The story of the Rugby World Cup: 1987's new beginnings

With just under nine weeks to go until the 2023 Rugby World Cup kicks off in Paris, we're looking back at the history of the tournament, from its origins in New Zealand and Australia 36 years ago, to its 10th instalment in France this September.

Every weekend between now and then, we’ll count down to the Rugby World Cup by looking back on each edition of the tournament, starting with the first ever global tournament in 1987.

Played across New Zealand and Australia in May and June of 1987, the All Blacks became the first team to win the Webb Ellis Cup when they defeated France 29-9 in the final in Auckland.

The Hosts

Having driven the concept of a Rugby World Cup for some time, it was only appropriate that New Zealand and Australia would have the honour of hosting the inaugural tournament in 1987.

Despite the tournament having just 16 teams, 11 different venues were used across the two countries. Just two of the 11 venues were in Australia; the Concord Oval in Sydney and Ballymore Stadium in Brisbane, both of which hosted semi-finals.

The final was played at Eden Park in Auckland in front of 48,000 people, with overall attendances surpassing 600,000, a number which was viewed as successful at the time.

Christchurch’s Lancaster Park was the only other ground used for a knockout game with Wellington, Hamilton, Dunedin, Invercargill, Rotorua and Palmerston North and Napier also hosting pool games.

The Pools

Pool A: Australia, England, Japan, USA

Pool B: Canada, Ireland, Tonga, Wales

Pool C: Argentina, Fiji, Italy, New Zealand

Pool D: France, Romania, Scotland, Zimbabwe

Ireland

Coached by Mick Doyle and Syd Millar, the Ireland squad for the World Cup in 1987 was heavily populated with players who won a Triple Crown just two years