1999 Rugby World Cup - AbsoluteAstronomy.com

The 1999 Rugby World Cup was the fourth Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....

, and the first to be held in rugby union

Rugby union

Rugby union, often simply referred to as rugby, is a full contact team sport which originated in England in the early 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand...

's professional era. The principal host nation was Wales

Wales

Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...

, although the majority of matches were played outside the country, shared between England, France, Scotland

Scotland

Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...

and Ireland. As the opening ceremony, first match and the Final

Rugby World Cup Final

The Rugby World Cup Final is the most important rugby union match in the world. Played every four years, it determines the World Champions.-Results:-----------------------------Players who have played in more than one Final:...

would take place in Cardiff

Cardiff

Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...

, Wales, the Welsh team were awarded the automatic qualification berth afforded the hosts. Only four automatic qualification places were available for the 1999 tournament; the other three went to the top three teams from the previous World Cup in 1995

1995 Rugby World Cup

The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....

; champions (South Africa

South Africa national rugby union team

The South African national rugby union team are 2009 British and Irish Lions Series winners. They are currently ranked as the fourth best team in the IRB World Rankings and were named 2008 World Team of the Year at the prestigious Laureus World Sports Awards.Although South Africa was instrumental...

), runners-up (New Zealand), and third-place play-off winners (France

France national rugby union team

The France national rugby union team represents France in rugby union. They compete annually against England, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales in the Six Nations Championship. They have won the championship outright sixteen times, shared it a further eight times, and have completed nine grand slams...

).

The tournament was expanded to 20 teams (from 16), divided into five groups of four teams, a scenario that necessitated a quarter-final play-off round involving the five runners-up and best third-placed team to decide who would join the pool winners in the last eight. Qualification for the final 16 places took place between 63 other nations. The 1999 tournament saw the introduction of a repechage

Repechage

Repechage is a practice amongst ladder competitions that allows participants that failed to meet qualifying standards by a small margin to continue to the next round.- Types of repechage :...

, effectively a second chance for teams that had finished runners-up in each qualifying zone. Uruguay

Uruguay national rugby union team

The Uruguay national rugby union team is the representative side of Uruguay, governed by the Unión de Rugby del Uruguay. They have been playing international rugby since 1948. Their jersey is blue and black and they are known as Los Teros. They qualified twice for the Rugby World Cup, in 1999 and...

and Tonga

Tonga national rugby union team

The Tonga national rugby union team is nicknamed Ikale Tahi . Like their Polynesian neighbours, the Tongans start their matches with a war dance – the Kailao . They are members of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance along with Fiji and Samoa...

were the first nations to profit from the repechage, and took their places alongside fellow qualifiers Australia

Australia national rugby union team

The Australian national rugby union team is the representative side of Australia in rugby union. The national team is nicknamed the Wallabies and competes annually with New Zealand and South Africa in the Tri-Nations Series, in which they also contest the Bledisloe Cup with New Zealand and the...

, England

England national rugby union team

The England national rugby union team represents England in rugby union. They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France, Ireland, Scotland, Italy, and Wales. They have won this championship on 26 occasions, 12 times winning the Grand Slam, making them the most successful team in...

, Ireland

Ireland national rugby union team

The Ireland national rugby union team represents the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team competes annually in the Six Nations Championship and every four years in the Rugby World Cup, where they reached the quarter-final stage in all but two competitions The Ireland national rugby union...

, Scotland

Scotland national rugby union team

The Scotland national rugby union team represent Scotland in international rugby union. Rugby union in Scotland is administered by the Scottish Rugby Union. The Scotland rugby union team is currently ranked eighth in the IRB World Rankings as of 19 September 2011...

, Italy

Italy national rugby union team

The Italy national rugby union team represent the nation of Italy in the sport of rugby union. The team is also known as the Azzurri . Italy have been playing international rugby since the late 1920s, and since 2000 compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland,...

, Argentina

Argentina national rugby union team

The Argentina national rugby team, nicknamed Los Pumas, represents Argentina in international rugby union matches. The team, which plays in sky blue and white jerseys, is organised by the Argentine Rugby Union .Argentina played its first international rugby match in 1910 against a touring British...

, Fiji

Fiji national rugby union team

The Fiji national rugby union team is a member of the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance formerly along with Samoa and Tonga. In 2009, Samoa announced their departure from the Pacific Islands Rugby Alliance, leaving just Fiji and Tonga. Fiji are ranked sixteenth in the world by the IRB as of 26...

, Samoa

Samoa national rugby union team

The Manu Samoa is the men's representative side of the Samoa Rugby Union in both the 15's and the 7's for international competitions. The Samoa Rugby Union is owned by the affiliated rugby unions of Samoa. In Samoa, Manu Samoa is in honour of a famous Samoan warrior. From 1924 to 1997 Samoa was...

, Romania

Romania national rugby union team

The Romania national rugby union team , nicknamed The Oaks , is the representative side of Romania in rugby union. Long considered one of the stronger European teams outside the Six Nations, they have participated in all six Rugby World Cups, and currently compete in the first division of the...

, Canada

Canada national rugby union team

The Canada national rugby union team represents Canada in international rugby union. They are governed by Rugby Canada, and play in red and black. Canada is classified by the International Rugby Board as a tier two rugby nation. There are ten tier one nations, and seven tier two nations, the...

, Namibia

Namibia national rugby union team

The Namibian rugby union team, nicknamed the Welwitschias or Biltongboere, represents Namibia at rugby union. Although they are a tier-three nation in the International Rugby Board tier system, the team have participated in all three Rugby World Cup competitions since their first appearance in 1999...

, Japan

Japan national rugby union team

The Japan national rugby union team represent Japan in international rugby union competitions. Japan is traditionally the strongest rugby union power in Asia but has both enjoyed and endured mixed results against non-Asian teams over the years...

, Spain

Spain national rugby union team

The Spain national rugby union team are a national sporting side of Spain, representing them at rugby union. Spain have been playing rugby since the late 1920s, playing their first international against Italy in 1929. They have qualified for one Rugby World Cup, in 1999 where they were pooled with...

and the United States

United States national rugby union team

USA Rugby's men's national rugby union team, nicknamed the Eagles, represents the United States in the sport of rugby union. The Eagles are currently ranked 17th by the IRB World Rankings. Their highest ranking was from November 2, 2006 – September 10, 2007 at the 14th position...

.

The tournament began with the opening ceremony

Opening ceremony

An opening ceremony is the official opening of a building or event. The opening ceremonies of the Olympic Games and the FIFA World Cup are huge events involving thousands of participants and watched by a massive worldwide audience. On a much smaller scale, some ceremonies mark the opening of a...

in the newly-built Millennium Stadium

Millennium Stadium

The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...

in Cardiff

Cardiff

, with Wales

Wales national rugby union team

The Wales national rugby union team represent Wales in international rugby union tournaments. They compete annually in the Six Nations Championship with England, France, Ireland, Italy and Scotland. Wales have won the Six Nations and its predecessors 24 times outright, second only to England with...

beating Argentina

Argentina national rugby union team

23–18, and Colin Charvis

Colin Charvis

Colin Charvis is a former captain of the Welsh national rugby union team and also played for the British and Irish lions. A back row forward, Charvis was equally adept as a flanker or as the no...

scoring the first try of the tournament. Australia won the tournament, becoming the first nation to do so twice and also to date the only team ever to win after having to qualify for the tournament, with a 35–12 triumph over France, who were unable to repeat their semi-final victory over pre-tournament favourites New Zealand.

The overall attendance for the tournament was 1.75 million

Qualifying

The following 20 teams, shown by region, qualified for the 1999 Rugby World Cup. Of the 20 teams, only four of those places were automatically allocated and did not have to play any qualification matches. These went to the champions, runners-up and the third-placed nations at the 1995

1995 Rugby World Cup

The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....

and the tournament host, Wales

Wales national rugby union team

. A record 65 nations from five continents were therefore involved in the qualification process designed to fill the remaining 16 spots.

Africa	Americas	Europe	Oceania/Asia
(Africa) (World Champions)	(Americas 1) (Americas 2) (Americas 3) (Repechage 2)	(Europe 2) (Europe 1) (Europe 5) (Europe 4) (Europe 3) (Europe 6)	(Oceania 1) (Oceania 2) (Oceania 3) (Repechage 1) (Asia)

Venues

Venues
City	Stadium	Capacity
Saint-Denis Saint-Denis Saint-Denis is a commune in the northern suburbs of Paris, France. It is located from the centre of Paris. Saint-Denis is a sous-préfecture of the Seine-Saint-Denis département, being the seat of the Arrondissement of Saint-Denis....	Stade de France Stade de France The Stade de France is the national stadium of France, situated just north of Paris in the commune of Saint-Denis. It has an all-seater capacity of 80,000, making it the fifth largest stadium in Europe, and is used by both the France national football team and French rugby union team for...	80,000
London	Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...	75,000
Cardiff Cardiff Cardiff is the capital, largest city and most populous county of Wales and the 10th largest city in the United Kingdom. The city is Wales' chief commercial centre, the base for most national cultural and sporting institutions, the Welsh national media, and the seat of the National Assembly for...	Millennium Stadium Millennium Stadium The Millennium Stadium is the national stadium of Wales, located in the capital, Cardiff. It is the home of the Wales national rugby union team and also frequently stages games of the Wales national football team, but is also host to many other large scale events, such as the Super Special Stage...	74,500
Edinburgh Edinburgh Edinburgh is the capital city of Scotland, the second largest city in Scotland, and the eighth most populous in the United Kingdom. The City of Edinburgh Council governs one of Scotland's 32 local government council areas. The council area includes urban Edinburgh and a rural area...	Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium Murrayfield Stadium is a sports stadium located in the west end of Edinburgh, the capital of Scotland. Its all-seater capacity was recently reduced from 67,800 to 67,130 to incorporate the largest permanent "big screen" in the country though it still remains the largest stadium in Scotland and one...	67,500
Glasgow Glasgow Glasgow is the largest city in Scotland and third most populous in the United Kingdom. The city is situated on the River Clyde in the country's west central lowlands...	Hampden Park Hampden Park Hampden Park is a football stadium in the Mount Florida area of Glasgow, Scotland. The 52,063 capacity venue serves as the national stadium of football in Scotland...	52,500
Dublin	Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road Lansdowne Road was a stadium in Dublin owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union that has been the location of a number of sports stadiums. It was used primarily for rugby union and for association football matches as well as some music concerts...	49,250
Lens Lens, Pas-de-Calais Lens is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of France's large Picarde cities along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras, and Douai.-Metropolitan area:...	Stade Félix Bollaert Stade Félix Bollaert Stade Félix Bollaert is the main football stadium in Lens, France, that was built in 1932. It is the home of RC Lens. The stadium's capacity is 41,233 – about 4,000 more than the city's population. This is similar to that of SC Heerenveen ground the Abe Lenstra Stadion which has a bigger capacity...	41,800
Bordeaux Bordeaux Bordeaux is a port city on the Garonne River in the Gironde department in southwestern France.The Bordeaux-Arcachon-Libourne metropolitan area, has a population of 1,010,000 and constitutes the sixth-largest urban area in France. It is the capital of the Aquitaine region, as well as the prefecture...	Parc Lescure	38,327
Toulouse Toulouse Toulouse is a city in the Haute-Garonne department in southwestern FranceIt lies on the banks of the River Garonne, 590 km away from Paris and half-way between the Atlantic Ocean and the Mediterranean Sea...	Stadium Municipal	37,000
Huddersfield Huddersfield Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....	McAlpine Stadium Galpharm Stadium The Galpharm Stadium, formerly the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, is a multi-use sports in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town and Super League side, Huddersfield Giants.-The Stadium:...	24,500
Bristol Bristol Bristol is a city, unitary authority area and ceremonial county in South West England, with an estimated population of 433,100 for the unitary authority in 2009, and a surrounding Larger Urban Zone with an estimated 1,070,000 residents in 2007...	Ashton Gate	21,500
Béziers Béziers Béziers is a town in Languedoc in southern France. It is a sub-prefecture of the Hérault department. Béziers hosts the famous Feria de Béziers, centred around bullfighting, every August. A million visitors are attracted to the five-day event...	Stade de la Méditerranée Stade de la Méditerranée Stade de la Méditerranée is a multi-purpose stadium in Béziers, France. It is currently used mostly for rugby union matches and is the home stadium of AS Béziers Hérault. The stadium is able to hold 18,555 people and was built in 1989....	18,000
Leicester Leicester Leicester is a city and unitary authority in the East Midlands of England, and the county town of Leicestershire. The city lies on the River Soar and at the edge of the National Forest...	Welford Road Stadium Welford Road Stadium Welford Road is a rugby union stadium in Leicester, England and is the home ground for Leicester Tigers. It is located between Aylestone Road and Welford Road on the edge of the city centre...	16,500
Wrexham Wrexham Wrexham is a town in Wales. It is the administrative centre of the wider Wrexham County Borough, and the largest town in North Wales, located in the east of the region. It is situated between the Welsh mountains and the lower Dee Valley close to the border with Cheshire, England...	Racecourse Ground Racecourse Ground The Glyndŵr University Racecourse Stadium AKA The Racecourse Ground is a stadium located in Wrexham, North Wales. It is the home of Wrexham F.C. and, since 2010, the Crusaders Rugby League team who play in the engage Super League...	15,500
Limerick Limerick Limerick is the third largest city in the Republic of Ireland, and the principal city of County Limerick and Ireland's Mid-West Region. It is the fifth most populous city in all of Ireland. When taking the extra-municipal suburbs into account, Limerick is the third largest conurbation in the...	Thomond Park Thomond Park Thomond Park is a stadium located in Limerick in the Irish province of Munster. The stadium is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union and count Munster Rugby, Shannon RFC and UL Bohemian RFC as tenants. The capacity of the stadium is 26,500 following its large scale redevelopment in...	13,500
Belfast Belfast Belfast is the capital of and largest city in Northern Ireland. By population, it is the 14th biggest city in the United Kingdom and second biggest on the island of Ireland . It is the seat of the devolved government and legislative Northern Ireland Assembly...	Ravenhill Stadium Ravenhill Stadium Ravenhill Stadium is located in Belfast, Northern Ireland. It is used by Ulster Rugby. It has a normal capacity of 12,300 and is owned by the Irish Rugby Football Union.-History:The grounds were opened in the 1923/24 season...	12,500
Llanelli Llanelli Llanelli , the largest town in both the county of Carmarthenshire and the preserved county of Dyfed , Wales, sits on the Loughor estuary on the West Wales coast, approximately west-north-west of Swansea and south-east of the county town, Carmarthen. The town is famous for its proud rugby...	Stradey Park Stradey Park Stradey Park was a rugby union stadium located near the centre of the town of Llanelli in Carmarthenshire, Wales. It was the home of the Scarlets region and Llanelli RFC rugby teams. The stadium was a combination of seating and standing with a total capacity of 10,800...	10,800
Galashiels Galashiels Galashiels is a burgh in the Scottish Borders, on the Gala Water river. The name is often shortened to "Gala" .Galashiels is a major commercial centre for the Scottish Borders...	Netherdale Netherdale Netherdale, is an area of Galashiels, a town in the Scottish Borders.It is perhaps best known as being the home of Gala Rugby Club, Gala Fairydean Football Club and more recently the professional Border Reivers rugby union team. Gretna F.C...	6,000

Wales won the right to host the World Cup in 1999. The centrepiece venue for the tournament was the Millennium Stadium, built on the site of the old National Stadium at Cardiff Arms Park

Cardiff Arms Park

Cardiff Arms Park , also known as The Arms Park, is primarily known as a rugby union stadium, but it also has a bowling green, and is situated in the centre of Cardiff, Wales. The Arms Park was host to the British Empire and Commonwealth Games in 1958, and hosted four games in the 1991 Rugby World...

at a cost of £126 million from Lottery money and private investment. Other venues in Wales were the Racecourse Ground and Stradey Park. An agreement was reached so that the other unions in the Five Nations Championship

Six Nations Championship

The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....

(England, France, Ireland and Scotland

Scotland

) also hosted matches.

Venues in England included Twickenham and Welford Road, rugby union venues, as well as Ashton Gate in Bristol and the McAlpine (now Galpharm) Stadium in Huddersfield, which normally host football. Scottish venues included Murrayfield Stadium, the home of the Scottish Rugby Union

Scottish Rugby Union

The Scottish Rugby Union is the governing body of rugby union in Scotland. It is the second oldest Rugby Union, having been founded in 1873, as the Scottish Football Union.-History:...

, Hampden Park, the home of the Scottish Football Association

Scottish Football Association

The Scottish Football Association is the governing body of football in Scotland and has the ultimate responsibility for the control and development of football in Scotland. Members of the SFA include clubs in Scotland, affiliated national associations as well as local associations...

and the smallest venue in the 1999 tournament, Netherdale

Netherdale

Netherdale, is an area of Galashiels, a town in the Scottish Borders.It is perhaps best known as being the home of Gala Rugby Club, Gala Fairydean Football Club and more recently the professional Border Reivers rugby union team. Gretna F.C...

, in Galashiels

Galashiels

Galashiels is a burgh in the Scottish Borders, on the Gala Water river. The name is often shortened to "Gala" .Galashiels is a major commercial centre for the Scottish Borders...

, in the Scottish Borders

Scottish Borders

The Scottish Borders is one of 32 local government council areas of Scotland. It is bordered by Dumfries and Galloway in the west, South Lanarkshire and West Lothian in the north west, City of Edinburgh, East Lothian, Midlothian to the north; and the non-metropolitan counties of Northumberland...

. Venues in Ireland included Lansdowne Road, the traditional home of the Irish Rugby Football Union

Irish Rugby Football Union

The Irish Rugby Football Union is the body managing rugby union in Ireland. The IRFU has its head office at 10/12 Lansdowne Road and home ground at Aviva Stadium, where Irish rugby union international matches are played...

, Ravenhill, the Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland

Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

IRFU owned venue and Thomond Park. France used five venues, the most of any nation, including the French national stadium, Stade de France, which hosted the 1998 FIFA World Cup

1998 FIFA World Cup

The 1998 FIFA World Cup, the 16th FIFA World Cup, was held in France from 10 June to 12 July 1998. France was chosen as host nation by FIFA on 2 July 1992. The tournament was won by France, who beat Brazil 3-0 in the final...

Pools & Format

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D	Pool E

With the expansion of the Rugby World Cup

Rugby World Cup

The Rugby World Cup is an international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board and held every four years since 1987....

from 16 to 20 teams an unusual and complex format was used with the teams split into five pools of four teams with each team playing each other in their group once.

Pool A was played in Scotland
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
Pool B was played in England
Pool C was played in France
Pool D was played in the principal host nation Wales
Wales
Wales is a country that is part of the United Kingdom and the island of Great Britain, bordered by England to its east and the Atlantic Ocean and Irish Sea to its west. It has a population of three million, and a total area of 20,779 km²...
Pool E was played in Ireland with matches played in both the Republic of Ireland
Republic of Ireland
Ireland , described as the Republic of Ireland , is a sovereign state in Europe occupying approximately five-sixths of the island of the same name. Its capital is Dublin. Ireland, which had a population of 4.58 million in 2011, is a constitutional republic governed as a parliamentary democracy,...

& Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland
Northern Ireland is one of the four countries of the United Kingdom. Situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, it shares a border with the Republic of Ireland to the south and west...

Points System

The points system that was used in the pool stage was unchanged from both 1991

1991 Rugby World Cup

The 1991 Rugby World Cup was the second edition of the Rugby World Cup, and was jointly hosted by England, Scotland, Wales, Ireland and France; at that time, the five European countries that participated in the Five Nations Championship making it the first Rugby World Cup to be staged in the...

and 1995

1995 Rugby World Cup

The 1995 Rugby World Cup was the third Rugby World Cup. It was hosted and won by South Africa, and was the first Rugby World Cup in which every match was held in one country....

3 points for a win
2 points for a draw
1 point for playing

The five pool winners qualified automatically to the Quarter-Finals.
The five pool runners-up and the best third place side qualified for the Quarter-final Play-offs.

Knock-out stage

The five group runners up and the best third place team from the group stage (which was Argentina

Argentina national rugby union team

) contested the Quarter Final Play-Offs in three one-off matches that decided the remaining three places in the Quarter-Finals, with the losers being eliminated. The unusual format meant that two Pool winners in the quarter-finals would have to play each other. From the Quarter Final stage it became a simple knockout tournament. The semi-final losers played off for third place. The Draw and format for the knock-out stage was set as follows.

Quarter-final Play-offs Draw

Match H: Pool B Runner-up v Pool C Runner-up
Match G: Pool A Runner-up v Pool D Runner-up
Match F: Pool E Runner-up v Best Third Place Side

Quarter-finals Draw

Match M: Pool D Winners v Pool E Winners
Match J: Pool A Winners v Play-off H Winners
Match L: Pool C Winners v Play-off F Winners
Match K: Pool B Winners v Play-off G Winners

Semi-finals Draw

Match J Winners v Match M Winners
Match L Winners v Match K Winners

A total of 41 matches (30 Pool Stage & 11 Knock-out) were played throughout the tournament over 35 days from Friday 1 October 1999 to Saturday 6 November 1999.

Pool stage

The tournament began on Friday 1 October 1999 in the newly-built Millennium Stadium

Millennium Stadium

in Cardiff

Cardiff

, with Wales

Wales national rugby union team

beating Argentina

Argentina national rugby union team

in a hard fought game 23–18 to get their campaign off to a positive start. The Pool stage of the tournament played out as was widely expected with the Tri Nations teams of New Zealand (who inflected a massive 110–3 win against Italy

Italy national rugby union team

at the Galpharm Stadium

Galpharm Stadium

The Galpharm Stadium, formerly the Alfred McAlpine Stadium, is a multi-use sports in Huddersfield in West Yorkshire, England. Since 1994, it has been the home ground of Huddersfield Town and Super League side, Huddersfield Giants.-The Stadium:...

in Huddersfield

Huddersfield

Huddersfield is a large market town within the Metropolitan Borough of Kirklees, in West Yorkshire, England, situated halfway between Leeds and Manchester. It lies north of London, and south of Bradford, the nearest city....

), South Africa

South Africa national rugby union team

and Australia

Australia national rugby union team

all winning their pools easily without losing a single game. For the then Five Nations Championship

Six Nations Championship

The Six Nations Championship is an annual international rugby union competition involving six European sides: England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland and Wales....

teams who all played their pool matches in their own countries it was a case of mixed fortunes with France

France national rugby union team

winning their pool without losing a game. Host Wales

Wales national rugby union team

also won their pool, though they suffered 31–38 defeat at the hands of Samoa

Samoa national rugby union team

in front of a home crowd at the Millennium Stadium

Millennium Stadium

. However as expected England

England national rugby union team

, Ireland

Ireland national rugby union team

and Scotland

Scotland national rugby union team

all finished second in their pools and were forced to try to qualify for the Quarter-Finals via the play-offs alongside fellow runners-up Samoa

Samoa national rugby union team

and Fiji

Fiji national rugby union team

, and Argentina

Argentina national rugby union team

as the best third placed side from all five pools.

Qualified for Quarter-finals
Qualified for Quarter-final Play-offs

Pool A

P	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
3	3	0	132	35	9
3	2	1	120	58	7
3	1	2	42	97	5
3	0	3	18	122	3

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Pool B

P	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
3	3	0	176	28	9
3	2	1	184	47	7
3	1	2	47	171	5
3	0	3	35	196	3

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Pool C

P	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
3	3	0	108	52	9
3	2	1	124	68	7
3	1	2	114	82	5
3	0	3	42	186	3

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Pool D

P	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
3	2	1	118	71	7
3	2	1	97	72	7
3	2	1	83	51	7
3	0	3	36	140	3

Final ranking of Wales, Samoa, and Argentina was according to total points scored.
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Pool E

P	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
3	3	0	135	31	9
3	2	1	100	45	7
3	1	2	50	126	5
3	0	3	52	135	3

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Ranking of third-placed teams

Qualified for Quarter-final Play-offs

W	L	PF	PA	Pts
2	1	83	51	7
1	2	114	82	5
1	2	42	97	5
1	2	50	126	5
1	2	47	171	5

Play-off Stage

The Quarter-final play-offs were three one-off knock-out matches between the runners up of each pool and the third best placed side from all five pools to decide the remaining three places in the Quarter-finals. The matches were played in mid-week between the completion of the pool stage and the start of the Quarter-finals. The matches produced fairly easy wins for England

England national rugby union team

, beating Fiji

Fiji national rugby union team

45–24, and also for Scotland

Scotland national rugby union team

, beating Samoa

Samoa national rugby union team

35–20. However the final match produced the shock of the round where Argentina

Argentina national rugby union team

upset Ireland

Ireland national rugby union team

28–24 in Lens

Lens, Pas-de-Calais

Lens is a commune in the Pas-de-Calais department in northern France. It is one of France's large Picarde cities along with Lille, Valenciennes, Amiens, Roubaix, Tourcoing, Arras, and Douai.-Metropolitan area:...

Quarter-final Play-offs

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Knock-out stage

The winners from the Quarter-final Play-offs joined the pool winners (who unlike their counterparts had enjoyed a week long rest) in the Quarter Finals, with England

England national rugby union team

, hosts Wales

Wales national rugby union team

and Scotland

Scotland national rugby union team

all being knocked out, and with France

France national rugby union team

(who beat Argentina

Argentina national rugby union team

in their quarter-final) being the only team left from the Northern Hemisphere. The Semi-finals, which were both played at Twickenham

Twickenham Stadium

Twickenham Stadium is a stadium located in Twickenham, in the London Borough of Richmond upon Thames. It is the largest rugby union stadium in the United Kingdom and has recently been enlarged to seat 82,000...

, produced two of the closest matches of the tournament, with Australia

Australia national rugby union team

beating South Africa

South Africa national rugby union team

27–21 in extra-time after normal time ended with the scores locked at 21–21. The second semi-final between favorites New Zealand and underdogs France was an all time classic, as France overturned a 10-24 half time deficit to win 43–31 and reach their second World Cup final. France and Australia met at the Millennium Stadium on Saturday, 6 November 1999 with Australia overcoming France 35-12 to become the first team to win the Webb Ellis Cup

Webb Ellis Cup

The Webb Ellis Cup is the trophy awarded to the winner of the Rugby World Cup. The Cup is named after William Webb Ellis, who is often credited as the inventor of rugby football. The trophy is silver gilt and has been presented to the winner of the Rugby World Cup since the first competition in 1987...

twice. The Cup was presented by HM Queen Elizabeth II to Australian captain John Eales

John Eales

John Eales AM is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby.-Early life:...

.

The overall attendance for the tournament was 1.75 million

Quarter-finals

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Semi-finals

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Third-place play-off

Final

External links

Rugbyworldcup.com
1999 Rugby World Cup Reports and Statistics
1999 Rugby World Cup on Worldcupweb.com
1999 Rugby World Cup on SAweb.co.za

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