The 1991 Rugby World Cup was hosted by Great Britain, Ireland and France, with the tournament final to be played at the home of English rugby, Twickenham. For the first time, a qualifying tournament replaced the previously used invitation format. The qualifying tournament involved 32 teams. England qualified for the final by defeating Scotland at Murrayfield, with Australia joining them by defeating New Zealand the day after. Australia won the final, defeating England 12-6. The 1995 Rugby World Cup was hosted by South Africa, and was the first time that all matches would be played in just a single country. It was the first time that South Africa participated in the tournament following the end of their international sports boycott due to the apartheid regime. South Africa won the tournament, defeating New Zealand 15-12 in the final. Joel Stransky kicked a drop-goal in extra time to grab the victory for South Africa. Nelson Mandela, wearing a Springbok jersey and matching cap, famously presented the Webb Ellis Cup to South African captain Francois Pienaar. The tournament also saw the emergence of rugby’s first global superstar, All Black winger Jonah Lomu. He and Marc Ellis finished the tournament as the top try scorers. The 1999 Rugby World Cup was hosted by Wales with matches played in England, France, Scotland and Ireland. There were further changes to the rules of automatic qualification for this tournament, where only the top three places from 1995, along with the host nation, automatically qualified. Sixty-five rugby nations participated in qualifying competitions for the 1999 tournament, and the participating nations increased from 16 to 20. France’s shock 43-31 semifinal win over the All Blacks is regarded as one of the biggest upsets and also one of the best games in the history of the World Cup. Australia defeated France in the final 35-12. They therefore became the first nation to win the World Cup twice. The 2003 World Cup was hosted by Australia. It was originally to be co-hosted with New Zealand, but disagreements over scheduling and signage at venues led to Australia going it alone. England won the tournament, defeating Australia in the final 20 points to 17. With 21 seconds left before sudden death England’s Jonny Wilkinson landed a drop goal to win the match. England became the first northern hemisphere nation to win a Rugby World Cup. Upon returning home, the English side was greeted by an estimated 750,000 people at a street parade celebrating their victory. The 2007 World Cup was held in France, with matches also played in Wales and Scotland. The tournament was won by South Africa, who defeated England 15-6 in the final to become World Champions for the second time. Blowouts in scores in pool matches against minnow nations changed into a finals series dominated by defence. This tournament was notable for Argentina becoming the first team from outside the Six Nations and Tri-Nations to reach the semifinals.
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