2007 Rugby World Cup

2007 Rugby World Cup
2007-09-07 - 2007-10-20
Host nation	France
No. of nations	20 (91 qualifying)
Champions	South Africa
Runner-up	England
Matches played	48
Attendance	2,263,223 (47,150 per match)
Top scorer	Percy Montgomery (105)
Most tries	Bryan Habana (8)
Preceded by	2003 Rugby World Cup
Succeeded by	2011 Rugby World Cup

The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union world championship inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October, and won by South Africa, who defeated England at the Stade de France in St. Denis, Paris. France won the hosting rights in 2003, beating a bid from England. The competition consisted of 48 matches over 44 days; 42 matches were played in ten cities throughout France, as well as four in Cardiff, Wales, and two in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The eight quarter-finalists from 2003 were granted automatic qualification, while 12 other nations gained entry through the regional qualifying competitions that began in 2004 - of them, Portugal was the only World Cup debutant. The top three nations from each pool at the end of the pool stage will qualify automatically for the 2011 World Cup.

The competition opened with a match between hosts France and Argentina on 7 September at the Stade de France in St-Denis. The stadium was also the venue of the final match between England and South Africa on 20 October, which South Africa won by 15 points to 6, granting them their second World Cup title.

Bids

The Eiffel Tower in Paris decorated with a giant rugby ball for the 2007 Rugby World Cup.

Both England and France bid to host the tournament.^[1][2] The tender document for the 2007 bidding process was due out on October 31, 2001. Both England and France were invited to re-submit their plans.^[3] The International Rugby Board (IRB) stated that both countries must comply with tender document terms in one bid, but in their second option, could propose alternative ideas. The IRB said "England's original proposal contained three plans for hosting the tournament with a traditional, new and hybrid format all on offer... The French bid, while complying with the tender document in all other respects, fell outside one of the `windows` in which the IRB wanted to stage an event".^[3] England's bids included a two-tier tournament and altering the structure of the qualifying tournament and France had a bid in September/October.^[3]

It was announced in April 2003 that France had won the right to host the tournament.^[4] The tournament was moved to the proposed September-October dates with the tournament structure remaining as it was.^[4] It was also announced that ten French cities would be hosting games, with the final at the Stade de France.^[4] French Prime Minister Jean-Pierre Raffarin said that "this decision illustrates the qualities of our country and its capacity to host major sporting events...This World Cup will be the opportunity to showcase the regions of France where the wonderful sport of rugby is deeply rooted".^[4] French Sports Minister Jean-Francois Lamour said that "The organisation of this World Cup will shine over all of France because ten French towns have the privilege of organising matches and to be in the world's spotlight."^[4] French cities to host games are Bordeaux, Lens, Lyon, Marseilles, Montpellier, Nantes, St. Etienne, Toulouse and Paris, and it was also announced that the final would be at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis.^[4]

Qualifying

Main article: 2007 Rugby World Cup qualifying

Nations participating in qualifying competition and those that have qualified automatically; Asia (purple), Africa (orange), Americas (green), Europe (blue) and Oceania (yellow). In total, over 90 nations took part.

The eight quarter-finalists from the 2003 World Cup all received automatic entry, with the other 12 nations coming from qualifying series around the world. Ten of the 20 positions available in the tournament were filled by regional qualifiers, with an additional two being filled by repechage qualification. The qualifying tournament was divided into five regional groups; Africa, Americas, Asia, Europe and Oceania.^[5] Qualifying matches began in 2004 and were completed in early 2007. Including the automatic qualifiers, over 90 nations were in qualifying contention for the final tournament.

In July 2005, both Samoa and Fiji were confirmed as the qualifiers from Oceania, as Oceania 1 and 2 respectively.^[6] In July of the following year, Argentina qualified as Americas 1 by defeating Uruguay 26-0 in Buenos Aires.^[7] Americas 2 was filled in August when Canada defeated the United States 56-7 in Newfoundland.^[8] The United States went on to qualify as Americas 3 after beating Uruguay in a two-legged tie in early October.^[9] That month also saw Italy qualify as Europe 1 after defeating Russia 67-7 in Moscow, reaching the first place in its qualifying group; Romania defeated Spain 43-20 in Madrid, and also qualified for the World Cup as Europe 2.^[10]

Namibia qualified for their third consecutive World Cup after they earned their spot in France by defeating Morocco over two legs in November.^[11] In late 2006, it was announced that the IRB had withdrawn Colombo as the venue of the final Asian qualifying tournament due to security problems.^[12] Japan won the only Asian allocation after the tournament was moved to Hong Kong.^[13] Georgia was 14 points the better of Portugal over two legs to claim the last European place.^[13] Tonga qualified through repechage after defeating Korea.^[14] The final spot went to Portugal, joining Pool C after beating Uruguay 24-23 on aggregate. Portugal's qualification was the only change in the 20-team roster from the 2003 World Cup, replacing Uruguay, becoming the only wholly amateur team to qualify.

Nations

Hosting

See also: Rugby union in France

The 2007 World Cup was hosted by France, with additional venues at Edinburgh and Cardiff.

France won the right to host the 2007 World Cup in 2003, and it was subsequently announced that four matches would be held in Wales, at Cardiff's 74,500 seat Millennium Stadium (two Pool B games involving Wales, the match between Fiji and Canada, and a quarter-final). Ireland was to have hosted matches at Lansdowne Road, Dublin, but opted out because the stadium was being redeveloped.^[17]

Two Pool C matches were played at Edinburgh's Murrayfield Stadium. There had been speculation that the Scottish Rugby Union (SRU) was having doubts about hosting these games,^[17] and that the Welsh Rugby Union might be interested in hosting them,^[18] but the SRU confirmed in April 2006 that the games would be played at Murrayfield.

There was a substantial increase in the overall capacity of stadiums compared to the 2003 Rugby World Cup — the smallest venue at the 2007 tournament could seat 33,900 people. The French venues were the same as those used for the 1998 FIFA World Cup. Around 6,000 volunteers helped to organise the competition.^[19]

Although the 2007 tournament was the first to be hosted primarily by France, a number of matches during the 1991 and 1999 tournaments were played in France. In 1991, matches in Pool D (which included France) were played in Béziers, Bayonne, Grenoble, Toulouse, Brive and Agen, while Parc des Princes and Stadium Lille-Metropole each hosted a quarter-final. Similarly, in 1999, fixtures in Pool C (which included France) were played in Béziers, Bordeaux and Toulouse,^[20] Stade Félix-Bollaert was the venue for one of the quarter-final play-offs, and Stade de France hosted a quarter-final.^[20]

Tickets and sponsorship

The Official Rugby World Cup Shop in Paris.

Ticket sales for the Rugby World Cup were broken up into three phases. The first phase was released in November 2005, when members of the European rugby community, such as officials, players and so on were given the opportunity for various packages. Upon the release of the second phase ticketing scheme, more than 100,000 tickets were sold in the first ten hours of release.^[21] The remaining tickets — individual tickets and tickets to the semi-finals — were released in phase three in November 2006. In June 2007, it was announced that 2 million of the 2.4 million tickets had been sold in advance of the tournament.^[22]

The Worldwide partners for the tournament are Société Générale, GMF, Électricité de France, Peugeot, Visa and SNCF,^[23] and official sponsors include Heineken, Vediorbis, Capgemini, Orange, Toshiba and Emirates.^[24] Gilbert will be providing the tournament balls, the Gilbert Synergie match ball will be used throughout the tournament. This continues Gilbert's involvement with the World Cup, the company having provided the Barbarian (1995), Revolution (1999) and Xact (2003) balls in the past.^[25] Along with Gilbert, the official suppliers are Adidas, Coca-Cola, Clifford Chance, Goodyear and McDonalds.^[26] The host broadcaster for the event is TVH.^[27]

Squads

Main article: 2007 Rugby World Cup squads

Each country was allowed a squad of 30 players for the tournament. These squads were to be submitted to the International Rugby Board by a deadline of 14 August 2007.^[28] Once the squad was submitted a player could be replaced if injured, but would not be allowed to return to the squad.

Match officials

The 2007 Rugby World Cup officials were appointed in late-April 2007, with 12 referees and 13 touch judges being chosen to officiate during the pool stage. In the knockout stage the 12 referees also acted as touch judges, with referee appointments being based on performance from previous matches and selection for neutrality. Referees came from seven different nationalities and three of them made their Rugby World Cup debut. The touch judges came from 10 different countries. Tony Spreadbury of England officiated the opening game between France and Argentina at the Stade de France^[29] and Irishman Alain Rolland refereed the final.

Referees Country Name  Australia Dickinson, StuartStuart Dickinson  England Barnes, WayneWayne Barnes  England Spreadbury, TonyTony Spreadbury  England White, ChrisChris White  France Jutge, JoelJoël Jutge  Ireland Lewis, AlanAlan Lewis  Ireland Rolland, AlainAlain Rolland  New Zealand Honiss, PaulPaul Honiss  New Zealand Walsh, SteveSteve Walsh  South Africa Jonker, MariusMarius Jonker  South Africa Kaplan, JonathanJonathan Kaplan  Wales Owens, NigelNigel Owens

Touch judges Country Name[30]  Argentina Cuesta, FedericoFederico Cuesta  Australia Marks, PaulPaul Marks  England Pearson, DaveDave Pearson  France Berdos, ChristopheChristophe Berdos  Italy Damasco, CarloCarlo Damasco  Ireland McDowell, SimonSimon McDowell  New Zealand Bray, LyndonLyndon Bray  New Zealand Deaker, KelvinKelvin Deaker  New Zealand Lawrence, BryceBryce Lawrence  Scotland Changleng, MalcolmMalcolm Changleng  South Africa Joubert, CraigCraig Joubert  South Africa Lawrence, MarkMark Lawrence  Wales Watkins, HughHugh Watkins

Format

The opening ceremony of the
2007 Rugby World Cup

The competition was contested over 44 days between 20 different nations, over 48 fixtures. The tournament began on 7 September at the Stade de France with a match between the host nation, France, and Argentina. The tournament culminated at the same venue on 20 October for the Final between England and South Africa.

Pool stage

The 20 nations were split up into four pools, designated A through to D, each consisting of five teams. Each pool had one semi-finalist and one quarter-finalist (automatic qualifiers) from the 2003 tournament, with the other three places filled via the qualification system. Each nation plays every other team in their pool once; each nation therefore played four matches during the pool stage.

Classification within each pool was based on the following scoring system:

• four match points for a win;
• two for a draw;
• zero for a loss.^[31]

Bonus points, contributing to a team's cumulative match-point score, were awarded in each of the following instances (one match point for each event):

• a team scores four or more tries (regardless of the match result);
• a team loses by seven points (a converted try) or fewer.^[31]

At the end of the pool stage, teams were ranked from first to fifth based on cumulative match points, with the top two nations proceeding to the quarter-finals.

If at the completion of the pool phase two or more Teams were level on Match points, then the following criteria would have been used in the following order until one of the Teams could be determined as the higher ranked: ^[31]

i. The winner of the Match in which the two tied Teams have played each other shall be the higher ranked;

ii. The Team which has the best difference between points scored for and points scored against in all its pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;

iii. The Team which has the best difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all its pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;

iv. The Team which has scored most points in all its pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;

v. The Team which has scored most tries in all its pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;

vi. Should the tie be unresolved at the conclusion of steps (i) through (v), the Team that is higher ranked in the updated Official IRB World Rankings on October 1, 2007.

By elevating head-to-head results (rule i) above points difference (rule ii), a notable difference is created to other sports competitions, in which points difference usually determines rank for teams with the same number of match points (table points). These rules allowed the winners of Pools A, B and C to be determined by the results of the third pool matches on the weekend of September 22 and 23.^[32] Although other teams could theoretically draw level on table points with South Africa, Australia and New Zealand and exceed their points differences at the end of the pool stages, head-to-head results by that time ensured these teams could be declared winners of their respective pools, with a match to spare. This also illustrates the fact that the pool tables do not tell the whole story.

Knockout stage

From this stage onwards, the tournament adopted a knockout format comprising eight fixtures: four quarter-finals, two semi-finals, a bronze medal match, and the final. The winner and runner-up from each of the four pools advanced to the quarter-finals. Pool winners were drawn against opposite pool runners-up in the quarter-finals, e.g. the winner of Pool A faced the runner up of Pool B, and the winner of Pool B faced the runner-up of Pool A.

Each match in the knockout stage must conclude in a victory. If, after eighty minutes of normal play, a match results in a draw, further play is made to determine an outright winner. Initially, there will be two periods of extra time, 10 minutes each way; if there is no winner after this, then play proceeds to a single 10 minute period of 'sudden death' play. If the contest is unresolved after a total 110 minutes of open play, the winner will be determined by a placekicking competition.^[31]

Effect on 2011 qualification

In a change from the format of the previous tournament, the top three teams in each pool will qualify for the 2011 World Cup in New Zealand;^[33] previously, only the eight quarter-finalists gained an automatic place in the following tournament.

Pool stage

All times French time (UTC+2)

Pool A

Main article: 2007 Rugby World Cup - Pool A

Team Pld W D L TF PF PA +/- BP Pts  South Africa 4 4 0 0 24 189 47 +142 3 19  England 4 3 0 1 11 108 88 +20 2 14  Tonga 4 2 0 2 9 89 96 -7 1 9  Samoa 4 1 0 3 5 69 143 -74 1 5  United States 4 0 0 4 7 61 142 -81 1 1

ENG SAM RSA TGA USA England – 44 – 22 0 – 36 36 – 20 28 – 10 Samoa – – 7 – 59 15 – 19 25 – 21 South Africa – – – 30 – 25 64 – 15 Tonga – – – – 25 – 15 United States – – – – –

Pool B

Main article: 2007 Rugby World Cup - Pool B

Team Pld W D L TF PF PA +/- BP Pts  Australia 4 4 0 0 30 215 41 +174 4 20  Fiji 4 3 0 1 14 114 136 -22 3 15  Wales 4 2 0 2 23 168 105 +63 4 12  Japan 4 0 1 3 7 64 210 -146 1 3  Canada 4 0 1 3 6 51 120 -69 0 2

AUS CAN FJI JPN WAL Australia – 37 – 6 55 – 12 91 – 3 32 – 20 Canada – – 16 – 29 12 – 12 17 – 42 Fiji – – – 35 – 31 38 – 34 Japan – – – – 18 – 72 Wales – – – – –

Pool C

Main article: 2007 Rugby World Cup - Pool C

Team Pld W D L TF PF PA +/- BP Pts  New Zealand 4 4 0 0 46 309 35 +274 4 20  Scotland 4 3 0 1 14 116 66 +50 2 14  Italy 4 2 0 2 8 85 117 -32 1 9  Romania 4 1 0 3 5 40 161 -121 1 5  Portugal 4 0 0 4 4 38 209 -171 1 1

ITA NZL POR ROM SCO Italy – 14 – 76 31 – 5 24 – 18 16 – 18 New Zealand – – 108 – 13 85 – 8 40 – 0 Portugal – – – 10 – 14 10 – 56 Romania – – – – 0 – 42 Scotland – – – – –

Pool D

Main article: 2007 Rugby World Cup - Pool D

Team Pld W D L TF PF PA +/- BP Pts  Argentina 4 4 0 0 16 143 33 +110 2 18  France 4 3 0 1 24 188 37 +151 3 15  Ireland 4 2 0 2 9 64 82 -18 1 9  Georgia 4 1 0 3 5 50 111 -61 1 5  Namibia 4 0 0 4 3 30 212 -182 0 0

ARG FRA GEO IRE NAM Argentina – 17 – 12 33 – 3 30 – 15 63 – 3 France – – 64 – 7 25 – 3 87 – 10 Georgia – – – 10 – 14 30 – 0 Ireland – – – – 32 – 17 Namibia – – – – –

Knockout stage

Main article: 2007 Rugby World Cup knockout stage

	Quarter finals				Semi finals				Final
	October 6 – Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
	Australia	10
					October 13 – Stade de France, St-Denis
	England	12
					England	14
	October 6 – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
					France	9
	New Zealand	18
									October 20 – Stade de France, St-Denis
	France	20
									England	6
	October 7 – Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
									South Africa	15
	South Africa	37
					October 14 – Stade de France, St-Denis
	Fiji	20
					South Africa	37			Bronze Final
	October 7 – Stade de France, St-Denis
					Argentina	13
	Argentina	19							France	10
	Scotland	13							Argentina	34
									October 19 – Parc des Princes, Paris

Quarter-finals

2007-10-06 15:00
	Australia	10 – 12	England	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 59,102 Referee: Alain Rolland
	Try: Tuqiri 33' c Con: Mortlock (1/1) Pen: Mortlock (1/4) 6'	(Report)	Pen: Wilkinson (4/7) 22', 25', 51', 59'

2007-10-06 21:00
	New Zealand	18 – 20	France	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 71,669 Referee: Wayne Barnes
	Tries: McAlister 17' c So'oialo 63' m Con: Carter (1/1) Pen: Carter (2/2) 14', 31'	(Report)	Tries: Dusautoir 54' c Jauzion 69' c Con: Beauxis (1/1) Élissalde (1/1) Pen: Beauxis (2/3) 40+', 46'

2007-10-07 15:00
	South Africa	37 – 20	Fiji	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 55,943 Referee: Alan Lewis
	Tries: Fourie 13' m Smit 35' m Pietersen 51' c Smith 70' c James 80' c Con: Montgomery (3/5) Pen: Steyn (1/1) 8' Montgomery (1/2) 63'	(Report)	Tries: Delasau 57' c Bobo 59' c Con: Bai (2/2) Pen: Bai (2/2) 26', 44'

2007-10-07 21:00
	Argentina	19 – 13