2003 Rugby World Cup

2003 Rugby World Cup
RWC2003logo.svg
Tournament details
Host nation  Australia
Dates 2003-10-10 – 2003-11-22
No. of nations 20 (80 qualifying)
Final positions
Champions Gold medal blank.svg  England
Runner-up Silver medal blank.svg  Australia
Tournament statistics
Matches played 48
Attendance 1,837,547 (38,282 per match)
Top scorer(s) England Jonny Wilkinson (113)
Most tries New Zealand Doug Howlett (7)
New Zealand Mils Muliaina (7)
1999
2007

The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The pre-event favourites were England and New Zealand, with France, South Africa and defending champions Australia all expected to make strong showings.

The tournament began with host nation Australia defeating Argentina 24-8 at Telstra Stadium in Sydney. Australia went on to defeat New Zealand 22-10 in the semifinal, to play England in the final. Along with a try to Jason Robinson, Jonny Wilkinson kicked four penalties and a famous drop-goal in extra time to win the game 20-17 for England, who became the first northern hemisphere World Champions.

Contents

Venues

Australia won the right to host the World Cup in 2003 without the involvement of New Zealand after a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The overall stadium capacity was reduced from the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales.

The Adelaide Oval underwent a AUS$20 million redevelopment for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, financed entirely by the South Australian Cricket Association, with two new grandstands built adjacent to the Victor Richardson Gates. The Suncorp Stadium was a new AUS$280 million venue designed specifically for rugby, and was opened just before the start of the 2003 World Cup. The Central Coast Stadium was also a newly built venue, and opened in February 2000 at a cost of AUS$30 million.

Aussie Stadium was one of two venues in Sydney that were used for football during the 2000 Olympic Games. The other venue in Sydney was the Telstra Stadium which was the centrepiece of the 2000 Olympic Games. Formerly known as Stadium Australia, Telstra Stadium was built at a cost of over AUS$600 million and was the biggest stadium used in the 2003 World Cup. The only stadium with a retractable roof used was the Telstra Dome in Melbourne.

Stadium Games City State Capacity Best Crowd
Telstra Stadium 7 Sydney New South Wales 83,500 82,957 (Final: Australia vs England)
Aussie Stadium 5 Sydney New South Wales 41,159 37,137 (Scotland vs. Fiji)
Central Coast Stadium 3 Gosford New South Wales 20,119 19,653 (Japan vs. United States)
WIN Stadium 2 Wollongong New South Wales 18,484 17,833 (France vs. United States)
Suncorp Stadium 9 Brisbane Queensland 52,500 48,778 (Australia vs. Romania)
Dairy Farmers Stadium 3 Townsville Queensland 24,843 21,309 (France vs. Japan)
Telstra Dome 7 Melbourne Victoria 53,371 54,206 (Australia vs. Ireland)
Subiaco Oval 5 Perth Western Australia 42,922 38,834 (South Africa vs. England)
Canberra Stadium 4 Canberra Australian Capital Territory 24,647 22,641 (Italy vs. Wales)
Adelaide Oval'" 2 Adelaide South Australia 33,597 33,000 (Australia vs. Namibia)
York Park 1 Launceston Tasmania 19,891 15,457 (Namibia vs. Romania)

Qualification

The winners England.

The following 20 teams, shown by region, qualified for the 2003 Rugby World Cup. Of the 20 teams, eight of those places were automatically filled by the teams that reached the quarter-final stages in 1999, including hosts and world champions Australia and did not have to play any qualification matches. A record 81 nations from five continents were involved in the qualification process designed to fill the remaining 12 spots, which began on 23 September 2000.

  • Americas
  • Asia
    •  Japan
  • Oceania
    •  Australia (automatic qualifier and host)
    •  Fiji
    •  New Zealand (automatic qualifier)
    •  Samoa
    •  Tonga
  • Europe

Squads

Format

The teams were divided into four pools of five nations, with the top two in each pool moving on to the knock-out quarter-final stage. For the first time, a bonus point system was implemented in pool play. This system is identical to that long used in Southern Hemisphere tournaments, and was soon adopted in most European competitions (though not in the Six Nations):

Summary

First round

The opening game at Telstra Stadium between Australia and Argentina.

The ARU's main promotion for the event was "Show Your True Colours". The Australian media criticised the competition early in the tournament as the smaller nations were crushed by the rugby superpowers by 60 points or more. However, some of these smaller, third tier nations, such as Japan, acquitted themselves well in their opening matches. The South Pacific island countries of Fiji, Tonga and Samoa were reported as being handicapped as several of their key players who play abroad being warned by their clubs that their contracts would not be renewed if they played in the competition.

In the event, the group stage of the competition played out largely as expected, with some tension as to whether some of the "developing" nations would overtake some of the weaker major countries for the second quarter-final qualification place in each pool — in pool A, Argentina lost to Ireland by only one point, which would otherwise have carried them into the quarter-finals in Ireland's place; similarly in pool B Fiji lost to Scotland by only two points, while Italy put up a good performance in pool D. In pool C, Samoa gave England a fright with an adventurous approach that allowed them to take an early lead. However, England's superior fitness saw them through. The big clashes ran mainly to form. A disappointing South Africa limped through the pool, eventually capitulating to England to relegate them to a difficult quarter final against New Zealand. Australia just beat Ireland to top their group, whilst Wales pushed the All Blacks to the wire, after adopting an outgoing style of play with a fringe selection. France beat Scotland to round out the quarter-finals.

Knock-out stage

The knock-out quarter-final stage produced the widely predicted set of semi-finalists, although England again made heavy weather of defeating a resurgent Wales. England were widely rated the world's best team, but they struggled against a Welsh side full of belief after their game against New Zealand. France destroyed an Irish side who had gone into the match hopeful of a win, scoring 31 early points to put the game out of reach. In the other quarter-finals, a disappointing South Africa fell to New Zealand and Australia defeated the Scots.

The first semi-final produced an upset, when Australia defeated the hugely fancied New Zealand to become the first defending champions to reach the following championship final. The match was decided by a Stirling Mortlock interception try, after a loose pass from highly-rated All Blacks fly-half, Carlos Spencer. Unfortunately, it was probably the last match for Australian star Ben Darwin, who injured his neck in a scrum. Although Darwin never played rugby again the actions of Kees Meeuws - who immediately stopped exerting pressure when he heard the call "neck neck neck" - may well have saved his opponent's life and certainly prevented further injury. The second semi-final saw France face England. The boot of Jonny Wilkinson was the difference between the two sides, with England coming out victors.

Final

The final between Australia and England was played at Sydney's Telstra Stadium in front of a crowd of 82,957. Australia opened the scoring after they decided to run a penalty instead of kicking for touch. Lote Tuquiri beat England's right wing, Jason Robinson, to a high cross-field kick and went over for the first try, but Elton Flatley was not able to add the conversion.

Celebrations in Trafalgar Square.

England dominated the rest of the half, opening up a 9-5 lead after Australian indiscipline gave away several penalties, but were unable to capitalise on their dominance. They nearly crossed the line on one occasion, when the Australian defence was stretched after a mistake and Ben Kay was given a potential try-scoring pass. He fumbled the ball over the line. Television replays showed Kay's reaction in four-letter words. Towards the end of the first half, England stretched their lead further. Lawrence Dallaglio made a break and popped the ball inside to Jonny Wilkinson, who drew the defence before putting Robinson away in the corner for a try. The conversion was missed, but England went in at half time leading by 14-5.

In the second half Australia tightened their discipline, and solid play forced mistakes from England. The game swung from end to end, with both sides having try-scoring opportunities, but neither able to take them. Australia managed to get points on the board and Elton Flatley scored two penalties to make the score 14-11 to England. In the 79th minute, Australia were putting pressure on England in their half. England had a scrum and just needed to keep hold of the ball until time elapsed. Several scrums were reset after the front rows failed to engage properly and finally, the referee, André Watson, gave a controversial penalty to Australia, despite England's scrum dominating the rest of the game. Flatley converted it with the last kick of normal time to tie the score 14-14 and take it to 20 minutes' extra time.

England opened the scoring in extra time with another Wilkinson penalty, but with two and a half minutes of extra time remaining Australia were awarded another penalty, which Flatley kicked successfully. With 21 seconds left before sudden death, Wilkinson scored a drop goal to win the match and with it the world championship.

Post-final

Three days after the final, the new World Champion England team landed at Heathrow Airport in the early hours of the morning, emerging from their plane to a huge reception, despite the time.[1] On December 8 a national day of celebration took place in the form of a massive victory parade in the streets of London.[2]

Results

Pool stage

Qualified for the quarterfinals
Eliminated, automatic qualification for RWC 2007
Eliminated

All times French time (UTC+2)

Group A

Team Won Drawn Lost For Against BP Points
 Australia 4 0 0 273 32 2 18
 Ireland 3 0 1 141 56 3 15
 Argentina 2 0 2 140 57 3 11
 Romania 1 0 3 65 192 1 5
 Namibia 0 0 4 28 310 0 0
2003-10-10
Australia  24 – 8  Argentina Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 81,350
Referee: Paul Honiss New Zealand
Try: Sailor 20', Roff 74'
Con: Flatley
Pen: Flatley (4)
Try: Corleto 72'
Pen: M. Contepomi

2003-10-11
Ireland  45 – 17  Romania Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 19,123
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan South Africa
Tries: S. Horgan, Wood, Hickie (2), Costello
Con: Humphreys (3), O'Gara
Pen: Humphreys (4)
Tries: Penalty try, Maftei
Con: Tofan, Vioreanu
Pen: Tofan

2003-10-14
Argentina  67 – 14  Namibia Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 17,887
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse Wales
Tries: Méndez, Bouza (2), J. Fernández Miranda, Penalty try (2), Gaitán (3), N. Fernández Miranda
Con: Quesada (7)
Pen: Quesada
Tries: Grobier, Husselman
Con: Wessels (2)

2003-10-18
Australia  90 – 8  Romania Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 48,778
Referee: Pablo De Luca Argentina
Tries: Flatley, Rogers (3), Burke (2), Larkham (2), Mortlock, Roff, Giteau, Tuqiri, Smith
Con: Flatley (11)
Pen: Flatley
Tries: Toderasc
Pen: Tofan

2003-10-19
Ireland  64 – 7  Namibia Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 35,382
Referee: Andrew Cole Australia
Tries: Quinlan (2), Dempsey, Hickie, Horan, Miller (2), G. Easterby, S. Horgan, Kelly
Con: O'Gara (7)
Tries: Powell
Con: Wessels

2003-10-22
Argentina  50 – 3  Romania Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 33,673
Referee: Chris White England
Tries: Gaitán, Hernández (2), M. Contepomi, N. Fernández Miranda, Bouza (2)
Con: J. Fernández Miranda (4), Quesada (2)
Pen: J. Fernández Miranda
Pen: Ionut Tofan

2003-10-25
Australia  142 – 0  Namibia Adelaide Oval
Attendance: 33,000
Referee: Joël Jutge France
Tries: Latham (5), Lyons, Mortlock, Tuqiri (3), Penalty try, Rogers (2), Paul, Giteau (3), Grey, Turinui (2), Burke, Roe
Con: Rogers (16)

2003-10-26
Argentina  15 – 16  Ireland Adelaide Oval
Attendance: 30,203
Referee: André Watson South Africa
Pen: Quesada (3)
Drop: Quesada, Corleto
Tries: Quinlan
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys, O'Gara (2)

2003-10-30
Namibia  7 – 37  Romania Aurora Stadium, Launceston
Attendance: 15,457
Referee: Peter Marshall Australia
Tries: Isaacs
Con: Wessels
Tries: Petrichei, Sirbu, Chiriac, Teodorescu, Sauan
Con: Tofan (3)
Pen: Tofan (2)

2003-11-01
Australia  17–16  Ireland Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 54,206
Referee: Paddy O'Brien New Zealand
Tries: Smith
Pen: Flatley (3)
Drop: Gregan
Tries: O'Driscoll
Con: O'Gara
Pen: O'Gara (2)
Drop: O'Driscoll

Group B

Team Won Drawn Lost For Against BP Points
 France 4 0 0 204 70 4 20
 Scotland 3 0 1 102 97 2 14
 Fiji 2 0 2 98 114 2 10
 United States 1 0 3 86 125 2 6
 Japan 0 0 4 79 163 0 0
2003-10-11
France  61 – 18  Fiji Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 46,795
Referee: Alain Rolland Republic of Ireland
Tries: Dominici (2), Harinordoquy, Jauzion (3), Ibañez
Con: Michalak (4)
Pen: Michalak (6)
Tries: Naevo, Caucaunibuca
Con: Little
Pen: Little (2)

2003-10-11
Scotland  32–11  Japan Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Attendance: 19,170
Referee: Stuart Dickinson Australia
Tries: Paterson (2), Grimes, Taylor, Danielli
Con: Paterson, Townsend
Pen: Paterson
Tries: Onozawa
Pen: Hirose (2)

2003-10-15
Fiji  19 – 18  United States Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 30,990
Referee: Joël Jutge France
Tries: Naevo
Con: Little
Pen: Little (4)
Tries: van Zyl, Schubert
Con: Hercus
Pen: Hercus (2)

2003-10-18
France  51 – 29  Japan Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Attendance: 21,309
Referee: Alan Lewis Republic of Ireland
Tries: Michalak, Rougerie (2), Pelous, Dominici, Crenca
Con: Michalak (5), Merceron
Pen: Michalak (3)
Tries: Konia, Ohata
Con: Kurihara (2)
Pen: Kurihara (5)

2003-10-20
Scotland  39 – 15  United States Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 46,796
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan South Africa
Tries: Danielli (2), Kerr, Townsend, Paterson
Con: Paterson (4)
Pen: Paterson (2)
Pen: Hercus (5)

2003-10-23
Fiji  41 – 13  Japan Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville
Attendance: 17,269
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse Wales
Tries: Tuilevu (2), Ligairi (2), Vunibaka
Con: Little (2)
Pen: Little (4)
Tries: Miller
Con: Miller
Pen: Miller
Drop: Miller

2003-10-25
France  51 – 9  Scotland Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 78,974
Referee: David McHugh Republic of Ireland
Tries: Betsen, Harinordoquy, Michalak, Galthié, Brusque
Con: Michalak (3), Merceron
Pen: Michalak (4)
Drop: Michalak, Brusque
Pen: Paterson (3)

2003-10-27
Japan  26 – 39  United States Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 19,653
Referee: Steve Walsh New Zealand
Tries: Kurihara, Ohata
Con: Kurihara (2)
Pen: Kurihara (4)
Tries: Hercus, Eloff, Schubert, van Zyl, Khasigian
Con: Hercus (4)
Pen: Hercus (2)

2003-10-31
France  41 – 14  United States WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Attendance: 17,833
Referee: Paul Honiss New Zealand
Tries: Liebenberg (3), Poux, Bru
Con: Merceron (2)
Pen: Merceron (3)
Drop: Yachvili
Tries: Hercus, Schubert
Con: Hercus (2)

2003-11-01
Scotland  22 – 20  Fiji Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 37,137
Referee: Tony Spreadbury England
Tries: Smith
Con: Paterson
Pen: Paterson (5)
Tries: Caucaunibuca (2)
Con: Little (2)
Pen: Little (2)

Group C

South Africa vs Georgia, 24 October 2003
Team Won Drawn Lost For Against BP Points
 England 4 0 0 255 47 3 19
 South Africa 3 0 1 184 60 3 15
 Samoa 2 0 2 138 117 2 10
 Uruguay 1 0 3 56 255 0 4
 Georgia 0 0 4 46 200 0 0
2003-10-11
South Africa  72 – 6  Uruguay Subiaco Oval, Perth
Attendance: 16,906
Referee: Paddy O'Brien New Zealand
Tries: van der Westhuizen (3), van Niekerk, Botha, Delport, Fourie, Bands, Rossouw, Scholtz, Greef
Con: Koen (5), Hougaard
Pen: Aguirre (2)

2003-10-12
England  84 – 6  Georgia Subiaco Oval, Perth
Attendance: 25,501
Referee: Pablo De Luca Argentina
Tries: Tindall, Dawson, Thompson, Back, Dallaglio, Greenwood (2), Regan, Cohen (2), Robinson, Luger
Con: Wilkinson (5), Grayson (4)
Pen: Wilkinson (2)
Pen: Urjukashvili, Jimsheladze

2003-10-15
Samoa  60 – 13  Uruguay Subiaco Oval, Perth
Attendance: 22,020
Referee: David McHugh Republic of Ireland
Tries: Fa'asavalu (2), Lima (2), Tagicakibau, Fa'atau, Lemalu, Vili, Feaunati, Palepoi
Con: Va'a (3), Vili (2)
Tries: Capo, Lemoine
Pen: Aguirre

2003-10-18
South Africa  6 – 25  England Subiaco Oval, Perth
Attendance: 38,834
Referee: Peter Marshall Australia
Pen: Koen (2) Tries: Greenwood
Con: Wilkinson
Pen: Wilkinson (4)
Drop: Wilkinson (2)

2003-10-19
Georgia  9 – 46  Samoa Subiaco Oval, Perth
Attendance: 21,507
Referee: Alain Rolland Republic of Ireland
Pen: Jimsheladze (2)
Drop: Jimsheladze
Tries: Tagicakibau, Vaa'a, Sititi, So'oialo, Feaunati, Lima
Con: Va'a (5)
Pen: Va'a (2)

2003-10-24
South Africa  46 – 19  Georgia Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 34,308
Referee: Stuart Dickinson Australia
Tries: Rossouw (2), Hougaard, van Niekerk, Fourie, Botha, Burger
Con: Hougaard (4)
Pen: Hougaard
Tries: Dadunashvili
Con: Jimsheladze
Pen: Jimsheladze (3), Kvirikashvili

2003-10-26
England  35 – 22  Samoa Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 50,647
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan South Africa
Tries: Back, Penalty try, Balshaw, Vickery
Con: Wilkinson (3)
Pen: Wilkinson (2)
Drop: Wilkinson
Tries: Sititi
Con: Va'a
Pen: Va'a (5)

2003-10-28
Georgia  12 – 24  Uruguay Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 28,576
Referee: Kelvin Deaker New Zealand
Pen: Urjukashvili, Kvirikashvili (3) Tries: Cardoso, Lamelas, Brignoni
Con: Aguirre (2), Menchaca
Pen: Juan Menchaca

2003-11-01
South Africa  60 – 10  Samoa Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 48,496
Referee: Chris White England
Tries: van Niekerk, Muller, Hougaard, Smith, Willemse, Fourie, van der Westhuyzen, de Kock
Con: Hougaard (5), Koen (2)
Pen: Hougaard
Drop: Hougaard
Tries: Palepoi
Con: Va'a
Pen: Va'a

2003-11-02
England  111 – 13  Uruguay Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 46,233
Referee: Nigel Whitehouse Wales
Tries: Moody, Lewsey (5), Balshaw (2), Catt (2), Gomarsall (2), Luger, Abbott, Robinson (2), Greenwood
Con: Grayson (11), Catt (2)
Tries: Lemoine
Con: Menchaca
Pen: Menchaca (2)

Group D

Team Won Drawn Lost For123 Against BP Points
 New Zealand 4 0 0 282 57 4 20
 Wales 3 0 1 132 98 2 14
 Italy 2 0 2 77 123 0 8
 Canada 1 0 3 54 135 1 5
 Tonga 0 0 4 46 178 1 1
2003-10-11
New Zealand  70 – 7  Italy Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 41,715
Referee: Andrew Cole Australia
Tries: B. Thorn, R. Thorne, Howlett (2), Spencer (2), Rokocoko (2), Marshall, Carter, MacDonald
Con: Carter (6)
Pen: Spencer
Tries: Phillips
Con: Peens

2003-10-12
Wales  41 – 10  Canada Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 24,874
Referee: Chris White England
Tries: Parker, Cooper, M. Jones, Charvis, Thomas
Con: Harris (5)
Pen: Harris (2)
Tries: Tkachuk
Con: Pritchard
Drop: Ross

2003-10-15
Italy  36 – 12  Tonga Canberra Stadium
Attendance: 18,967
Referee: Steve Walsh New Zealand
Tries: M. Dallan, D. Dallan (2)
Con: Wakarua (3)
Pen: Wakarua (5)
Tries: Payne, Tu'ifua
Con: Tu'ipulotu

2003-10-17
New Zealand  68 – 6  Canada Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 38,899
Referee: Tony Spreadbury England
Tries: Ralph (2), So'oialo (2), Muliaina (4), Meeuws, Nonu
Con: Carter (9)
Pen: Barker (2)

2003-10-19
Wales  27 – 20  Tonga Canberra Stadium
Attendance: 19,806
Referee: Paul Honiss New Zealand
Tries: Cooper, M. Williams
Con: S. Jones
Pen: S. Jones (4)
Drop: M. Williams
Tries: Hola, Kivalu, Lavaka
Con: Hola
Pen: Hola

2003-10-21
Italy  19 – 14  Canada Canberra Stadium
Attendance: 20,515
Referee: Paddy O'Brien New Zealand
Tries: Parisse
Con: Wakarua
Pen: Wakarua (4)
Tries: Fyffe
Pen: Barker (3)

2003-10-24
New Zealand  91 – 7  Tonga Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 47,588
Referee: Pablo De Luca Argentina
Tries: Braid, Carter, Flynn, Ralph (2), Spencer, Meeuws, Penalty try, Muliaina (2), MacDonald, Howlett (2)
Con: MacDonald (12), Spencer
Tries: Hola
Con: Tu'ipulotu

2003-10-25
Italy  15 – 27  Wales Canberra Stadium
Attendance: 22,641
Referee: Andrew Cole Australia
Pen: Wakarua (5) Tries: M. Jones, Parker, D. Jones
Con: Harris (3)
Pen: Harris (3)

2003-10-29
Canada  24 – 7  Tonga WIN Stadium, Wollongong
Attendance: 15,630
Referee: Alain Rolland Republic of Ireland
Tries: Fauth, Abrams
Con: Pritchard
Pen: Ross (4)
Tries: Kivalu
Con: Hola

2003-11-02
New Zealand  53 – 37  Wales Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 80,012
Referee: André Watson South Africa
Tries: Rokocoko (2), MacDonald, Williams, Howlett (2), Spencer, Mauger
Con: MacDonald (5)
Pen: MacDonald
Tries: Taylor, Parker, Charvis, S. Williams
Con: S. Jones (4)
Pen: S. Jones (3)

Knockout stage

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                   
8 November - Telstra Dome, Melbourne        
  New Zealand  29
15 November - Telstra Stadium, Sydney
  South Africa  9  
  New Zealand  10
8 November - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
    Australia  22  
  Australia  33
22 November - Telstra Stadium, Sydney
  Scotland  16  
  Australia  17
9 November - Telstra Dome, Melbourne
    England  20
  France  43
16 November - Telstra Stadium, Sydney
  Ireland  21  
  France  7 Third place
9 November - Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
    England  24  
  England  28   New Zealand  40
  Wales  17     France  13
20 November - Telstra Stadium, Sydney

Quarter-finals

2003-11-08
New Zealand  29 – 9  South Africa Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 40,734
Referee: Tony Spreadbury England
Tries: MacDonald 16' c
Mealamu 59' m
Rokocoko 72' m
Con: MacDonald
Pen: MacDonald (3)
Drop: Mauger 45'
Pen: Hougaard (3)

2003-11-08
Australia  33 – 16  Scotland Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 45,412
Referee: Steve Walsh New Zealand
Tries: Mortlock 46' c
Gregan 59' c
Lyons 64' c
Con: Flatley (3)
Pen: Flatley (4)
Try: Russell 80' c
Con: Paterson
Pen: Paterson (2)
Drop: Paterson 38'

2003-11-09
France  43 – 21  Ireland Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 33,134
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan South Africa
Tries: Magne 3' c
Dominici 29' c
Harinordoquy 33' c
Crenca 47' c
Con: Michalak (4)
Pen: Michalak (5)
Tries: Maggs 52' c
O'Driscoll (2) 65' c, 80+2' c
Con: Humphreys (3)

2003-11-09
England  28 – 17  Wales Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
Attendance: 45,252
Referee: Alain Rolland Republic of Ireland
Try: Greenwood 44' c
Con: Wilkinson
Pen: Wilkinson (6)
Drop: Wilkinson 80+1'
Tries: S. Jones 30' m
Charvis 35' m
M. Williams 71' c
Con: Harris

Semi-finals

2003-11-15
New Zealand  10 – 22  Australia Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 82,444
Referee: Chris White England
Try: Thorne 35' c
Con: MacDonald
Pen: MacDonald
Try: Mortlock 9' c
Con: Flatley
Pen: Flatley (5)

2003-11-16
France  7 – 24  England Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 82,346
Referee: Paddy O'Brien New Zealand
Try: Betsen 10' c
Con: Michalak
Pen: Wilkinson (5)
Drop: Wilkinson (3) 9', 38', 58'

Third-place play-off

2003-11-20
New Zealand  40 – 13  France Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 62,712
Referee: Chris White England
Tries: Jack 12' c
Howlett 20' c
Rokocoko 51' c
Thorn 54' c
Muliaina 58' c
Holah m
Con: MacDonald
Carter (4)
Try: Elhorga 42' c
Con: Yachvili
Pen: Yachvili
Drop: Yachvili

Final

2003-11-22
Australia  17 – 20 (a.e.t.)  England Telstra Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 82,957
Referee: André Watson South Africa
Try: Tuqiri 6' m
Pen: Flatley (4)
Report Try: Robinson 38' m
Pen: Wilkinson (4)
Drop: Wilkinson 100'
 2003 Rugby World Cup Champions 

England
First title

Statistics

Team

Team statistics
Team Played Won Drawn Lost Points Difference Tries Scored Conversions Penalties Drop Goals Yellow Cards Red Cards
 England 7 7 0 0 239 36 27 23 8 1 0
 Australia 7 6 0 1 267 43 32 21 1 1 0
 New Zealand 7 6 0 1 260 52 40 6 1 1 0
 France 7 5 0 2 112 29 22 22 4 5 0
 South Africa 5 3 0 2 104 27 17 7 1 1 0
 Ireland 5 3 0 2 63 20 16 9 1 1 0
 Wales 5 3 0 2 23 17 14 11 1 2 0
 Scotland 5 3 0 2 -12 12 8 13 1 1 0
 Argentina 4 2 0 2 83 18 13 6 2 1 0
 Fiji 4 2 0 2 -16 10 6 12 0 3 0
 Samoa 4 2 0 2 21 18 12 8 0 1 0
 Italy 4 2 0 2 -46 5 5 14 0 2 0
 United States 4 1 0 3 -39 9 7 9 0 1 0
 Canada 4 1 0 3 -81 4 2 9 1 1 0
 Romania 4 1 0 3 -127 8 5 5 0 1 0
 Uruguay 4 1 0 3 -199 6 4 6 0 0 0
 Japan 4 0 0 4 -84 6 5 12 1 0 0
 Tonga 4 0 0 4 -132 7 4 1 0 4 0
 Georgia 4 0 0 4 -154 1 1 12 1 2 0
 Namibia 4 0 0 4 -282 4 4 0 0 1 0

Top point scorers

Top ten point scorers
Player Team Position Played Tries Scored Conversions Penalties Drop Goals Total Points Yellow Cards Red Cards
Jonny Wilkinson  England Fly-half 6 0 10 23 8 113 0 0
Frédéric Michalak  France Fly-half 6 2 17 18 1 101 0 0
Elton Flatley  Australia Centre 6 1 16 21 0 100 0 0
Leon MacDonald  New Zealand Centre 7 4 20 5 0 75 0 0
Chris Paterson  Scotland Fly-half 5 3 7 13 1 71 0 0
Mat Rogers  Australia Full-back 7 5 16 0 0 57 1 0
Mike Hercus  United States Fly-half 4 2 7 9 0 51 0 0
Rima Wakarua  Italy Fly-half 3 0 4 14 0 50 0 0
Earl Va'a  Samoa Fly-half 4 1 10 8 0 49 0 0
Daniel Carter  New Zealand Centre 5 2 19 0 0 48 0 0

Top try scorers

Top ten try scorers
Player Team Position Played Tries Conversions Penalties Drop Goals Total Points Yellow Cards Red Cards
Doug Howlett  New Zealand Wing 7 7 0 0 0 35 0 0
Mils Muliaina  New Zealand Full-back 7 7 0 0 0 35 0 0
Joe Rokocoko  New Zealand Wing 5 6 0 0 0 30 0 0
Will Greenwood  England Centre 6 5 0 0 0 25 0 0
Chris Latham  Australia Full-back 1 5 0 0 0 25 0 0
Josh Lewsey  England Full-back 5 5 0 0 0 25 0 0
Mat Rogers  Australia Full-back 7 5 16 0 0 57 1 0
Lote Tuqiri  Australia Wing 7 5 0 0 0 25 0 0
Pablo Bouza  Argentina No. 8 2 4 0 0 0 20 0 0
Christophe Dominici  France Wing 5 4 0 0 0 20 1 0
Caleb Ralph  New Zealand Wing 2 4 0 0 0 20 0 0

Notes and references

External links

Preceded by
1999 Rugby
World Cup
Rugby World Cup
2003
England
Succeeded by
2007 Rugby
World Cup