Ireland at the Rugby World Cup

The Ireland national rugby union team have played all seven Rugby World Cup tournaments, but have yet to appear in a semi-final. Strangely, Ireland has never played either South Africa or England in a RWC match.

Ireland has competed at every Rugby World Cup since the tournament was first held in Australia and New Zealand in 1987. The furthest Ireland have progressed at any World Cup has been to the quarter-finals, which they have made five times. After a loss to Wales, Ireland finished second in their pool in 1987 but were then knocked out by Australia in their quarter final in Sydney. In 1991 Ireland again lost only the one match in pool play (to Scotland). They again met the Australians in the quarter-finals, who defeated them by one point. Runner-up in their pool in 1995 to the All Blacks, Ireland were defeated by France in their quarter-final in Durban.

Ireland finished second in their pool in 1999, behind Australia and went into the quarter-final play-offs (a system exclusive to the 1999 tournament). There they lost to Argentina, and thus, not being a quarter-finalists, they were not given automatic entry into 2003. They defeated Russia and Georgia to go through as Europe 1. They finished second to Australia in their pool, and were knocked out by France in the quarter finals.

They started in the so-called "Group of death" with hosts France, Argentina, Namibia and Georgia in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They played Namibia (the lowest ranked team in the World cup) in their opening game on 9 September which resulted in a narrow 32–17 win.^[1] Their progress was then put into doubt when they beat Georgia 14–10, not obtaining a bonus point.^[2] France's victory over Namibia 87–10 put Ireland's progression from the group in doubt, and this was compounded when the French defeated Ireland 25–3.^[3] Entering their last group match against Argentina, needing four tries to secure a bonus point without allowing Argentina anything, Ireland were defeated by 30 points to 15 and crashed out at the pool stage for the first time.^[4]

Ireland began their 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign on the back of four defeats in a series of warm-up tests in August, with a 22-10 victory over the United States in New Plymouth on 11 September. Failing to secure a bonus point against world cup minnows the United States, a team ranked far below Ireland, this was an unconvincing win. Contrary to preceding form, and indeed beating most commentators expectations, Ireland produced a memorable performance to defeat reigning tri-nations champions Australia 15-6 in their second pool game in Eden Park in Auckland on 17 September. This was the first Irish win against tri-nations opposition in the southern hemisphere in 32 years. It was also Ireland's first ever win against Australia in the Rugby World Cup. After comprehensive wins against Russia and Italy in the final two pool-stage matches, Ireland topped Pool C. This was the first ever time Ireland came first in a world cup pool. Ireland advanced to the quarter-finals to face Wales in Wellington. They were defeated 22-10 by the Welsh, thus ending their 2011 campaign.

By position

Ireland has reached the quarter-finals five times, but have not progressed beyond that stage.

1987 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in quarter finals.
1991 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in quarter finals.
1995 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in quarter finals.
1999 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in quarter-final play-offs
2003 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in quarter finals.
2007 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in the pool stages.
2011 Rugby World Cup Eliminated in quarter finals.

Matches

1987 Rugby World Cup

Pool 2 matches –

Team	P	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
Wales	3	3	0	82	31	6
Ireland	3	2	1	84	41	4
Canada	3	1	2	65	90	2
Tonga	3	0	3	29	98	0

1987-05-25

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

Athletic Park, Wellington
Attendance: 17,500
Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald

1987-05-30

Canada	19–46	Ireland
Try: Cardinal Pen: Rees (3) Wyatt Drop: Rees	Report	Tries: Crossan (2) Bradley Spillane Ringland MacNeill Con: Kiernan (5) Pen: Kiernan (2) Drop: Ward Kiernan

Carisbrook, Dunedin
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Fred Howard

1987-06-03

Ireland	32–9	Tonga
Tries: Mullin (3) MacNeill (2) Con: Ward (3) Pen: Ward (2)	Report	Pen: Amone (3)

Ballymore, Brisbane
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Guy Maurette

Quarter-final

7 June 1987

Australia	33–15	Ireland
Tries: Burke (2) McIntyre Smith Con: Lynagh (4) Pen: Lynagh (3)	Report	Tries: MacNeill Kiernan Con: Kiernan (2) Pen: Kiernan

Concord Oval, Sydney
Attendance: 14,356
Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland)

1991 Rugby World Cup

Pool B matches –

Team	Won	Lost	For	Against	Points
Scotland	3	0	122	36	9
Ireland	2	1	102	51	7
Japan	1	2	77	87	5
Zimbabwe	0	3	31	158	3

1991-10-06

Ireland	55–11	Zimbabwe
Tries: Robinson (4), Popplewell (2), Geoghegan, Curtis Con: Keyes (4) Pen: Keyes (5)	Report	Tries: Dawson, Schultz Pen: Ferreira

Landsdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Keith Lawrence

1991-10-09

Ireland	32–16	Japan
Tries: Mannion (2), O’Hara, Staples Con: Keyes (2) Pen: Keyes (4)	Report	Tries: Hayashi, Kajihara, Yoshida Con: Hosokawa (2)

Landsdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Laikini Colati

1991-10-12

Scotland	24–15	Ireland
Tries: Shiel, Armstrong, S. Hastings Con: G. Hastings (2) Pen: G. Hastings (3) Drop: Chalmers	Report	Pen: Keyes (4) Drop: Keyes

Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Fred Howard

Quarter-final

20 October 1991

Ireland	18–19	Australia
Tries: Hamilton Con: Keyes Pen: Keyes (3) Drop: Keyes	Report	Tries: Campese (2), Lynagh Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 54,500
Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

1995 Rugby World Cup

Pool C matches –

Team	Won	Lost	For	Against	Points
New Zealand	3	0	225	45	9
Ireland	2	1	93	94	7
Wales	1	2	89	68	5
Japan	0	3	55	252	3

1995-05-27

Ireland	19–43	New Zealand
Tries: David Corkery, Dennis McBride, Garrett Halpin Con: Eric Elwood (2)	Report	Tries: Jonah Lomu (2), Josh Kronfeld, Frank Bunce, Glen Osborne Con: Andrew Mehrtens (3) Pen: Andrew Mehrtens (4)

Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Attendance: 38 000
Referee: Wayne Erickson

1995-05-31

Ireland	50–28	Japan
Tries: Neil Franis, Simon Geoghegan, David Corkery, Eddie Halvey, Niall Hogan Con: Paul Burke (6) Pen: Paul Burke	Report	Tries: Sinali-Tui Latu, Ko Izawa, Seiji Hirao, Masanori Takura Con: Yoshihito Yoshida (4)

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Attendance: 15 000
Referee: Stef Neethling

1995-06-04

Ireland	24–23	Wales
Tries: Eddie Halvey, Nick Popplewell, Denis McBride Con: Eric Elwood (3) Pen: Eric Elwood	Report	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

Quarter finals –

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

10 June – Ellis Park, Johannesburg

South Africa	42
		17 June – Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Western Samoa	14
		South Africa	19
10 June – Kings Park Stadium, Durban
		France	15
France	36
				24 June – Ellis Park, Johannesburg (a.e.t.)
Ireland	12
				South Africa	15
11 June – Newlands, Cape Town
				New Zealand	12
England	25
		18 June – Newlands, Cape Town
Australia	22
		England	29
11 June – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
		New Zealand	45	Third place
New Zealand	48
				22 June – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
Scotland	30
				France	19

				England	9

1995-06-10

France	36–12	Ireland
Tries: Philippe Saint-Andre, Émile Ntamack Con: Thierry Lacroix Pen: Thierry Lacroix (8)	Report	Pen: Eric Elwood (4)

Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Attendance: 18 000
Referee: Ed Morrison

1999 Rugby World Cup

Pool 5 matches –

Team	Won	Lost	For	Against	Points
Australia	3	0	135	31	6
Ireland	2	1	100	45	4
Romania	1	2	50	126	2
United States	0	3	52	135	0

1999-10-02

Ireland	53–8	United States
Tries: Keith Wood (4), Eric Elwood (2), Brian O'Driscoll, Justin Bishop Con: David Humphreys (4) Pen: David Humphreys (2)	Report	Tries: Kevin Dalzell Pen: Kevin Dalzell

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Joel Dume

1999-10-10

Ireland	3–23	Australia
Pen: David Humphreys	Report	Tries: Ben Tune, Tim Horan Con: Matthew Burke (2) Pen: Matthew Burke (2), John Eales

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 49,250
Referee: Clayton Thomas

1999-10-15

Ireland	44–14	Romania
Tries: Conor O'Shea (2), Andrew Ward, Thomas Tierney, Dion O'Cuinneagain Con: Eric Elwood (5) Pen: Eric Elwood (2) Drop goals: Brian O'Driscoll	Report	Tries: Daniel Sauan Pen: Petre Mitu (3)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 33,000
Referee: Brain Campsell

Quarter-final play-offs			Quarter-finals			Semi-finals			Final

				South Africa	44

				England	21
	England	45

	Fiji	24
							South Africa	21

							Australia	27



				Australia	24

				Wales	9



										Australia	35

										France	12



				New Zealand	30

				Scotland	18
	Scotland	35

	Samoa	20
							New Zealand	31

							France	43



				France	47

				Argentina	26
	Argentina	28

	Ireland	24

1999-10-20

Ireland	24–28	Argentina
Pen: David Humphreys (7) Drop: David Humphreys	Report	Tries: Diego Albanese Con: Gonzalo Quesada Pen: Gonzalo Quesada (7)

Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
Attendance: 22,000
Referee: Stuart Dickinson

2003 Rugby World Cup

Group A matches –

Team	Won	Lost	For	Against	BP	Points
Australia	4	0	273	32	2	18
Ireland	3	1	141	56	3	15
Argentina	2	2	140	57	3	11
Romania	1	3	65	192	1	5
Namibia	0	4	28	310	0	0

2003-10-11

Ireland	45–17	Romania
Tries: S. Horgan, Wood, Hickie (2), Costello Con: Humphreys (3), O'Gara Pen: Humphreys (4)	Report	Tries: Penalty try, Maftei Con: Tofan, Vioreanu Pen: Tofan

Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 19,123
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan

2003-10-19

Ireland	64–7	Namibia
Tries: Quinlan (2), Dempsey, Hickie, Horan, Miller (2), G. Easterby, S. Horgan, Kelly Con: O'Gara (7)	Report	Tries: Powell Con: Wessels

Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 35,382
Referee: Andrew Cole

2003-10-26

Argentina	15–16	Ireland
Pen: Quesada (3) Drop: Quesada, Corleto	Report	Tries: Quinlan Con: Humphreys Pen: Humphreys, O'Gara (2)

Adelaide Oval
Attendance: 30,203
Referee: André Watson

2003-11-01

Australia	17–16	Ireland
Tries: Smith Pen: Flatley (3) Drop: Gregan	Report	Tries: O'Driscoll Con: O'Gara Pen: O'Gara (2) Drop: O'Driscoll

Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 54,206
Referee: Paddy O'Brien

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

8 November – Telstra Dome, Melbourne

New Zealand	29
		15 November – Telstra Stadium, Sydney
South Africa	9
		New Zealand	10
8 November – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
		Australia	22
Australia	33
				22 November – Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Scotland	16
				Australia	17
9 November – Telstra Dome, Melbourne
				England	20
France	43
		16 November – Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Ireland	21
		France	7
9 November – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
		England	24	Third place
England	28
				20 November – Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Wales	17
				New Zealand	40

				France	13

2003-11-09

France	43–21	Ireland
Tries: Magne 3' c Dominici 29' c Harinordoquy 33' c Crenca 47' c Con: Michalak (4) Pen: Michalak (5)	Report	Tries: Maggs 52' c O'Driscoll (2) 65' c, 80+2' c Con: Humphreys (3)

Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 33,134
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan

2007 Rugby World Cup

Pool D matches –

Team	Pld	W	L	TF	PF	PA	+/-	BP	Pts
Argentina	4	4	0	16	143	33	+110	2	18
France	4	3	1	24	188	37	+151	3	15
Ireland	4	2	2	9	64	82	−18	1	9
Georgia	4	1	3	5	50	111	−61	1	5
Namibia	4	0	4	3	30	212	−182	0	0

	ARG	FRA	GEO	IRE	NAM
Argentina	–	17 – 12	33 – 3	30 – 15	63 – 3
France	–	–	64 – 7	25 – 3	87 – 10
Georgia	–	–	–	10 – 14	30 – 0
Ireland	–	–	–	–	32 – 17
Namibia	–	–	–	–	–

2011 Rugby World Cup

Ireland qualified for the 2011 RWC automatically.

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Ireland	4	4	0	135	34	+101	15	1	17	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2	Australia	4	3	1	173	48	+125	25	3	15
3	Italy	4	2	2	92	95	−3	13	2	10	Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4	United States	4	1	3	38	122	−84	4	0	4
5	Russia	4	0	4	57	196	−139	8	1	1

Source: ^{[citation needed]}

11 September 2011
18:00

Ireland	22 – 10	United States
Try: Bowe (2) 40' c, 60' c Best 56' m Con: Sexton (1/1) O'Gara (1/2) Pen: Sexton (1/5) 17'	Report	Try: Emerick 80+' c Con: Malifa (1/1) Pen: Paterson (1/2) 54'

Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
Attendance: 20,823
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)


Ireland
FB	15	Geordan Murphy	67'
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy
LW	11	Keith Earls
FH	10	Jonathan Sexton	51'
SH	9	Conor Murray	51'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	Shane Jennings	61'
BF	6	Stephen Ferris
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	Mike Ross
HK	2	Rory Best	61'
LP	1	Tom Court	65'
Replacements:
HK	16	Jerry Flannery	61'
PR	17	Tony Buckley	65'
LK	18	Donnacha Ryan
N8	19	Denis Leamy	61'
SH	20	Eoin Reddan	51'
FH	21	Ronan O'Gara	51'
WG	22	Andrew Trimble	67'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


United States
FB	15	Blaine Scully
RW	14	Takudzwa Ngwenya
OC	13	Paul Emerick
IC	12	Andrew Suniula
LW	11	James Paterson
FH	10	Roland Suniula	59'
SH	9	Mike Petri	67'
N8	8	Nic Johnson
OF	7	Todd Clever (c)
BF	6	Louis Stanfill
RL	5	Hayden Smith
LL	4	John van der Giessen
TP	3	Shawn Pittman
HK	2	Phil Thiel	68'
LP	1	Mike MacDonald	63'
Replacements:
HK	16	Chris Biller	68'
PR	17	Mate Moeakiola	63'
LK	18	Scott LaValla
FL	19	Pat Danahy
SH	20	Tim Usasz	67'
FH	21	Nese Malifa	59'
WG	22	Colin Hawley
Coach:
Eddie O'Sullivan

Man of the Match:
Paul O'Connell (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Nigel Owens (Wales)
Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:
Graham Hughes (England)

17 September 2011
20:30

Australia	6 – 15	Ireland
Pen: O'Connor (2/4) 11', 23'	Report	Pen: Sexton (2/5) 17', 49' O'Gara (2/2) 62', 71' Drop: Sexton 19'

Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 58,678
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)


Australia
FB	15	Kurtley Beale
RW	14	James O'Connor
OC	13	Anthony Fainga'a	75'
IC	12	Pat McCabe
LW	11	Adam Ashley-Cooper
FH	10	Quade Cooper
SH	9	Will Genia
N8	8	Radike Samo	74'
OF	7	Ben McCalman
BF	6	Rocky Elsom	73'
RL	5	James Horwill (c)
LL	4	Dan Vickerman	63'
TP	3	Ben Alexander	63'
HK	2	Tatafu Polota-Nau
LP	1	Sekope Kepu
Replacements:
HK	16	Saia Fainga'a
PR	17	James Slipper	63'
LK	18	Rob Simmons	63'
N8	19	Wycliff Palu	73'
FL	20	Scott Higginbotham	74'
SH	21	Luke Burgess
WG	22	Drew Mitchell	75'
Coach:
Robbie Deans


Ireland
FB	15	Rob Kearney	75'
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)	60' to 63'
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy	50'
LW	11	Keith Earls
FH	10	Jonathan Sexton
SH	9	Eoin Reddan	57'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	Sean O'Brien
BF	6	Stephen Ferris
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	Mike Ross	77'
HK	2	Rory Best
LP	1	Cian Healy
Replacements:
HK	16	Sean Cronin
PR	17	Tom Court	77'
LK	18	Donnacha Ryan
N8	19	Denis Leamy
SH	20	Conor Murray	57'
FH	21	Ronan O'Gara	50'
WG	22	Andrew Trimble	60' 63' 75'
Coach:
Declan Kidney

Man of the Match:
Cian Healy (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:
Graham Hughes (England)

25 September 2011
18:00

Ireland	62 – 12	Russia
Try: McFadden 10' c O'Brien 13' c Boss 38' c Earls(2) 39' c, 48' c Trimble 40+' m Kearney 65' c Jennings 73' c Buckley 79' m Con: O'Gara (6/7) Sexton (1/2) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 6'	Report	Try: Artemyev 50' c Simplikevich 59' m Con: Rachkov (1/2)

Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
Attendance: 25,661
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)


Ireland
FB	15	Rob Kearney
RW	14	Fergus McFadden
OC	13	Keith Earls	49'
IC	12	Paddy Wallace
LW	11	Andrew Trimble
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara	67'
SH	9	Isaac Boss	66'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	Sean O'Brien	57'
BF	6	Donnacha Ryan
RL	5	Leo Cullen (c)
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan	46'
TP	3	Tony Buckley
HK	2	Sean Cronin
LP	1	Cian Healy	49'
Replacements:
HK	16	Rory Best
PR	17	Mike Ross	49'
N8	18	Denis Leamy	46'
FL	19	Shane Jennings	57'
SH	20	Eoin Reddan	66'
FH	21	Jonathan Sexton	67'
WG	22	Geordan Murphy	49'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


Russia
FB	15	Vasily Artemyev
RW	14	Denis Simplikevich
OC	13	Andrei Kuzin
IC	12	Sergey Trishin
LW	11	Vladimir Ostroushko	71'
FH	10	Konstantin Rachkov	8' to 18'
SH	9	Alexander Yanyushkin (c)	74'
N8	8	Victor Gresev
OF	7	Andrei Garbuzov	45'
BF	6	Artem Fatakhov
RL	5	Adam Byrnes
LL	4	Denis Antonov	49'
TP	3	Alexander Khrokin	50'
HK	2	Valeri Tsnobiladze
LP	1	Sergey Popov	74'
Replacements:
HK	16	Evgeny Matveev
PR	17	Ivan Prishchepenko	50'
LK	18	Alexey Travkin	74'
FL	19	Alexander Voytov	49'
SH	20	Andrey Bykanov	74'
WG	21	Mikhail Sidorov	45'
FB	22	Mikhail Babaev	71'
Coaches:
Nikolay Nerush Kingsley Jones

Man of the Match:
Ronan O'Gara (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Dave Pearson (England)
Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match official:
Giulio De Santis (Italy)

2 October 2011
20:30

Ireland	36 – 6	Italy
Try: O'Driscoll 47' c Earls (2) 52' c, 80+' c Con: O'Gara (2/2) Sexton (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (4/5) 7', 18', 35', 44' Sexton (1/1) 70'	Report	Pen: Mi. Bergamasco (2/3) 11', 21'

Otago Stadium, Dunedin
Attendance: 28,027
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)


Ireland
FB	15	Rob Kearney
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)	74'
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy
LW	11	Keith Earls
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara	67'
SH	9	Conor Murray	74'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	Sean O'Brien
BF	6	Stephen Ferris	73'
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan	59'
TP	3	Mike Ross
HK	2	Rory Best	53'
LP	1	Cian Healy	73'
Replacements:
HK	16	Sean Cronin	53'
PR	17	Tom Court	73'
LK	18	Donnacha Ryan	59'
N8	19	Denis Leamy	73'
SH	20	Eoin Reddan	74'
FH	21	Jonathan Sexton	67'
WG	22	Andrew Trimble	74'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


Italy
FB	15	Andrea Masi
RW	14	Tommaso Benvenuti
OC	13	Gonzalo Canale
IC	12	Gonzalo Garcia
LW	11	Mirco Bergamasco
FH	10	Luciano Orquera	41'
SH	9	Fabio Semenzato	57'
N8	8	Sergio Parisse (c)	77'
OF	7	Mauro Bergamasco	49'
BF	6	Alessandro Zanni
RL	5	Cornelius Van Zyl	61'
LL	4	Quintin Geldenhuys
TP	3	Martin Castrogiovanni	37'
HK	2	Leonardo Ghiraldini	67'
LP	1	Salvatore Perugini
Replacements:
HK	16	Fabio Ongaro	67'
PR	17	Andrea Lo Cicero	37'
LK	18	Marco Bortolami	61'
FL	19	Paul Derbyshire	49'
SH	20	Edoardo Gori	57'
FH	21	Riccardo Bocchino	41'
FB	22	Luke McLean	77'
Coach:
Nick Mallett

Man of the Match:
Sean O'Brien (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Television match official:
Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

8 October 18:00 (05:00 UTC) – Wellington

Ireland	10
		15 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
Wales	22
		Wales	8
8 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
		France	9
England	12
				23 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
France	19
				France	7
9 October 18:00 (05:00 UTC) – Wellington
				New Zealand	8
South Africa	9
		16 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
Australia	11
		Australia	6
9 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
		New Zealand	20	Third place
New Zealand	33
				21 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
Argentina	10
				Wales	18

				Australia	21

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' Priestland (0/2)

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


Ireland
FB	15	Rob Kearney
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy
LW	11	Keith Earls	72'
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara	56'
SH	9	Conor Murray	56'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip	75'
OF	7	Sean O'Brien
BF	6	Stephen Ferris	75'
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	Mike Ross
HK	2	Rory Best
LP	1	Cian Healy
Replacements:
HK	16	Sean Cronin
PR	17	Tom Court
LK	18	Donnacha Ryan	75'
N8	19	Denis Leamy	75'
SH	20	Eoin Reddan	56'
FH	21	Jonathan Sexton	56'
WG	22	Andrew Trimble	72'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


Wales
FB	15	Leigh Halfpenny
RW	14	George North
OC	13	Jonathan Davies
IC	12	Jamie Roberts
LW	11	Shane Williams
FH	10	Rhys Priestland	78'
SH	9	Mike Phillips
N8	8	Taulupe Faletau
OF	7	Sam Warburton (c)
BF	6	Dan Lydiate
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones
LL	4	Luke Charteris	41'
TP	3	Adam Jones
HK	2	Huw Bennett
LP	1	Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK	16	Lloyd Burns
PR	17	Paul James
LK	18	Bradley Davies	41'
N8	19	Ryan Jones
SH	20	Lloyd Williams
FH	21	James Hook	78'
CE	22	Scott Williams
Coach:
Warren Gatland

Man of the Match:
Mike Phillips (Wales)

Touch judges:
Wayne Barnes (England)
Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:
Giulio de Santis (Italy)

Hosting

The Rugby World Cup is held every four years, and tends to alternate between the northern and southern hemispheres. Every northern hemisphere tournament so far has been held in Europe, and in general Ireland usually hosts some games when it is held there.

1991: England/Wales/Scotland/Ireland/France

The 1991 Rugby World Cup final was played in England, while pool and finals games were played all over European nations. Pool A, which England was in, saw matches played mostly in London, though games were also taken to Leicester, Gloucester and Otley. Pool B games, which involved European nations, Scotland and Ireland, had all their games in either Dublin or Edinburgh with one game being played in Belfast. Pool C, which Wales was a part of, had all their games in Cardiff, with two taken to Pontypridd and one played in Llanelli. Pool D, which France were a part of, saw games played in Agen, Bayonne, Béziers and Grenoble. None of the quarter-finals or semi-finals were played in England. The final was played at the Rugby Football Union's Twickenham.

The following Irish stadiums were used:

City	Stadium	Capacity
Dublin	Landsdowne Road	49,000
Belfast	Ravenhill	12,300

1999: Wales

The 1999 World Cup was hosted by Wales, but an agreement was reached so that the other unions in the Five Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland and Scotland) also hosted matches.

The format of the pool games was similar to the 1991 World Cup in England. All Pool A games were held in Scotland, Pool B games in England, Pool C games in France and Pool D games were all held in Wales. Second round play-offs and the quarter-finals were held a variety of European venues, the semi-finals were held at Twickenham Stadium, London. The third place play-off and the final were held at the new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Venues in Ireland included Lansdowne Road, the traditional home of the Irish Rugby Football Union, Ravenhill, the Northern Ireland IRFU owned venue and Thomond Park.

The following Irish stadiums were used:

City	Stadium	Capacity
Dublin	Lansdowne Road	49,250
Limerick	Thomond Park	13,500
Belfast	Ravenhill Stadium	12,500

2007: France

The 2007 competition was held in France, with some games played in Wales and Scotland. There was a substantial increase in the overall capacity of stadiums compared to the 2003 Rugby World Cup, as the smallest venue at the 2007 tournament was 33,900. France won the right to host the event in 2003. Three matches were played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, two Pool B games that featured Wales and as well as a quarter-final. Two Pool C matches were held at Edinburgh's Murrayfield. Ireland were also offered to host matches at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, but had to decline the offer as construction work was scheduled to begin on the stadium.^[5] The semifinals and final were held at Stade de France, Saint-Denis.

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)

^ "Ireland 32–17 Namibia". BBC Sport. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
^ "Ireland 14–10 Georgia". BBC Sport. 15 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
^ "France 25–3 Ireland". BBC Sport. 21 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
^ "Argentina 30–15 Ireland". BBC Sport. 30 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
^ "Scotland looks to give up World cup matches at Murrayfield". worldcupweb.com. Retrieved 7 May 2006.

[1] "Ireland 32–17 Namibia". BBC Sport. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.

[2] "Ireland 14–10 Georgia". BBC Sport. 15 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.

[3] "France 25–3 Ireland". BBC Sport. 21 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.

[4] "Argentina 30–15 Ireland". BBC Sport. 30 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.

[irelandgames-5] "Scotland looks to give up World cup matches at Murrayfield". worldcupweb.com. Retrieved 7 May 2006.

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v t e National team appearances in the Rugby World Cup by tier
Tier 1 teams	Argentina Australia England France Ireland Italy Japan New Zealand Scotland South Africa Wales
Tier 2 teams	Canada Chile Fiji Georgia Namibia Portugal Romania Russia Samoa Spain Tonga United States Uruguay
Tier 3 teams	Ivory Coast Zimbabwe