Webb Ellis Cup

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The Webb Ellis Cup.

The Webb Ellis Cup, also referred to as the "Webb Ellis Trophy", is the main prize of the Rugby World Cup. The trophy is named after William Webb Ellis, who was named by the RFU as the inventor of Rugby football. The trophy is silver gilded in gold and has been presented to the winner of the world cup since the first competition in 1987. It has been held by New Zealand, Australia, South Africa and England.

1 Description
2 History
3 Trivia
4 References
5 External links

[edit] Description

The 38 centimetre trophy is gilded silver and is supported by two cast scroll handles. On one handle there is a head of a satyr, on the other there is head of a nymph. On the face of the trophy, the words International Rugby Football Board and below that arch The Webb Ellis Cup are engraved.

[edit] History

The Webb Ellis Cup.

The cup was crafted at Garrard's workshop, commissioned by the International Rugby Board (IRB), (then, International Rugby Football Board (IRFB)). The cup was modelled on a 1906 trophy made by Carrington and Co. of London, which was a Victorian design of a 1740 cup by Paul de Lamerie.

John Kendall-Carpenter, former Bath and England forward and the organiser of the first Rugby World Cup and Bob Weighill, the secretary of the International Rugby Board also a former England forward, visited Garrard's, the crown jeweler in Regent Street, London.

Richard Jarvis, the Managing Director of the Garrard's, brought the particular cup down from the vault and showed it to both of the visitors. Subsequently, by some reports, as late as February of 1987, Ronnie Dawson of Ireland, Keith Rowlands of Wales, Bob Stuart and Dick Littlejohn of New Zealand and the Australians [Nick Shehadie and Ross Turnbull approved of the cup choice, it was soon named "The Webb Ellis Cup".^[1]

In 2002 at a World Cup launch at the Sydney Opera House, Vernon Pugh, the then IRB chairman, suggested that perhaps if a country were to win the cup three times, they should be awarded the trophy permanently, and a second trophy would then be played for. Pugh passed away in April of the following year, and the idea was never formally discussed.^[2]

The cup toured Australia nationally during the pool stages of the 2003 Rugby World Cup, then going onto spend a fortnight on display at the State Library in Sydney before the final of the world cup.^[3]

In the lead up to the 2003 final between the Wallabies and England, Pugh's idea was being discussed again, as Australia were potentially approaching a third World Cup win (after victory in 1991 and 1999). However the idea was never formally raised by the Australian Rugby Union,^[2] and as it turned out, the English won the final.

[edit] Trivia

The nickname 'Bill' was given to the Cup by centre Anthony Herbert when the Wallabies won it in 1991. The Australian sports press referred to the trophy as "Bill" during the 1999 Rugby World Cup. The Wallabies' campaign that year was to "Bring Back Bill", which proved ultimately successful as they defeated France to win the World Cup that year.
England is the only Northern hemisphere country to have won the tournament.
Australia is the only nation that has held the trophy twice.
The cup was in Canada for the first time ever, when it is on show at the USA and Canada match for 2007 World Cup qualification.
A four-carriage rugby train toured France (May to November in 2006), stopping in numerous towns over 190 days in promotion for the following year's world cup. One of the items on the train was the cup itself. One destination was in fact Menton, where William Webb Ellis spent the last months of his life, and where his grave is today.
From the 1st December 2006 until the 6th January 2007, the Webb Ellis Cup is on display at Rugby Museum in Rugby, England, to celebrate the 200th anniversary of the birth of William Webb Ellis