Wales at the Rugby World Cup

Map of nations best results, excluding nations which unsuccessfully participated in qualifying tournaments.

The Wales national rugby union team have played in all nine Rugby World Cup tournaments.

The 1987 tournament was Wales' most successful; they won all three pool matches and their quarter-final, before losing to the All Blacks in the semi-finals. They then faced Australia in the third place play-off match, which they won 22–21.

In the next two tournaments in 1991 and 1995, Wales failed to progress beyond the pool stage, winning just one match in each tournament. Both the 1999 and 2003 tournaments were more successful, with Wales qualifying for the quarter-finals both times. Wales hosted the event in 1999 and topped their pool only to lose to eventual winners Australia in the quarter-finals. In 2003, they finished second in their pool to the All Blacks and faced England in the quarter-finals, where they lost to the eventual champions, despite scoring more tries than their opponents. In the 2007 World Cup, Wales again failed to progress from the pool stage. After a loss to Australia, and two wins against Japan and Canada, they lost by four points to Fiji, despite scoring more tries than their opponents. At the 2011 World Cup, Wales reached the semi-finals for the first time since 1987. Playing the semi-finals against France, Wales lost 9–8, in a game overshadowed by the 18th-minute sending off of Wales' captain Sam Warburton for a dangerous tackle against Vincent Clerc. At the 2015 World Cup Wales were in the same pool as Australia, England, Fiji and Uruguay. They finished second in the pool behind Australia and ahead of hosts England. South Africa defeated Wales in the quarter final. In the 2019 World Cup Wales were in pool D with Australia, Fiji, Georgia and Uruguay. They won all their group matches to finish top of the pool. After defeating France in the quarter final they lost to the eventual tournament winners South Africa in the semi-final.

By position

Rugby World Cup										Qualification
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Squad		Pos	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA
1987	Third place	6	5	0	1	126	104	Squad		Invited
1991	Pool stage	3	1	0	2	32	61	Squad		Automatically qualified
1995	Pool stage	3	1	0	2	89	68	Squad		1st	4	4	0	0	156	11
1999	Quarter-finals	4	2	0	2	127	95	Squad		Automatically qualified
2003	Quarter-finals	5	3	0	2	149	126	Squad		Automatically qualified
2007	Pool stage	4	2	0	2	168	105	Squad		Automatically qualified
2011	Fourth place	7	4	0	3	228	74	Squad		Automatically qualified
2015	Quarter-finals	5	3	0	2	130	85	Squad		Automatically qualified
2019	Fourth place	7	5	0	2	189	147	Squad		Automatically qualified
2023	Quarter-finals	5	4	0	1	160	88	Squad		Automatically qualified
Total	Third place	49	30	0	19	1398	953				4	4	0	0	156	11
Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place Home venue

Team ranking

Pos.	Team	Champion	Runner-up	Third	Fourth
1st	New Zealand	3 (1987, 2011, 2015)	1 (1995)	3 (1991, 2003, 2019)	1 (1999)
2nd	South Africa	3 (1995, 2007, 2019)	-	2 (1999, 2015)	-
3rd	Australia	2 (1991, 1999)	2 (2003, 2015)	1 (2011)	1 (1987)
4th	England	1 (2003)	3 (1991, 2007, 2019)	-	1 (1995)
5th	France	-	3 (1987, 1999, 2011)	1 (1995)	2 (2003, 2007)
6th	Wales	-	-	1 (1987)	2 (2011, 2019)
7th	Argentina	-	-	1 (2007)	1 (2015)
8th	Scotland	-	-	-	1 (1991)

By matches

1987 New Zealand & Australia

Group matches

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25 May 1987

Ireland	6 – 13	Wales
Pen: Kiernan (2)		Try: Ring Pen: Thorburn Drop: Davies (2)

Athletic Park, Wellington Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald

29 May 1987

Tonga	16 – 29	Wales
Tries: Fielea Fifita Con: Liavaʻa Pen: Liavaʻa Amone		Tries: Webbe (3) Hadley Con: Thorburn (2) Pen: Thorburn (2) Drop: Davies

Showgrounds Oval, Palmerston North Referee: Dave Bishop

3 June 1987

Canada	9 – 40	Wales
Pen: Rees (3)		Tries: Evans (4) Devereux Bowen Hadley Phillips Con: Thorburn (4)

Rugby Park, Invercargill Referee: Dave Bishop

Quarter final

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8 June 1987

England	3 – 16	Wales
Pen: Webb		Tries: Roberts Jones Devereux Con: Thorburn (2)

Ballymore, Brisbane Referee: Rene Hourquet

Semi final

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14 June 1987

New Zealand	49 – 6	Wales
Tries: Kirwan (2) Shelford (2) Drake Whetton Stanley Brooke-Cowden Con: Fox (7) Pen: Fox		Try: Devereux Con: Thorburn

Ballymore, Brisbane Attendance: 22,576 Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald

Third-place play-off

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18 June 1987

Australia	21 – 22	Wales
Tries: Burke Grigg Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh (2) Drop: Lynagh		Tries: Roberts Moriarty Hadley Con: Thorburn (2) Pen: Thorburn (2)

Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua Referee: Fred Howard

1991 UK, Ireland & France

Group matches

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6 October 1991

Wales	13 – 16	Western Samoa
Tries: Emyr, Evans Con: Ring Pen: Ring		Tries: Vaega, Vaifale Con: Vaea Pen: Vaea (2)

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Referee: Patrick Robin

9 October 1991

Wales	16 – 7	Argentina
Tries: Arnold Pen: Ring (3), Rayer		Tries: García Simón Pen: Del Castillo

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Referee: Rene Hourquet

12 October 1991

Wales	3 – 38	Australia
Pen: Ring		Tries: Roebuck (2), Slattery, Campese, Horan, Lynagh Con: Lynagh (4) Pen: Lynagh (2)

Cardiff Arms Park, Cardiff Referee: Keith Lawrence

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Australia	3	3	0	0	79	25	+54	6
Western Samoa	3	2	0	1	54	34	+20	4
Wales	3	1	0	2	32	61	−29	2
Argentina	3	0	0	3	38	83	−45	0

Source:

1995 South Africa

Group matches

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27 May 1995

Japan	10 – 57	Wales
Tries: Osamu Ota (2)		Tries: Gareth Thomas (3), Ieuan Evans (2), Andrew Moore, Hemi Taylor Con: Neil Jenkins (5) Pen: Neil Jenkins (4)

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein Attendance: 12 000 Referee: Efrahim Sklar

31 May 1995

New Zealand	34 – 9	Wales
Tries: Marc Ellis, Walter Little, Josh Kronfeld Con: Andrew Mehrtens (2) Pen: Andrew Mehrtens (4) Drop: Andrew Mehrtens		Pen: Neil Jenkins (2) Drop: Neil Jenkins

Ellis Park, Johannesburg Attendance: 38 000 Referee: Ed Morrison

4 June 1995

Ireland	24 – 23	Wales
Tries: Eddie Halvey, Nick Popplewell, Denis McBride Con: Eric Elwood (3) Pen: Eric Elwood		Tries: Jonathan Humphreys, Hemi Taylor Con: Neil Jenkins (2) Pen: Neil Jenkins (2) Drop: Adrian Davies

Ellis Park, Johannesburg Attendance: 35 000 Referee: Ian Rogers

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
New Zealand	3	3	0	0	222	45	+177	9
Ireland	3	2	0	1	93	94	−1	7
Wales	3	1	0	2	89	68	+21	5
Japan	3	0	0	3	55	252	−197	3

Source:

1999 Wales

Group matches

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1 October 1999

Wales	23 – 18	Argentina
Tries: Colin Charvis, Mark Taylor Con: Neil Jenkins (2) Pen: Neil Jenkins (3)		Pen: Gonzalo Quesada (6)

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Referee: Paddy O'Brien

9 October 1999

Wales	64 – 15	Japan
Tries: Mark Taylor, (2) Robert Howley, Scott Gibbs, David Llewellyn, Gareth Thomas, Allan Bateman, Shane Howarth Con: Neil Jenkins (8) Con: Neil Jenkins		Tries: Patiliai Tuidraki, Daisuke Ohata Con: Keiji Hirose Pen: Keiji Hirose

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Referee: Joel Dume

14 October 1999

Wales	31 – 38	Samoa
Tries: Gareth Thomas, Penalty try (2) Con: Neil Jenkins (2) Pen: Neil Jenkins (4)		Tries: Stephen Bachop (2), Lio Falaniko, Pat Lam, Silao Leaega Con: Silao Leaega Pen: Silao Leaega

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Referee: Ed Morrison

Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Wales	3	2	0	1	118	71	+47	7
Samoa	3	2	0	1	97	72	+25	7
Argentina	3	2	0	1	83	51	+32	7
Japan	3	0	0	3	36	140	−104	3

Source:

Quarter-final

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23 October 1999

Wales	9 – 24	Australia
Pens: Neil Jenkins (3)		Tries: George Gregan (2), Ben Tune Con: Matthew Burke (3) Pen: Matthew Burke

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 74,499 Referee: Colin Hawke

2003 Australia

Group matches

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12 October 2003

Wales	41 – 10	Canada
Tries: Parker, Cooper, M. Jones, Charvis, Thomas Con: Harris (5) Pen: Harris (2)		Tries: Tkachuk Con: Pritchard Drop: Ross

Telstra Dome, Melbourne Attendance: 24,874 Referee: Chris White

19 October 2003

Wales	27 – 20	Tonga
Tries: Cooper, M. Williams Con: S. Jones Pen: S. Jones (4) Drop: M. Williams		Tries: Hola, Kivalu, Lavaka Con: Hola Pen: Hola

Canberra Stadium Attendance: 19,806 Referee: Paul Honiss

25 October 2003

Italy	15 – 27	Wales
Pen: Wakarua (5)		Tries: M. Jones, Parker, D. Jones Con: Harris (3) Pen: Harris (3)

Canberra Stadium Attendance: 22,641 Referee: Andrew Cole

2 November 2003

New Zealand	53 – 37	Wales
Tries: Rokocoko (2), MacDonald, Williams, Howlett (2), Spencer, Mauger Con: MacDonald (5) Pen: MacDonald		Tries: Taylor, Parker, Charvis, S. Williams Con: S. Jones (4) Pen: S. Jones (3)

Telstra Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 80,012 Referee: André Watson

Template:2003 Rugby World Cup Pool D

Quarter final

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9 November 2003

England	28 – 17	Wales
Try: Greenwood 44' c Con: Wilkinson Pen: Wilkinson (6) Drop: Wilkinson 80+1'		Tries: S. Jones 30' m Charvis 35' m M. Williams 71' c Con: Harris

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 45,252 Referee: Alain Rolland

2007 France

Group matches

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9 September 2007 14:00

Wales	42–17	Canada
Try: Parker 52' c A. W. Jones 58' c S. Williams (2) 61' m, 63' c Charvis 68' c Con: S. Jones (4/5) Pen: Hook (3/4) 10', 15', 21'	Report	Tries: Cudmore 25' m Culpan 36' c Williams 45' m Con: Pritchard (1/3)

Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Attendance: 37,500 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

15 September 2007 14:00

Wales	20–32	Australia
Tries: J. Thomas 45' c S. Williams 76' c Con: Hook (2/2) Pen: S. Jones (1/3) 7' Hook (1/2) 54'	Report	Tries: Giteau 16' c Mortlock 35' m Latham (2) 40+' c, 60' c Con: Mortlock (2/2) Giteau (1/2) Pen: Mortlock (1/2) 2' Drop: Barnes (1/1) 23'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 71,022 Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)

20 September 2007 21:00

Wales	72–18	Japan
Tries: A. W. Jones 11' c Hook 24' c R. Thomas 31' c Morgan 40+' m Phillips 42' c S. Williams (2) 48' m, 80' m D. James 52' c Cooper 59' c M. Williams (2) 64' c, 74' c Con: S. Jones (5/7) Sweeney (2/4) Pen: S. Jones (1/1) 23'	Report	Tries: Endo 19' m Onozawa 57' c Con: Robins (1/1) Pen: Onishi (2/2) 4', 37'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 35,245 Referee: Joël Jutge (France)

29 September 2007 17:00

Wales	34–38	Fiji
Try: Popham 34' c S. Williams 45' c G. Thomas 48' m M. Jones 51' c M. Williams 73' m Con: Hook (1/1) S. Jones (2/4) Pen: S. Jones (1/2) 5'	Report	Tries: Qera 16' c Delasau 19' m Leawere 25' c Dewes 77' c Con: Little (3/4) Pen: Little (4/5) 21', 24', 54', 60'

Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Attendance: 37,080 Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

2011 New Zealand

Group matches

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11 September 2011 20:30

South Africa	17–16	Wales
Try: F. Steyn 3' c Hougaard 65' c Con: M. Steyn (2/2) Pen: M. Steyn (1/1) 20'	Report	Try: Faletau 54' c Con: Hook (1/1) Pen: Hook (3/5) 10', 32', 50'

Wellington Regional Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 33,331 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

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18 September 2011 15:30

Wales	17–10	Samoa
Try: Sh. Williams 67' m Pen: Hook (2/3) 12', 27' Priestland (2/2) 43', 66'	Report	Try: Perenise 40+' c Con: Williams (1/1) Pen: Williams (1/3) 21'

Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Attendance: 30,804 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

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26 September 2011 19:30

Wales	81–7	Namibia
Try: Sc. Williams (3) 8' m, 47' c, 70' c Brew 14' c Faletau 18' c Jenkins 50' c North (2) 61' c, 66' c J. Davies 62' c L. Williams 75' m Byrne 77' m A.W. Jones 80+' c Con: S. Jones (6/7) Priestland (3/5) Pen: S. Jones (1/1) 3'	Report	Try: Koll 53' c Con: Kotzé (1/1)

Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth Attendance: 13,710 Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)

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2 October 2011 18:00

Wales	66–0	Fiji
Try: Roberts (2) 6' c, 51' c Sc. Williams 17' c North 32' c Warburton 39' c Burns 59' c Halfpenny 68' c L. Williams 73' c J. Davies 80+' c Con: Priestland (5/5) S. Jones (4/4) Pen: Priestland (1/1) 21'	Report

Waikato Stadium, Hamilton Attendance: 28,476 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	South Africa	4	4	0	0	166	24	+142	21	2	18	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2	Wales	4	3	0	1	180	34	+146	23	3	15
3	Samoa	4	2	0	2	91	49	+42	9	2	10	Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4	Fiji	4	1	0	3	59	167	−108	7	1	5
5	Namibia	4	0	0	4	44	266	−222	5	0	0

Source:

Quarter final

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8 October 2011 18:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Ireland	10–22	Wales
Try: Earls 45' c Con: O'Gara (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 24'	Report	Try: Williams 3' c Phillips 51' m J. Davies 64' c Con: Priestland (2/3) Pen: Halfpenny (1/1) 29'

Regional Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 35,787 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Semi Final

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15 October 2011 21:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Wales	8–9	France
Try: Phillips 58' m Pen: Hook (1/3) 8'	Report	Pen: Parra (3/3) 22', 35', 51'

Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 58,630 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Bronze Medal Match

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21 October 2011 20:30 NZDT (UTC+13)

Wales	18–21	Australia
Try: Shane Williams 50' m Halfpenny 80+' c Con: S. Jones (1/1) Pen: Hook (1/2) 20' S. Jones (1/1) 71'	Report	Try: Barnes 12' c McCalman 76' m Con: O'Connor (1/2) Pen: O'Connor (2/4) 54', 58' Drop: Barnes (1/1) 68'

Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 53,014 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff, where Wales play their home games

2015 England

Group matches

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20 September 2015 14:30

Wales	54–9	Uruguay
Try: Lee 15' c Allen (3) 19' c, 30' c, 40' c Amos 50' c Davies (2) 60' m, 80' c Tipuric 71' c Con: Priestland (7/8) 16', 19', 30', 40', 51', 72', 80'	Report	Pen: Berchesi (3/4) 2', 9', 24'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 71,887 Referee: Romain Poite (France)

26 September 2015 20:00

England	25–28	Wales
Try: May 27' c Con: Farrell (1/1) 29' Pen: Farrell (5/5) 12', 24', 44', 52', 69' Drop: Farrell 18'	Report	Try: G. Davies 71' c Con: Biggar (1/1) 72' Pen: Biggar (7/7) 3', 16', 40', 48', 54', 59', 75'

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 81,129 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

1 October 2015 16:45

Wales	23–13	Fiji
Try: G. Davies 7' c Baldwin 32' c Con: Biggar (2/2) 8', 34' Pen: Biggar (3/3) 21', 55', 69'	Report	Try: Goneva 49' c Con: Volavola (1/1) 50' Pen: Volavola (2/2) 14', 38'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 71,576 Referee: John Lacey (Ireland)

10 October 2015 16:45

Australia	15–6	Wales
Pen: Foley (5/6) 25', 31', 37', 51', 73'	Report	Pen: Biggar (2/3) 5', 34'

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 80,863 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	4	4	0	0	141	35	+106	17	1	17	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup
2	Wales	4	3	0	1	111	62	+49	11	1	13
3	England	4	2	0	2	133	75	+58	16	3	11	Eliminated but qualified for 2019 Rugby World Cup
4	Fiji	4	1	0	3	84	101	−17	10	1	5
5	Uruguay	4	0	0	4	30	226	−196	2	0	0

Source:

Quarter final

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17 October 2015 16:00 BST (UTC+01)

South Africa	23–19	Wales
Try: Du Preez 75' m Con: Pollard (0/1) Pen: Pollard (5/7) 9', 13', 17', 21', 62' Drop: Pollard 52'	Report	Try: G. Davies 18' c Con: Biggar (1/1) 19' Pen: Biggar (3/4) 15', 47', 64' Drop: Biggar 40'

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 79,572 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

2019 Japan

Group matches

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23 September 2019 19:15 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Wales	43–14	Georgia
Try: J. Davies 3' m Tipuric 13' c Adams 19' c L. Williams 40' c T. Williams 65' c North 76' c Con: Biggar (4/5) 14', 20', 40', 66' Halfpenny (1/1) 77' Pen: Biggar (1/1) 7'	Report	Try: Mamukashvili 43' c Chilachava 69' c Con: Abzhandadze (2/2) 44', 70'

City of Toyota Stadium, Toyota Attendance: 35,546 Referee: Luke Pearce (England)

29 September 2019 16:45 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Australia	25–29	Wales
Try: Ashley-Cooper 21' m Haylett-Petty 46' c Hooper 62' c Con: To'omua (2/2) 48', 63' Pen: Foley (1/1) 29' To'omua (1/1) 68'	Report	Try: Parkes 13' c G. Davies 38' c Con: Biggar (1/1) 14' Patchell (1/1) 39' Pen: Patchell (3/3) 33', 37', 72' Drop: Biggar (1/2) 1' Patchell (1/1) 44'

Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu Attendance: 47,885 Referee: Romain Poite (France)

9 October 2019 18:45 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Wales	29-17	Fiji
Try: Adams (3) 18' c 31' c 61' m L. Williams 69' m Con: Biggar (2/2) 20' 32' Pen: Patchell (1/1) 58'	Report	Try: Tuisova 4' m Murimurivalu 9' m Penalty try 54'

Oita Stadium, Ōita Attendance: 33,379 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

13 October 2019 17:15 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Wales	35-13	Uruguay
Try: Smith 17' c Adams 49' c Penalty try 66' T Williams 74' c G Davies 85' c Con: Halfpenny (4/4) 18' 50' 75' 86'	Report	Try: Kessler 71' c Con: Berchesi 72' Pen: Berchesi (2/2) 22' 39'

Kumamoto Stadium, Kumamoto Attendance: 27,317 Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

Quarter-final

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20 October 2019 16:15 JST (UTC+09)

Wales	20-19	France
Try: Wainwright 12' c Moriarty 74' c Con: Biggar (2/2) 13' 75' Pen: Biggar (2/2) 20' 54'	Report	Try: Vahaamahina 5' m Ollivon 8' c Vakatawa 31' c Con: Ntamack (2/3) 9' 32'

Ōita Stadium, Ōita Attendance: 34,426 Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)

Semi final

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27 October 2019 18:00 JST (UTC+09)

Wales	16–19	South Africa
Try: Adams 65' c Con: Halfpenny (1/1) 66' Pen: Biggar (3/3) 18', 39', 46'	Report	Try: de Allende 57' c Con: Pollard (1/1) 58' Pen: Pollard (4/4) 15', 20', 35', 76'

International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama Attendance: 67,750 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

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Bronze final

1 November 2019 18:00 JST (UTC+09)

New Zealand	40–17	Wales
Try: Moody 5' c B. Barrett 13' c B. Smith (2) 33' c, 40+1' c Crotty 42' c Mo'unga 76' m Con: Mo'unga (5/6) 7', 14', 34', 40+2', 44'	Report	Try: Amos 19' c Adams 59' c Con: Patchell (1/1) 21' Biggar (1/1) 61' Pen: Patchell (1/1) 27'

Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu Attendance: 48,842 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Overall record

Against	Played	Won	Drawn	Lost	For	Against	% Won
Argentina	2	2	0	0	39	25	100
Australia	7	2	0	5	107	176	28.57
Canada	3	3	0	0	123	36	100
England	3	2	0	1	61	56	66.67
Fiji	4	3	0	1	152	68	75
France	2	1	0	1	28	28	50
Georgia	1	1	0	0	43	14	100
Ireland	3	2	0	1	58	40	66.67
Italy	1	1	0	0	27	15	100
Japan	3	3	0	0	193	43	100
Namibia	1	1	0	0	81	7	100
New Zealand	4	0	0	4	69	176	0
Samoa	3	1	0	2	61	64	33.33
South Africa	3	0	0	3	35	40	0
Tonga	2	2	0	0	56	36	100
Uruguay	2	2	0	0	89	22	100
Total	44	26	0	18	1238	865	59.09

Hosting

Main article: Rugby World Cup hosts

The Rugby World Cup is held every four years, and up to and including 2015, alternated between traditional rugby heartlands in the southern hemisphere and those in Europe. Wales hosted the tournament in 1999, with Cardiff's Millennium Stadium built to coincide with the event. However, it is common for Rugby World Cups to have matches played outside their official host country, and all four tournaments hosted in Europe have used Wales to some degree as a World Cup venue. After the 2015 event, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and its predecessor will have hosted a total 21 matches over a total of four world cups. This is the largest number of world cup games hosted by one venue.

1991 Rugby World Cup

England was billed as the main host of the second tournament in 1991, hosting the opening ceremony, and final, though the hosting duties were shared between all countries which competed in the Five Nations Championship. France hosted eight games, England and Wales each hosted seven, and Scotland and Ireland five. The National Stadium in Cardiff hosted the third place playoff, whilst all of Pool C's matches were played in Wales. Wales were scheduled to feature in this pool, and all three of their pool matches were hosted in the National Stadium. One game each was played at the club grounds of Pontypridd, Pontypool and Llanelli.

The following Welsh stadiums were used:

City	Stadium	Capacity
Cardiff	National Stadium, Cardiff Arms Park	53,000
Llanelli	Stradey Park	10,800
Pontypool	Pontypool Park	8,800
Pontypridd	Sardis Road	7,200

1999 Rugby World Cup

Wales was chosen by the International Rugby Board as the principal host for the 1999 event. The centrepiece venue of the tournament, hosting the opening ceremony and final was the Millennium Stadium, a new structure built on the site of the old National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park at a cost of £126 million from private investment. An agreement was reached with the unions of all four rivals in the Five Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland and Scotland), so that, like 1991, the majority of the matches would take place outside the official host nation. In a unique tournament format there were five pools in the opening round. Each of the five unions competed in a separate pool, and acted as host for all of the matches within that pool. All Pool A games were held in Scotland, Pool B games in England, Pool C games in France and Pool E games in Ireland.

Wales hosted Pool D, also featuring Argentina, Samoa and Japan. Four of the pool games were at the Millennium Stadium, with one match each at Stradey Park, Llanelli's rugby stadium, and at The Racecourse, Wrexham, which usually featured Association Football.

Of eleven knock-out games, the Millennium Stadium only hosted three; Australia's defeat of Wales in the quarter final stage, and the third place play-off and final. The other fixtures were played for at a variety of European venues.

The following Welsh stadiums were used:

City	Stadium	Capacity
Cardiff	Millennium Stadium	74,500
Wrexham	Racecourse Ground	15,500
Llanelli	Stradey Park	10,800

2007 Rugby World Cup

In a more public bidding process, France beat England to win the right to host the 2007 World Cup. The WRU supported the French bid, in accordance with an agreement between the nations over the 1999 cup. As a result of that agreement, world cup rugby returned to the Millennium Stadium for three pool matches (including two featuring Wales), and a quarter-final.

Ironically, as France were unexpected runners-up to Argentina in their group, the hosts found themselves competing in this, the only knock-out match held outside of their borders. The game was one of the highlights of the tournament, notable for a large number of reasons, though largely for being New Zealand's earliest exit from a Rugby World Cup, after the New Zealand Herald ran the hubristic headline 'France pose absolutely no threat to All Blacks'. The French squad's reply to the Haka, where the squad dressed in red, white and blue shirts, drew some attention, with a number of images of Sebastien Chabal's stony face appearing in the media the following day. Several controversial decisions by referee Wayne Barnes, provoked death threats from some fans. Statistical analysis by New Zealand company Verusco showed the match's playing time, that is time the ball is in play, was the longest of any of the 1,500 games they had ever recorded.

City	Country	Stadium	Capacity	Further reading
Cardiff	Wales	Millennium Stadium	73,350	Overview

2015 Rugby World Cup

A giant promotional rugby ball was placed on Cardiff Castle as part of the 2015 Rugby World Cup

In 2009 England were awarded the rights to stage the 2015 tournament. Owing to the proximity of Cardiff, the RFU made it clear that they intended to use the Millennium Stadium as part of its bid, despite initial reluctance from the IRB for multiple hosting nations. The Millennium Stadium hosted eight games in the tournament, more than in any previous world cup. These include two quarter-finals. This made Cardiff the only venue hosting knock-out matches with the exception of England's national stadium, Twickenham, as well as the venue with the second highest number of games. As Wales and England have were drawn in the same group, Wales only have home advantage for two of their games, against Uruguay and Fiji.

Cardiff used the world cup to promote tourism in the city, with estimates that the games will add over £300 million to the local economy. A 'Fan Zone' has been created within the grounds of Cardiff Arms Park with a large screen, for enjoying match days. Cardiff Council has commissioned an art installation to mark the tournament, grafting a rugby ball to the prominent Cardiff Castle, to make it appear the ball has smashed straight through the wall. This is similar to a publicity stunt from the 2007 World Cup, where a rugby ball hung from the centre of the Eiffel Tower. No such other sculptures have been created in the other 2015 venue cities.

City	Country	Stadium	Capacity	Further reading
Cardiff	Wales	Millennium Stadium	73,350	Overview

References

• Davies, Gerald (2004) The History of the Rugby World Cup (Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, (ISBN 1860746020)
• Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup, Australian Post Corporation, (ISBN 0-642-36811-2)