The first Rugby World Cup was held in 1987 in Australia and New Zealand. Since the first tournament, there have been five others, at four-yearly intervals. The most recent tournament was hosted by France in September / October 2007, which the Springboks emerged victors from. First Attempts There are several stories that depict suggestions of staging a rugby union world cup before the 1980s. One of the earliest known pioneers was Harold Tolhurst, an Australian player who would later become a referee. It has been said that Tolhurst brought up the idea of such a tournament as early as the late 1950s. It has been said that in 1968, the IRB made it known that it did not want its unions to be a part of such a competition that resembled a World Cup. Similar ideas arose during the last years of the pre-WC era. Bill McLaughin, who was the president of the Australian Rugby Union in 1979, suggested the idea of staging a World Cup in 1988, as the event would coincide with Australia’s bicentenary celebrations.
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