Rugby World Cup Finals, 1987-2015

The ninth Rugby World Cup Final will be played in Japan at the weekend. Just to refresh the memory of finals past, we have given some details the first eight dramatic matches.

Rugby is a bit of a johnny-come-lately to world cups. Other sports well ahead in time including football (1930), rugby league (1935), baseball (1938), basketball (1950), hockey (1971) and cricket (1975).

Rugby, a staunch traditionalist, usually has been slow to change, and the early fear of the world cup was that it would change the game. It has changed the game, including the 1995 introduction of professionalism for all in rugby who wanted it.

Here are some Rugby World Cup titbits.

Number of Finals

4 Australia, New Zealand

3 England, France

2 South Africa

Winners

3 New Zealand

2 Australia, South Africa

1 England

Some Biggests

Team score: 35 in 1999

Margin of victory: 23 in 1999

Match score: 51 in 2015

Crowd: 82 957 in 2003

Some Smallests

Team score: 6 in 1991 and in 2007

Margin of victory: 1 in 2011

Match score: 15 in 2011

Crowd: 48 035 in 1987

The Finals, 1987-2015

1987

New Zealand vs France, 29-9 at Eden Park, Auckland on 20 June 1987

Crowd: 48 000

Grant Fox opened the scoring with a dropped goal and Michael Jones scored the first try in a Rugby World Cup final, in days when a try was worth four points. Fox converted the try and the all Blacks led 9-0 at half-time.

In the second half, David Kirk and John Kirwan scored tries while Fox kicked four penalty goals.

Pierre Berbizier scored a consolation try just before the final whistle.

These were the first scores in Rugby World Cup finals.

Scorers

For New Zealand:

Tries: Jones, Kirk, Kirwan

Con: Fox

Pens: Fox 4

Drop: Fox

For France:

Try: Berbizier

Con: Camberabero

Pen: Camberabero

Teams

New Zealand: 15 John Gallagher, 14 John Kirwan, 13 Joe Stanley, 12 Warwick Taylor, 11 Craig Green, 10 Grant Fox, 9 David Kirk (c), 8 Wayne Shelford, 7 Michael Jones, 6 Alan Whetton, 5 Gary Whetton, 4 Murray Pierce, 3 John Drake, 2 Sean Fitzpatrick, 1 Steve McDowall

Coach: Brian Lochore (New Zealand)

France: 15 Serge Blanco, 14 Didier Camberabero, 13 Philippe Sella, 12 Denis Charvet, 11 Patrice Lagisquet, 10 Franck Mesnel, 9 Pierre Berbizier, 8 Laurent Rodriguez, 7 Dominique Erbani, 6 Éric Champ, 5 Jean Condom, 4 Alain Lorieux, 3 Jean-Pierre Garuet-Lempirou, 2 Daniel Dubroca (c), 1 Pascal Ondarts

Coach: France Jacques Fouroux

Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald (Australia)

1991

Australia vs England, 12-6 at Twickenham on 2 November 1991

Crowd: 56 000

Scorers

For Australia:

Try: Daly

Con: Lynagh

Pens: Lynagh 2

For England:

Pens: Pen: Webb 2

Teams

Australia: 15 Marty Roebuck, 14 Bob Egerton, 13 Jason Little, 12 Tim Horan, 11 David Campese, 10 Michael Lynagh, 9 Nick Farr-Jones (c), 8 Troy Coker, 7 Viliami Ofahengaue, 6 Simon Poidevin, 5 John Eales, 4 Rod McCall, 3 Ewen McKenzie, 2 Phil Kearns, 1 Tony Daly

Replacements: 16 John Flett, 17 Anthony Herbert, 18 Peter Slattery, 19 Jeff Miller, 20 Dan Crowley, 21 David Nucifora

Coach: Bob Dwyer

England: 15 Jonathan Webb, 14 Simon Halliday, 13 Will Carling (c), 12 Jeremy Guscott, 11 Rory Underwood, 10 Rob Andrew, 9 Richard Hill, 8 Mike Teague, 7 Peter Winterbottom, 6 Michael Skinner, 5 Paul Ackford, 4 Wade Dooley, 3 Jeff Probyn, 2 Brian Moore, 1 Jason Leonard

Replacements: 16 Nigel Heslop, 17 David Pears, 18 Dewi Morris, 19 Dean Richards, 20 John Olver, 21 Gary Pearce

Coach: Geoff Cooke (England)

1995

South Africa vs New Zealand, 15-12 at Ellis Park, Johannesburg on 24 June 1995

Crowd: 63 000

For the first time, the World Cup final went into extra time when the scores were level at 12-all at the end of 80 minutes. The winning score was a soaring drop goal by Joel Stransky after South Africa won a scrum inside the New Zealand 22.

Scorers

For South Africa:

Pens: Stransky 3

Drops: Stransky 2

For New Zealand:

Pens: Mehrtens 3

Drop: Mehrtens

Teams

South Africa: 15 André Joubert, 14 James Small, 13 Japie Mulder, 12 Hennie le Roux, 11 Chester Williams, 10 Joel Stransky, 9 Joost van der Westhuizen, 8 Mark Andrews, 7 Ruben Kruger, 6 Francois Pienaar (c), 5 Hannes Strydom, 4 Kobus Wiese, 3 Balie Swart, 2 Chris Rossouw, 1 Os du Randt

Replacements: 16 Naka Drotské, 17 Brendan Venter, 18 Rudolf Straeuli, 19 Johan Roux, 20 Garry Pagel, 21 Gavin Johnson

Coach: Kitch Christie

New Zealand: 15 Glen Osborne, 14 Jeff Wilson, 13 Frank Bunce, 12 Walter Little, 11 Jonah Lomu, 10 Andrew Mehrtens, 9 Graeme Bachop, 8 Zinzan Brooke, 7 Josh Kronfeld, 6 Mike Brewer, 5 Robin Brooke, 4 Ian Jones, 3 Olo Brown, 2 Sean Fitzpatrick (c), 1 Craig Dowd

Replacements: 16 Marc Ellis, 17 Simon Culhane, 18 Ant Strachan, 19 Jamie Joseph, 20 Richard Loe, 21 Norm Hewitt

Coach: Laurie Mains

1999

Australia vs France, 35-12 at Millennium Stadium, Cardiff on 6 November 1999

Crowd: 72 500

Scorers

For Australia:

Tries: Finegan, Tune

Cons: Burke 2

Pen: Burke 7

For France:

Pens: Lamaison (4)

Referee: André Watson (South Africa)

Teams

Australia: 15 Matt Burke, 14 Ben Tune, 13 Dan Herbert, 12 Tim Horan, 11 Joe Roff, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan, 8 Toutai Kefu, 7 David Wilson, 6 Matt Cockbain, 5 John Eales (c), 4 David Giffin, 3 Andrew Blades, 2 Michael Foley, 1 Richard Harry

Replacements: 16 Nathan Grey, 17 Jason Little, 18 Chris Whitaker, 19 Owen Finegan, 20 Mark Connors, 21 Dan Crowley, 22 Jeremy Paul,

Coach: Rod McQueen

France: 15 Xavier Garbajosa, 14 Philippe Bernat-Salles, 13 Richard Dourthe, 12 Émile Ntamack, 11 Christophe Dominici, 10 Christophe Lamaison, 9 Fabien Galthié, 8 Christophe Juillet, 7 Olivier Magne, 6 Marc Lievremont, 5 Fabien Pelous, 4 Abdelatif Benazzi, 3 Franck Tournaire, 2 Raphael Ibanez (c), 1 Cédric Soulette

Replacements: 16 Ugo Mola, 17 Stéphane Glas, 18 Stéphane Castaignède, 19 Arnaud Costes, 20 Olivier Brouzet, 21 Pieter de Villiers, 22 Marc Dal Maso

Coach: Jean-Claude Skrela

2003

England vs Australia, 20-17 at Stadium Australia, Sydney on 22 November 2003

Crowd: 82 957

Extra time was played when the score at the end of regular time was 14-14. A penalty goal by each team made the score 17-all with 26 seconds remaining. Then Jonny Wilkinson kicked the winning droip goal with his right boot.

Scorers

For England:

Try: Robinson

Pen: Wilkinson 4

Drop: Wilkinson

For Australia

Try: Tuqiri

Pen: Flatley 4

Teams

England: 15 Josh Lewsey, 14 Jason Robinson, 13 Will Greenwood, 12 Mike Tindall, 11 Ben Cohen, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Matt Dawson, 8 Lawrence Dallaglio, 7 Neil Back, 6 Richard Hill, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Martin Johnson (c), 3 Phil Vickery, 2 Steve Thompson, 1 Trevor Woodman

Replacements: 16 Dorian West, 17 Jason Leonard, 18 Martin Corry, 19 Lewis Moody , 20 Kyran Bracken, 21 Mike Catt, 22 Iain Balshaw

Coach: Clive Woodward

Australia: 15 Mat Rogers, 14 Wendell Sailor, 13 Stirling Mortlock, 12 Elton Flatley, 11 Lote Tuqiri, 10 Stephen Larkham, 9 George Gregan (c), 8 David Lyons, 7 Phil Waugh, 6 George Smith, 5 Nathan Sharpe, 4 Justin Harrison, 3 Al Baxter, 2 Brendan Cannon, 1 Bill Young

Replacements: 16 Jeremy Paul, 17 Matt Dunning, 18 David Giffin, 19 Matt Cockbain, 20 Chris Whitaker, 21 Matt Giteau, 22 Joe Roff

Coach: Eddie Jones

Referee: André Watson (South Africa)

2007

South Africa vs England, 15-6 at Stade de France, Paris, on 20 October 2007

Crowd: 80 430

Scorers

For South Africa:

Pens: Montgomery 4, Steyn

For England:

Pens: Wilkinson 2

Teams

South Africa: 15 Percy Montgomery, 14 JP Pietersen, 13 Jaque Fourie, 12 François Steyn, 11 Bryan Habana, 10 Butch James, 9 Fourie du Preez, 8 Danie Rossouw, 7 Juan Smith, 6 Schalk Burger, 5 Victor Matfield, 4 Bakkies Botha, 3 CJ van der Linde, 2 John Smit (c), 1 Os du Randt

Replacements: 16 Bismarck du Plessis, 17 Jannie du Plessis, 18 Johann Muller, 19 Wikus van Heerden, 20 Ruan Pienaar, 21 André Pretorius, 22 Wynand Olivier,

Coach: Jake White

England: 15 Jason Robinson, 14 Paul Sackey, 13 Mathew Tait, 12 Mike Catt, 11 Mark Cueto, 10 Jonny Wilkinson, 9 Andy Gomarsall, 8 Nick Easter, 7 Lewis Moody, 6 Martin Corry, 5 Ben Kay, 4 Simon Shaw, 3 Phil Vickery (c), 2 Mark Regan, 1 Andrew Sheridan

Replacements: 16 George Chuter, 17 Matt Stevens, 18 Lawrence Dallaglio, 19 Joe Worsley, 20 Peter Richards, 21 Toby Flood, 22 Dan Hipkiss,

Coach: Brian Ashton

Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

2011

New Zealand vs France, 8-7 at Eden Park, Auckland on 23 October 2011

Crowd: 61 079

Scorers

For New Zealand:

Try: Woodcock

Con: Weepu

Pen: Donald

For France:

Try: Dusautoir

Con: Trinh-Duc

France: 15 Maxime Médard, 14 Vincent Clerc, 13 Aurélien Rougerie, 12 Maxime Mermoz, 11 Alexis Palisson, 10 Morgan Parra , 9 Dimitri Yachvili, 8 Imanol Harinordoquy, 7 Julien Bonnaire, 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c), 5 Lionel Nallet, 4 Pascal Papé, 3 Nicolas Mas, 2 William Servat, 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux

Replacements: 16 Dimitri Szarzewski, 17 Fabien Barcella, 18 Julien Pierre, 19 Fulgence Ouedraogo, 20 Jean-Marc Doussain, 21 Francois Trinh-Duc, 22 Damien Traille

Coach: Marc Lièvremont

New Zealand: 15 Israel Dagg, 14 Cory Jane, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Richard Kahui, 10 Aaron Cruden, 9 Piri Weepu, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brad Thorn, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Keven Mealamu, 1 Tony Woodcock

Replacements: 16 Andrew Hore, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Ali Williams, 19 Adam Thomson, 20 Andy Ellis, 21 Stephen Donald, 22 Sonny Bill Williams

Coach: Graham Henry

Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

2015

New Zealand vs Australia, 34–17 at Twickenham on 31 October 2015

Crowd: 80 125

Scorers

For New Zealand:

Tries: Milner-Skudder, Nonu, Barrett

Cons: Carter 2

Pens: Carter 4

Drop: Carter

For Australia:

Try: Pocock, Kuridrani

Cons: Foley 2

Pen: Foley

Teams

New Zealand: 15 Ben Smith, 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder, 13 Conrad Smith, 12 Ma'a Nonu, 11 Julian Savea, 10 Dan Carter, 9 Aaron Smith, 8 Kieran Read, 7 Richie McCaw (c), 6 Jerome Kaino, 5 Sam Whitelock, 4 Brodie Retallick, 3 Owen Franks, 2 Dane Coles, 1 Joe Moody

Replacements: 16 Keven Mealamu, 17 Ben Franks, 18 Charlie Faumuina, 19 Victor Vito, 20 Sam Cane, 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow, 22 Beauden Barrett, 23 Sonny Bill Williams

Coach: Steve Hansen

Australia: 15 Israel Folau, 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper, 13 Tevita Kuridrani, 12 Matt Giteau, 11 Drew Mitchell, 10 Bernard Foley, 9 Will Genia, 8 David Pocock, 7 Michael Hooper, 6 Scott Fardy, 5 Rob Simmons, 4 Kane Douglas, 3 Sekope Kepu, 2 Stephen Moore (c), 1 Scott Sio

Replacements: 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau, 17 James Slipper, 18 Greg Holmes, 19 Dean Mumm, 20 Ben McCalman, 21 Nick Phipps, 22 Matt To'omua, 23 Kurtley Beale

Coach: Michael Cheika

Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)