As the third biggest sporting event behind the Olympics and the Football World Cup, the Rugby World Cup has come a long way in a short period of time.
Rugby is a sport steeped in history, but for all its traditions, the Rugby World Cup is a much more recent one, with the first edition taking place in 1987 and every four years since. The Webb-Ellis Cup awarded to the winning team is in fact quite a bit older than the tournament itself and was crafted in 1906. It is named for William Webb-Ellis, who was said to have invented the game of rugby by running with the ball during a game of football played at the Rugby School in 1823. Although it is now generally accepted that Webb-Ellis did not invent the game, a claim which he himself never made, it has become such a part of rugby folklore that the trophy still bears his name.
The first edition of the tournament was hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand with the victory going to New Zealand – thus far the only time they have ever been able to take the trophy, even though they have started many subsequent editions of the competition as the favourites.
The next edition of the tournament, which took place in 1991, was hosted by England, with matches taking place in Ireland, Scotland, France and Wales as well. However, in spite of taking place in the northern hemisphere, the cup was to make its way back to the southern hemisphere again, this time in the hands of Australia.
The next edition in 1995 was to mark the return of rugby power South Africa to the sporting fold after and international sporting boycott against the country was lifted. South Africa played host to the tournament and in a legendary final managed to defeat tournament favourites New Zealand in extra time. The trophy was presented to South Africa by then president Nelson Mandela in an iconic imagine that signalled the healing taking place in the country at the time. The events surrounding the victory became the basis for the Oscar-nominated film Invictus in 2009.
In 1999 the tournament was hosted by Wales, with matches also taking place in England, France, Scotland and Ireland. The tournament marked the first time a nation took a second World Cup title, with Australia being crowned champions after defeating France in the finals.
The 2003 tournament in Australia was to mark the first time a team from the northern hemisphere could claim the trophy as England took the title ahead of hosts Australia to take the trophy back to its ancestral home.
The 2007 tournament, hosted in France, saw 1995 winners South Africa find form again as they defeated defending champions England in the final to become only the second team to take two World Cup titles.
This year will see New Zealand host the tournament again as they enter the event as favourites once more. With South Africa having had a rather rocky build up to the tournament (and the fact that no team has ever managed to defend the title) and home field advantage over traditional rival Australia, the New Zealand faithful will be hoping that this time their team can live up to the hype and bring home the Webb-Ellis Cup once more, 24 years after they first claimed it.
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