The story of the RWC: Jonny Wilkinson kicks England to glory in 2003

With just under five 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 tenth instalment in France this September.

This week, we've moved on to the 2003 edition in Australia, where England broke the southern hemisphere stranglehold to bring the Webb Ellis trophy north, as Jonny Wilkinson's dropgoal late in extra time saw them become the first and only world champions from the Six Nations.

The Hosts

Having co-hosted the tournament alongside New Zealand in 1987, Australia were meant to do similar in 2003 before being awarded the status of sole-hosts after a contractual dispute between the New Zealand union and tournament organisers.

Stadium Australia in Sydney was the flagship venue for the tournament, with the 2000 Olympic stadium having been redeveloped in the years following the summer games, with the 83,500 seater venue used for both semi-finals as well as the third-place playoff and final.

Eleven grounds in total were used, with Ireland playing their games at Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, Aussie Stadium in Sydney, the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne and the Adelaide Oval.

Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane hosted two quarter-finals, with Townsville, Perth, Canberra, Wollongong and Launceton also featuring in the pool stages

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Pools

Pool A: Australia, Ireland, Argentina, Namibia, Romania

Pool B: France, USA, Japan, Fiji, Scotland

Pool C: South Africa, England, Samoa, Georgia, Uruguay

Pool D: New Zealand, Wales, Italy, Canada, Tonga

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