cuff/EMPICS via Getty Images)

They made light work of South Africa in the group stage and then steamrolled Wales and France in the knockouts. Facing the hosts in the final would prove no easy task, especially as the Wallabies had just vanquished the All Blacks by 12 points in Sydney.

It was a tight affair which was settled by the second most famous drop goal in rugby history. Eight points on this chart is a decent haul, but it’s not good enough for a win. No doubt Jonny Wilkinson is fuming.

South Africa 2007 – 6
Like England in 2003, the Springboks of 2007 had a claim to being the most complete outfit around. 2009 was the team’s zenith, but an indomitable tight five, a dynamic back row, pace out wide, the world’s best scrum half in Fourie du Preez and Jake White’s simple game plan meant they had the tools to beat anyone on their day.

The South Africa players celebrate victory at the end of the 2007 Rugby World Cup final. (Photo by Julian Finney/Getty Images)

It’s a shame they weren’t better tested. Two wins over England – 36-0 win to start and then 15-6 in the final – hands them four points for beating the previous champions, but that’s as challenging as it got for the Boks as they avoided any other Six Nations or Tri-Nations team (Argentina, who were beaten 37-13 in the semi-final, hadn’t been included yet).

The Springboks would prove their pedigree two years later when they won both the Tri-Nations and a British & Irish Lions series. But at this World Cup in France, they hardly had to leave second gear.

New Zealand 2011 – 4
The All Blacks were on home soil. The All Blacks were the number one ranked team on World Rugby’s metrics. And though the All Blacks were beaten by Australia in the year’s Tri-Nations, the All Blacks were expected to finally end their World Cup drought.

So they did, but they made it far more difficult than it should have been, especially in the final where they almost bottled it (again) against France, clinching a one point win.

World Cup
(Photo by Phil Walter/Getty Images)

They first emerged from a treacherous group which included France and a spirited Tonga, but this was not the tournament’s group of death. They were blessed with a favourable draw in the quarterfinals against Argentina before seeing off Australia in the semis and then France in a nail-biter at Eden Park

New Zealand 2015 – 7
By now the All Blacks were firmly established as the greatest rugby team that had ever existed. They were in the midst of a 509-week stretch as World Rugby’s top-ranked side and could still call on the services of a large chunk of the squad that won the title four years before.

That’s not to say their victory was guaranteed as they’d need to travel across the world to England to reclaim their crown. They cut their teeth with group stage wins over Georgia and Argentina, now part of the Rugby Championship, before thrashing France in the next round.

World Cup
Richie McCaw lifts the Webb Ellis Cup after the All Blacks’ World Cup success in 2015. (Photo by Shaun Botterill/Getty Images)

A gruelling two point win over the Springboks in the semi-finals was the ideal tune-up for the main event against the Rugby Championship holders, Australia. It was there in Twickenham that Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Ma’a Nonu and the rest cemented their legendary status as the first team to claim back to back World Cups with a comprehensive win.

South Africa 2019 – 8
That South Africa were even contenders at the World Cup four years ago was a testament to the work done by Rassie Erasmus and his deputy, Jacques Nienaber, who inherited a disjointed team and turned them into champions.

They arrived in Japan with the Rugby Championship locked away in the cabinet but were reminded of the challenge they’d face when they lost their tournament opener to New Zealand. If they were to leave Asia with more silverware, they’d have to become the first team to drop points en route to the final.

Faf de Klerk of South Africa and teammates at the changing room after the Rugby World Cup 2019 Final. (Photo by Juan Jose Gasparini/Gallo Images/Getty Images)

Japan’s heroics in the group of death resulted in a relatively kind draw for the Boks who still had to perform to beat the hosts in the quarters. A scrappy win over the Six Nations champions, Wales, set them up for a final against England, who had just produced one of the most complete rugby performances in living memory, beating the All Blacks 19-7. Some pundits and former players were already etching England’s name on the trophy.

Instead it was Siya Kolisi who hoisted the golden trophy as his pack obliterated the English and Cheslin Kolbe turned Owen Farrell into a Ferris wheel.

Final standings:

Team – Year Points
Australia – 19919
Australia  – 19999
England – 20038
South Africa – 20198
New Zealand – 20157
South Africa – 20076
South Africa – 19955
New Zealand – 19874*
New Zealand – 20114
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Jon 2 hours ago
Jake White: Are modern rugby players actually better?

This is the problem with conservative mindsets and phycology, and homogenous sports, everybody wants to be the same, use the i-win template. Athlete wise everyone has to have muscles and work at the gym to make themselves more likely to hold on that one tackle. Do those players even wonder if they are now more likely to be tackled by that player as a result of there “work”? Really though, too many questions, Jake. Is it better Jake? Yes, because you still have that rugby of ole that you talk about. Is it at the highest International level anymore? No, but you go to your club or checkout your representative side and still engage with that ‘beautiful game’. Could you also have a bit of that at the top if coaches encouraged there team to play and incentivized players like Damian McKenzie and Ange Capuozzo? Of course we could. Sadly Rugby doesn’t, or didn’t, really know what direction to go when professionalism came. Things like the state of northern pitches didn’t help. Over the last two or three decades I feel like I’ve been fortunate to have all that Jake wants. There was International quality Super Rugby to adore, then the next level below I could watch club mates, pulling 9 to 5s, take on the countries best in representative rugby. Rugby played with flair and not too much riding on the consequences. It was beautiful. That largely still exists today, but with the world of rugby not quite getting things right, the picture is now being painted in NZ that that level of rugby is not required in the “pathway” to Super Rugby or All Black rugby. You might wonder if NZR is right and the pathway shouldn’t include the ‘amateur’, but let me tell you, even though the NPC might be made up of people still having to pull 9-5s, we know these people still have dreams to get out of that, and aren’t likely to give them. They will be lost. That will put a real strain on the concept of whether “visceral thrill, derring-do and joyful abandon” type rugby will remain under the professional level here in NZ. I think at some point that can be eroded as well. If only wanting the best athlete’s at the top level wasn’t enough to lose that, shutting off the next group, or level, or rugby players from easy access to express and showcase themselves certainly will. That all comes back around to the same question of professionalism in rugby and whether it got things right, and rugby is better now. Maybe the answer is turning into a “no”?

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j
john 5 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

But here in Australia we were told Penney was another gun kiwi coach, for the Tahs…….and yet again it turned out the kiwi coach was completely useless. Another con job on Australian rugby. As was Robbie Deans, as was Dave Rennie. Both coaches dumped from NZ and promoted to Australia as our saviour. And the Tahs lap them up knowing they are second rate and knowing that under pressure when their short comings are exposed in Australia as well, that they will fall in below the largest most powerful province and choose second rate Tah players to save their jobs. As they do and exactly as Joe Schmidt will do. Gauranteed. Schmidt was dumped by NZ too. That’s why he went overseas. That why kiwi coaches take jobs in Australia, to try and prove they are not as bad as NZ thought they were. Then when they get found out they try and ingratiate themselves to NZ again by dragging Australian teams down with ridiculous selections and game plans. NZ rugby’s biggest problem is that it can’t yet transition from MCaw Cheatism. They just don’t know how to try and win on your merits. It is still always a contest to see how much cheating you can get away with. Without a cheating genius like McCaw, they are struggling. This I think is why my wise old mate in NZ thinks Robertson will struggle. The Crusaders are the nursery of McCaw Cheatism. Sean Fitzpatrick was probably the father of it. Robertson doesn’t know anything else but other countries have worked it out.

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A
Adrian 7 hours ago
Will the Crusaders' decline spark a slow death for New Zealand rugby?

Thanks Nick The loss of players to OS, injury and retirement is certainly not helping the Crusaders. Ditto the coach. IMO Penny is there to hold the fort and cop the flak until new players and a new coach come through,…and that's understood and accepted by Penny and the Crusaders hierarchy. I think though that what is happening with the Crusaders is an indicator of what is happening with the other NZ SRP teams…..and the other SRP teams for that matter. Not enough money. The money has come via the SR competition and it’s not there anymore. It's in France, Japan and England. Unless or until something is done to make SR more SELLABLE to the NZ/Australia Rugby market AND the world rugby market the $s to keep both the very best players and the next rung down won't be there. They will play away from NZ more and more. I think though that NZ will continue to produce the players and the coaches of sufficient strength for NZ to have the capacity to stay at the top. Whether they do stay at the top as an international team will depend upon whether the money flowing to SRP is somehow restored, or NZ teams play in the Japan comp, or NZ opts to pick from anywhere. As a follower of many sports I’d have to say that the organisation and promotion of Super Rugby has been for the last 20 years closest to the worst I’ve ever seen. This hasn't necessarily been caused by NZ, but it’s happened. Perhaps it can be fixed, perhaps not. The Crusaders are I think a symptom of this, not the cause

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T
Trevor 9 hours ago
Will forgotten Wallabies fit the Joe Schmidt model?

Thanks Brett.. At last a positive article on the potential of Wallaby candidates, great to read. Schmidt’s record as an international rugby coach speaks for itself, I’m somewhat confident he will turn the Wallaby’s fortunes around …. on the field. It will be up to others to steady the ship off the paddock. But is there a flaw in my optimism? We have known all along that Australia has the players to be very competitive with their international rivals. We know that because everyone keeps telling us. So why the poor results? A question that requires a definitive answer before the turn around can occur. Joe Schmidt signed on for 2 years, time to encompass the Lions tour of 2025. By all accounts he puts family first and that’s fair enough, but I would wager that his 2 year contract will be extended if the next 18 months or so shows the statement “Australia has the players” proves to be correct. The new coach does not have a lot of time to meld together an outfit that will be competitive in the Rugby Championship - it will be interesting to see what happens. It will be interesting to see what happens with Giteau law, the new Wallaby coach has already verbalised that he would to prefer to select from those who play their rugby in Australia. His first test in charge is in July just over 3 months away .. not a long time. I for one wish him well .. heaven knows Australia needs some positive vibes.

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