1) New Zealand 29 – 9 France, 20 June 1987
In 1987, rugby union was an amateur sport. This became all too apparent in the run-up to the first World Cup. Australia and New Zealand had been the prime movers behind the new competition, but in shameful echoes of the birth of the football World Cup, the British rugby unions were laughably sniffy and absurdly myopic regarding the prospect of a new world championship. "Those in the south are jealous of our success in holding the Five Nations," a senior British figure was quoted as saying. "But we are prepared to do something to keep them off our backs, and to let the lesser nations have some sort of exposure." New Zealand and Australia, lesser rugby nations. Well done, Britain! At least, unlike their footballing counterparts back in 1930, the Brits deigned to send some teams. But even so.
In an act of supreme churlishness, the RFU refused to allow Mr Drop, the tournament's rugby-ball-shaped mascot, to run out at Twickenham before the Calcutta Cup match in April to whip up some publicity for the new event. "If we let them display the mascot, there would be no end to such requests," harrumphed the RFU secretary, Dudley Wood. "We said they could take it into the car park, but they refused."
Publicity proved a problem down under, too. "This must be the most under-publicised World Cup ever," complained one hack from a Sydney newspaper. The Australia coach, Alan Jones, accused his country's press, who were all but ignoring the tournament during the run-up, of "rank parochialism" in preferring to chat about Aussie Rules and rugby league. Meanwhile, the Australian Broadcasting Corporation got round to sealing a deal to cover Australia's games live on television a fortnight before the off.
Happily, once the thing actually got going, it soon gained momentum. The first Rugby World Cup would be as good a tournament as we've had, a celebration of free-flowing, creative, exciting rugby. The semi-final between France and Australia was one of the all-time classic matches. The third-place playoff game in Rotorua between the Wallabies and Wales was watched by a crowd of 33,000, not bad going as Rotorua had a population of 47,000 at the time. Despite the shaky beginnings, the whole shebang was considered a raging success, both on the field and off it, a credit to the amateur boards running New Zealand and Australian rugby.
Sad, then that the final was a bit of a non-event, France, not for the last time, failing to turn up. "The greatest tournament in rugby history alas ended with more of a whimper than a bang," reported Clem Thomas in the Observer. "After all the spectacular action and enthralment of the earlier rounds, the final turned out to be an anticlimactic match that was all hard grind and stonewall defence. It must have bored its hundred million television viewers throughout the world."
A Grant Fox drop goal and a Michael Jones try gave New Zealand an early lead, and it was one they never let slip. France – with the wind at their backs during the second half – briefly came back at their hosts after the break. Didier Camberabero knocked a penalty over, then France claimed a penalty try, the All Blacks collapsing a scrum after being shoved back over their own line. But it wasn't awarded, and the fight was knocked out of the French. The All Blacks scored further tries through David Kirk and John Kirwan, while Fox kept sending the kicks over, establishing a 29-3 lead. A late French try by Pierre Berbizier gave France a sliver of respectability, but nothing more. New Zealand – who had scored 298 points in their six games – were simply too good.
2) Australia 12 – 6 England, 2 November 1991
Will Carling's England grimly battled their way to the 1991 final, pounding the French into a pulp in Paris, then out-boring the Scots into submission at Murrayfield. They would face a sparkling Australian side brimming with world-class talent: David Campese, Michael Lynagh, Nick Farr-Jones, Tim Horan, Willie Ofahengaue. The Wallabies were the form horse going into the tournament, and proceeded to fling the ball around in the grand tradition en route to the final. Campese scored six tries along the way, tore the All Blacks some fresh apertures in the semi-final, and was fully expected to make the most telling contribution in the final against the English at Twickenham.
Which is what he did, sort of, albeit not in the way anyone expected. Ahead of the game, he had stuck the boot into the English style of play, claiming that he would never play for a team like England even if he was paid to do so. The remarks galvanised England into playing a more expansive style, and producing their performance of the tournament. It still wouldn't be enough to avoid defeat – but the margin would be much closer than most had thought it would be.
Australia went ahead on 26 minutes through a Lynagh penalty, then four minutes later Tony Daly forced a try from a lineout down the right. Lynagh converted to make the score 9-0. Inspired by Rob Andrew – who according to the Guardian "gave a revelatory performance, often sidestepping tackles, making positive 10-metre breaks and passing the ball a total of 26 times against Lynagh's four, heartwarming stuff" – England battled back well. But for all their possession they couldn't get on the board until Jonathan Webb kicked a penalty on the hour. Lynagh restored Australia's nine-point cushion with a penalty 12 minutes from time, at which point the jig looked up for England.
Then with eight minutes remaining came Campese's moment. Peter Winterbottom threw a pass out towards Rory Underwood, who looked poised to go over for the try England so desperately required. But the ball never reached the winger, Campese knocking the pass down, a deliberate knock-on that England claimed should have been punished by a penalty try. But with the full-back, Marty Roebuck, in attendance, the Welsh referee Derek Bevan opted to award a penalty. Webb stroked it between the sticks, but England could add no more points.
The England hooker, Brian Moore, was consumed by the hot heat. "Campese has gone through this tournament telling everyone he is the saviour of rugby," he rasped after the game, "but he proved today he is as cynical as the rest of us when it comes down to it. There is no way that Rory would not have scored."
3) South Africa 15 – 12 New Zealand, 24 June 1995
The only Rugby World Cup final they've made a movie about, which goes to show that sport isn't always about the action. New Zealand were, without question, the team of the tournament – Jonah Lomu battering his way past Scotland and England to the final – but they weren't the story. The hosts South Africa provided the most gripping narrative, reaching the final a mere three years after earning reacceptance in the new post-apartheid era, a symbol of a newly united nation.
South Africa boasted a positive all-time competitive record against the All Blacks, with 20 wins to New Zealand's 18, but since the Springboks had returned to the scene, the All Blacks had won all three games between the two.
New Zealand were expected to win the final, but it quickly became apparent that this might not be their day, when their kick-off failed to make the requisite 10 metres. Lomu struggled to get into the game – he received the ball eight times, and was quickly dealt with in each instance. In this paper, Richard Williams noted that Lomu and Michael Brewer "had used the haka, once a moderately charming piece of quasi folklore, as an intimidatory device, advancing on their opposite numbers until they were right in their faces. For this abuse of privilege alone, some neutrals may have been pleased to see Lomu shackled and Brewer removed from the scene by a second-half injury."
Also removed from the scene in the second half was Jeff Wilson, who had spent the entire half-time break in the toilet. It emerged later that 18 members of the All Black squad, and 10 of their starting line-up in the final, had been struck down with food poisoning two days previously. Andrew Mehrtens was one of the men badly affected, though he still came close to winning the Webb Ellis Cup for New Zealand. In a war of attrition, points were scarce – Mehrtens and Joel Stransky had both kicked two penalties and a drop goal, the scores level by the 55-minute mark – and with a couple of minutes remaining, Merhtens had the ball in hand, slap bang in front of the posts. But he missed the drop goal attempt, and the game went to extra time, Stransky sealing the win for the Springboks with a long-range drop goal after the two kickers had traded penalties. Nelson Mandela presented the cup to François Pienaar, the scene perfectly capturing South Africa's optimistic new dawn.
But there was a sour postscript. The president of the South African union, Louis Luyt, announced at the victory dinner that "there were no true world champions in 1987 and 1991 because South Africa were not there. We have proved our point." The remark led to an animated discussion between Sean Fitzpatrick and Luyt, the All Blacks captain leading his team away from yet another unpalatable meal.
4) Australia 35 – 12 France, 6 November 1999
The first World Cup of rugby's professional era, but not much of an event. France – who had, in fairness, done their bit in the name of entertainment by bouncing back so dramatically in the semi-final against New Zealand, one of the great performances – led twice early on, 3-0 and 6-3, through Christophe Lamaison penalties. But that was it for the French. Matt Burke established a 12-6 half-time lead for the Wallabies with his boot, and while the kickers continued to trade penalties after the restart - there was still a game to be played on the hour, with the score 18-12 – it was only a matter of time before the French blew themselves out in the face of Australia's relentless defence. (The Wallabies gave up one try all tournament.)
On 66 minutes, Ben Tune barged past Xavier Garbajosa to score the final's opening try, putting some distance between the two teams. France had no answer. In injury time, Owen Finegan added another. The Aussies won 35-12 and became the first country to win two World Cups.
"As in 1991, the Wallabies failed to garner many new fans on the day itself, but packed the trophy away in their tucker bag just the same," noted Robert Kitson in this paper. Captain John Eales, a vociferous republican, accepted it from the Queen, politely saying "thank you very much, your majesty". He would be less polite about the French, whom he later accused of eye gouging.
5) England 20 – 17 Australia, 22 November 2003
The Rugby World Cup hasn't exactly been blessed with classic finals. You can make a case for 1995, but this is the only real thriller, a strange state of affairs in many ways given that this England side weren't exactly renowned for wowing the neutrals.
The hosts and reigning world champions flew out of the blocks. Stephen Larkham's towering cross-field kick was too much for Jason Robinson to deal with; Lote Tuqiri claimed the high ball and went over for the opening try on five minutes. But Elton Flatley's conversion attempt hit the posts, giving England succour and by the half-hour, Jonny Wilkinson had kicked three penalties to give England a 9-5 lead. Robinson then went over wide on the left, and England went in at half-time 14-5 ahead.
They were pegged back dramatically in the second half, Flatley scoring three penalties to level the score, the last coming right on 80 minutes. A bitter blow for England – especially as they'd spurned several chances to score, Ben Kay losing his grip on the ball with the line in sight during the first half, Wilkinson missing drop-goal opportunities in the second – but like the footballers back in 1966, they'd won it once, and would simply have to do so again. Wilkinson and Flatley exchanged penalties in extra time, before right at the death Wilkinson dropped that goal to become the Geoff Hurst of his generation. And his sport.
6) South Africa 15 – 6 England, 20 October 2007
Not a classic tournament by any means. The usual dramas – New Zealand bottling it, France bottling it – were getting old, while the fact that this dreadful England team reached the final spoke volumes. Still, credit where it's due to the side for getting their gamefaces on, and all that, because in the group stage England had been humiliated 36-0 by South Africa, but regrouped to kick their way past Australia and the hosts France in the knockout stages, setting up another encounter with the Springboks.
A distinctly average World Cup got a final to match. It would be the second World Cup final to be decided by kickers alone. Percy Montgomery notched an early penalty; Jonny Wilkinson soon followed suit. Montgomery added two more penalties to give South Africa a 9-3 lead at half-time. Then, two minutes after half-time, the defining moment of the game.
Sadly for the match as a spectacle, that defining moment would be something that didn't happen. Mark Cueto went over for a try in the left corner, but after an agonising wait for the video referee's ruling, the score was ruled out, the tip of Cueto's boot brushing the whitewash. Wilkinson knocked a penalty over to reduce the arrears to three points – the referee had been playing advantage when Cueto went over – but Montgomery soon re-established South Africa's six-point lead, and the deal was effectively sealed when Steyn sent a long-range penalty kick between the posts.
England's reign as world champions was over, a sickener for Brian Ashton's side, but the right result, South Africa without question the team of the tournament. Although let's not damn them with faint praise.
