Ireland at the Rugby World Cup

The Ireland national rugby union team have played all seven Rugby World Cup tournaments.

Ireland have competed at every Rugby World Cup since the tournament was first held in Australia and New Zealand in 1987. The furthest Ireland have progressed at any World Cup has been to the quarter-finals, which they have made five times. After a loss to Wales, Ireland finished second in their pool in 1987 but were then knocked out by Australia in their quarter final in Sydney. In 1991 Ireland again lost only the one match in pool play (to Scotland). They again met the Australians in the quarter-finals, who defeated them by one point. Runner-up in their pool in 1995 to the All Blacks, Ireland were defeated by France in their quarter-final in Durban.

Ireland finished second in their pool in 1999, behind Australia and went into the quarter-final play-offs (a system exclusive to the 1999 tournament). There they lost to Argentina, and thus, not being a quarter-finalists, they were not given automatic entry into 2003. They defeated Russia and Georgia to go through as Europe 1. They finished second to Australia in their pool, and were knocked out by France in the quarter finals.

They started in the so-called "Group of death" with hosts France, Argentina, Namibia and Georgia in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They played Namibia (the lowest ranked team in the World cup) in their opening game on 9 September which resulted in a narrow 32–17 win.[1] Their progress was then put into doubt when they beat Georgia 14–10, not obtaining a bonus point.[2] France's victory over Namibia 87–10 put Ireland's progression from the group in doubt, and this was compounded when the French defeated Ireland 25–3.[3] Entering their last group match against Argentina, needing four tries to secure a bonus point without allowing Argentina anything, Ireland were defeated by 30 points to 15 and crashed out at the pool stage for the first time.[4]

Ireland began their 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign on the back of four defeats in a series of warm-up tests in August, with a 22-10 victory over the United States in New Plymouth on 11 September. Failing to secure a bonus point against world cup minnows the United States, a team ranked far below Ireland, this was an unconvincing win. Contrary to preceding form, and indeed beating most commentators expectations, Ireland produced a memorable performance to defeat reigning tri-nations champions Australia 15-6 in their second pool game in Eden Park in Auckland on 17 September. This was the first Irish win against tri-nations opposition in the southern hemisphere in 32 years. It was also Ireland's first ever win against Australia in the Rugby World Cup. After comprehensive wins against Russia and Italy in the final two pool-stage matches, Ireland topped Pool C. This was the first ever time Ireland came first in a world cup pool. Ireland advanced to the quarter-finals to face Wales in Wellington. They were defeated 22-10 by the Welsh, thus ending their 2011 campaign.

Contents

By position

Ireland have reached the quarter-finals five times, but have not progressed beyond that stage.

Matches

1987 Rugby World Cup

Pool 2 matches –

Team P W D L PF PA Pts
 Wales 3 3 0 0 82 31 6
 Ireland 3 2 0 1 84 41 4
 Canada 3 1 0 2 65 90 2
 Tonga 3 0 0 3 29 98 0
1987-05-25
 Ireland  6–13  Wales Athletic Park, Wellington
Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald
Pen: Kiernan (2) Try: Ring
Pen: Thorburn
Drop: Davies (2)
1987-05-30
 Canada  19–46  Ireland Carisbrook, Dunedin
Referee: Fred Howard
Try: Cardinal
Pen: Rees (3)
Wyatt
Drop: Rees		 Tries: Crossan (2)
Bradley
Spillane
Ringland
MacNeill
Con: Kiernan (5)
Pen: Kiernan (2)
Drop: Ward
Kiernan
1987-06-03
 Ireland  32–9  Tonga Ballymore, Brisbane
Referee: Guy Maurette
Tries: Mullin (3)
MacNeill (2)
Con: Ward (3)
Pen: Ward (2)		 Pen: Amone (3)

Quarter-final

7 June 1987
 Australia  33–15  Ireland Concord Oval, Sydney
Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland)
Tries: Burke (2)
McIntyre
Smith
Con: Lynagh (4)
Pen: Lynagh (3)		 Tries: MacNeill
Kiernan
Con: Kiernan (2)
Pen: Kiernan

1991 Rugby World Cup

Pool B matches –

Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
 Scotland 3 0 0 122 36 9
 Ireland 2 0 1 102 51 7
 Japan 1 0 2 77 87 5
 Zimbabwe 0 0 3 31 158 3
1991-10-06
 Ireland  55–11  Zimbabwe Landsdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Keith Lawrence
Tries: Robinson (4), Popplewell (2), Geoghegan, Curtis
Con: Keyes (4)
Pen: Keyes (5)		 Tries: Dawson, Schultz
Pen: Ferreira
1991-10-09
 Ireland  32–16  Japan Landsdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Laikini Colati
Tries: Mannion (2), O’Hara, Staples
Con: Keyes (2)
Pen: Keyes (4)		 Tries: Hayashi, Kajihara, Yoshida
Con: Hosokawa (2)
1991-10-12
 Scotland  24–15  Ireland Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Referee: Fred Howard
Tries: Shiel, Armstrong, S. Hastings
Con: G. Hastings (2)
Pen: G. Hastings (3)
Drop: Chalmers		 Pen: Keyes (4)
Drop: Keyes

Quarter-final

20 October 1991
 Ireland  18–19  Australia Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)
Tries: Hamilton
Con: Keyes
Pen: Keyes (3)
Drop: Keyes		 Report Tries: Campese (2), Lynagh
Con: Lynagh (2)
Pen: Lynagh

1995 Rugby World Cup

Pool C matches –

Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
 New Zealand 3 0 0 225 45 9
 Ireland 2 0 1 93 94 7
 Wales 1 0 2 89 68 5
 Japan 0 0 3 55 252 3
1995-05-27
 Ireland  19–43  New Zealand Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Attendance: 38 000
Referee: Wayne Erickson
Tries: David Corkery, Dennis McBride, Garrett Halpin
Con: Eric Elwood (2)		 Tries: Jonah Lomu (2), Josh Kronfeld, Frank Bunce, Glen Osborne
Con: Andrew Mehrtens (3)
Pen: Andrew Mehrtens (4)
1995-05-31
 Ireland  50–28  Japan Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Attendance: 15 000
Referee: Stef Neethling
Tries: Neil Franis, Simon Geoghegan, David Corkery, Eddie Halvey, Niall Hogan
Con: Paul Burke (6)
Pen: Paul Burke		 Tries: Sinali-Tui Latu, Ko Izawa, Seiji Hirao, Masanori Takura
Con: Yoshihito Yoshida (4)
1995-06-04
 Ireland  24–23  Wales Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Attendance: 35 000
Referee: Ian Rogers
Tries: Eddie Halvey, Nick Popplewell, Denis McBride
Con: Eric Elwood (3)
Pen: Eric Elwood		 Tries: Jonathan Humphreys, Hemi Taylor
Con: Neil Jenkins (2)
Pen: Neil Jenkins (2)
Drop: Adrian Davies

Quarter finals –

Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                   
10 June – Ellis Park, Johannesburg        
  South Africa  42
17 June – Kings Park Stadium, Durban
  Western Samoa  14  
  South Africa  19
10 June – Kings Park Stadium, Durban
    France  15  
  France  36
24 June – Ellis Park, Johannesburg (a.e.t.)
  Ireland  12  
  South Africa  15
11 June – Newlands, Cape Town
    New Zealand  12
  England  25
18 June – Newlands, Cape Town
  Australia  22  
  England  29 Third place
11 June – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
    New Zealand  45  
  New Zealand  48   France  19
  Scotland  30     England  9
22 June – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
1995-06-10
 France  36–12  Ireland Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Attendance: 18 000
Referee: Ed Morrison
Tries: Philippe Saint-Andre, Emile Ntamack
Con: Thierry Lacroix
Pen: Thierry Lacroix (8)		 Pen: Eric Elwood (4)

1999 Rugby World Cup

Pool 5 matches –

Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
 Australia 3 0 0 135 31 6
 Ireland 2 0 1 100 45 4
 Romania 1 0 2 50 126 2
 United States 0 0 3 52 135 0
1999-10-02
 Ireland  53–8  United States Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Joel Dume
Tries: Keith Wood (4), Eric Elwood (2), Brian O'Driscoll, Justin Bishop
Con: David Humphreys (4)
Pen: David Humphreys (2)		 Tries: Kevin Dalzell
Pen: Kevin Dalzell
1999-10-10
 Ireland  3–23  Australia Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Clayton Thomas
Pen: David Humphreys Tries: Ben Tune, Tim Horan
Con: Matthew Burke (2)
Pen: Matthew Burke (2), John Eales
1999-10-15
 Ireland  44–14  Romania Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Referee: Brain Campsell
Tries: Conor O'Shea (2), Andrew Ward, Thomas Tierney, Dion O'Cuinneagain
Con: Eric Elwood (5)
Pen: Eric Elwood (2)
Drop goals: Brian O'Driscoll		 Tries: Daniel Sauan
Pen: Petre Mitu (3)
  Quarter-final play-offs Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                     
        
   South Africa 44  
     England 21  
 England 45
 Fiji 24  
   South Africa 21  
   Australia 27  
        
        
   Australia 24
     Wales 9  
      
        
   Australia 35
   France 12
        
        
   New Zealand 30
     Scotland 18  
 Scotland 35
 Samoa 20  
   New Zealand 31
   France 43  
        
        
   France 47
     Argentina 26  
 Argentina 28
 Ireland 24  
1999-10-20
 Ireland  24–28  Argentina Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
Attendance: 41,320
Referee: Stuart Dickinson
Pen: David Humphreys (7)
Drop: David Humphreys		 Tries: Diego Albanese
Con: Gonzalo Quesada
Pen: Gonzalo Quesada (7)

2003 Rugby World Cup

Group A matches –

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
2003-10-11
 Ireland  45–17  Romania Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 19,123
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Tries: S. Horgan, Wood, Hickie (2), Costello
Con: Humphreys (3), O'Gara
Pen: Humphreys (4)		 Report Tries: Penalty try, Maftei
Con: Tofan, Vioreanu
Pen: Tofan
2003-10-19
 Ireland  64–7  Namibia Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 35,382
Referee: Andrew Cole
Tries: Quinlan (2), Dempsey, Hickie, Horan, Miller (2), G. Easterby, S. Horgan, Kelly
Con: O'Gara (7)		 Report Tries: Powell
Con: Wessels
2003-10-26
 Argentina  15–16  Ireland Adelaide Oval
Attendance: 30,203
Referee: André Watson
Pen: Quesada (3)
Drop: Quesada, Corleto		 Report Tries: Quinlan
Con: Humphreys
Pen: Humphreys, O'Gara (2)
2003-11-01
 Australia  17–16  Ireland Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 54,206
Referee: Paddy O'Brien
Tries: Smith
Pen: Flatley (3)
Drop: Gregan		 Report Tries: O'Driscoll
Con: O'Gara
Pen: O'Gara (2)
Drop: O'Driscoll
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
2003-11-09
 France  43–21  Ireland Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 33,134
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan
Tries: Magne 3' c
Dominici 29' c
Harinordoquy 33' c
Crenca 47' c
Con: Michalak (4)
Pen: Michalak (5)		 Report Tries: Maggs 52' c
O'Driscoll (2) 65' c, 80+2' c
Con: Humphreys (3)

2007 Rugby World Cup

Pool D matches –

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
{ireland 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 – – – – –

2011 Rugby World Cup

Ireland qualified for the 2011 RWC automatically.

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C
Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
 Ireland 4 4 0 0 15 135 34 +101 1 17
 Australia 4 3 0 1 25 173 48 +125 3 15
 Italy 4 2 0 2 13 92 95 −3 2 10
 United States 4 1 0 3 4 38 122 −84 0 4
 Russia 4 0 0 4 8 57 196 −139 1 1
11 September 2011
18:00		 Ireland  22 – 10  United States Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
Attendance: 20,823
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Try: Bowe (2) 40' c, 60' c
Best 56' m
Con: Sexton (1/1)
O'Gara (1/2)
Pen: Sexton (1/5) 17'
 Try: Emerick 80+' c
Con: Malifa (1/1)
Pen: Paterson (1/2) 54'
Ireland
FB 15 Geordan Murphy 67'
RW 14 Tommy Bowe
OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy
LW 11 Keith Earls
FH 10 Jonathan Sexton 51'
SH 9 Conor Murray 51'
N8 8 Jamie Heaslip
OF 7 Shane Jennings 61'
BF 6 Stephen Ferris
RL 5 Paul O'Connell
LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan
TP 3 Mike Ross
HK 2 Rory Best 61'
LP 1 Tom Court 65'
Replacements:
HK 16 Jerry Flannery 61'
PR 17 Tony Buckley 65'
LK 18 Donnacha Ryan
N8 19 Denis Leamy 61'
SH 20 Eoin Reddan 51'
FH 21 Ronan O'Gara 51'
WG 22 Andrew Trimble 67'
Coach:
Declan Kidney
United States
FB 15 Blaine Scully
RW 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya
OC 13 Paul Emerick
IC 12 Andrew Suniula
LW 11 James Paterson
FH 10 Roland Suniula 59'
SH 9 Mike Petri 67'
N8 8 Nic Johnson
OF 7 Todd Clever (c)
BF 6 Louis Stanfill
RL 5 Hayden Smith
LL 4 John van der Giessen
TP 3 Shawn Pittman
HK 2 Phil Thiel 68'
LP 1 Mike MacDonald 63'
Replacements:
HK 16 Chris Biller 68'
PR 17 Mate Moeakiola 63'
LK 18 Scott LaValla
FL 19 Pat Danahy
SH 20 Tim Usasz 67'
FH 21 Nese Malifa 59'
WG 22 Colin Hawley
Coach:
Eddie O'Sullivan

Man of the Match:
Paul O'Connell (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Nigel Owens (Wales)
Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:
Graham Hughes (England)
17 September 2011
20:30		 Australia  6 – 15  Ireland Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 58,678
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Pen: O'Connor (2/4) 11', 23'
 Pen: Sexton (2/5) 17', 49'
O'Gara (2/2) 62', 71'
Drop: Sexton 19'
Australia
FB 15 Kurtley Beale
RW 14 James O'Connor
OC 13 Anthony Fainga'a 75'
IC 12 Pat McCabe
LW 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper
FH 10 Quade Cooper
SH 9 Will Genia
N8 8 Radike Samo 74'
OF 7 Ben McCalman
BF 6 Rocky Elsom 73'
RL 5 James Horwill (c)
LL 4 Dan Vickerman 63'
TP 3 Ben Alexander 63'
HK 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau
LP 1 Sekope Kepu
Replacements:
HK 16 Saia Fainga'a
PR 17 James Slipper 63'
LK 18 Rob Simmons 63'
N8 19 Wycliff Palu 73'
FL 20 Scott Higginbotham 74'
SH 21 Luke Burgess
WG 22 Drew Mitchell 75'
Coach:
Robbie Deans
Ireland
FB 15 Rob Kearney 75'
RW 14 Tommy Bowe
OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c) 60' to 63'
IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy 50'
LW 11 Keith Earls
FH 10 Jonathan Sexton
SH 9 Eoin Reddan 57'
N8 8 Jamie Heaslip
OF 7 Sean O'Brien
BF 6 Stephen Ferris
RL 5 Paul O'Connell
LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan
TP 3 Mike Ross 77'
HK 2 Rory Best
LP 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:
HK 16 Sean Cronin
PR 17 Tom Court 77'
LK 18 Donnacha Ryan
N8 19 Denis Leamy
SH 20 Conor Murray 57'
FH 21 Ronan O'Gara 50'
WG 22 Andrew Trimble 60' 63' 75'
Coach:
Declan Kidney

Man of the Match:
Cian Healy (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Carlo Damasco (Italy)
Television match official:
Graham Hughes (England)
25 September 2011
18:00		 Ireland  62 – 12  Russia Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
Attendance: 25,661
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Try: McFadden 10' c
O'Brien 13' c
Boss 38' c
Earls(2) 39' c, 48' c
Trimble 40+' m
Kearney 65' c
Jennings 73' c
Buckley 79' m
Con: O'Gara (6/7)
Sexton (1/2)
Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 6'
 Try: Artemyev 50' c
Simplikevich 59' m
Con: Rachkov (1/2)
Ireland
FB 15 Rob Kearney
RW 14 Fergus McFadden
OC 13 Keith Earls 49'
IC 12 Paddy Wallace
LW 11 Andrew Trimble
FH 10 Ronan O'Gara 67'
SH 9 Isaac Boss 66'
N8 8 Jamie Heaslip
OF 7 Sean O'Brien 57'
BF 6 Donnacha Ryan
RL 5 Leo Cullen (c)
LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan 46'
TP 3 Tony Buckley
HK 2 Sean Cronin
LP 1 Cian Healy 49'
Replacements:
HK 16 Rory Best
PR 17 Mike Ross 49'
N8 18 Denis Leamy 46'
FL 19 Shane Jennings 57'
SH 20 Eoin Reddan 66'
FH 21 Jonathan Sexton 67'
WG 22 Geordan Murphy 49'
Coach:
Declan Kidney
Russia
FB 15 Vasily Artemyev
RW 14 Denis Simplikevich
OC 13 Andrei Kuzin
IC 12 Sergey Trishin
LW 11 Vladimir Ostroushko 71'
FH 10 Konstantin Rachkov 8' to 18'
SH 9 Alexander Yanyushkin (c) 74'
N8 8 Victor Gresev
OF 7 Andrei Garbuzov 45'
BF 6 Artem Fatakhov
RL 5 Adam Byrnes
LL 4 Denis Antonov 49'
TP 3 Alexander Khrokin 50'
HK 2 Valeri Tsnobiladze
LP 1 Sergey Popov 74'
Replacements:
HK 16 Evgeny Matveev
PR 17 Ivan Prishchepenko 50'
LK 18 Alexey Travkin 74'
FL 19 Alexander Voytov 49'
SH 20 Andrey Bykanov 74'
WG 21 Mikhail Sidorov 45'
FB 22 Mikhail Babaev 71'
Coaches:
Nikolay Nerush
Kingsley Jones

Man of the Match:
Ronan O'Gara (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Dave Pearson (England)
Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match official:
Giulio De Santis (Italy)
2 October 2011
20:30		 Ireland  36 – 6  Italy Otago Stadium, Dunedin
Attendance: 28,027
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Try: O'Driscoll 47' c
Earls (2) 52' c, 80+' c
Con: O'Gara (2/2)
Sexton (1/1)
Pen: O'Gara (4/5) 7', 18', 35', 44'
Sexton (1/1) 70'
 Pen: Mi. Bergamasco (2/3) 11', 21'
Ireland
FB 15 Rob Kearney
RW 14 Tommy Bowe
OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c) 74'
IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy
LW 11 Keith Earls
FH 10 Ronan O'Gara 67'
SH 9 Conor Murray 74'
N8 8 Jamie Heaslip
OF 7 Sean O'Brien
BF 6 Stephen Ferris 73'
RL 5 Paul O'Connell
LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan 59'
TP 3 Mike Ross
HK 2 Rory Best 53'
LP 1 Cian Healy 73'
Replacements:
HK 16 Sean Cronin 53'
PR 17 Tom Court 73'
LK 18 Donnacha Ryan 59'
N8 19 Denis Leamy 73'
SH 20 Eoin Reddan 74'
FH 21 Jonathan Sexton 67'
WG 22 Andrew Trimble 74'
Coach:
Declan Kidney
Italy
FB 15 Andrea Masi
RW 14 Tommaso Benvenuti
OC 13 Gonzalo Canale
IC 12 Gonzalo Garcia
LW 11 Mirco Bergamasco
FH 10 Luciano Orquera 41'
SH 9 Fabio Semenzato 57'
N8 8 Sergio Parisse (c) 77'
OF 7 Mauro Bergamasco 49'
BF 6 Alessandro Zanni
RL 5 Cornelius Van Zyl 61'
LL 4 Quintin Geldenhuys
TP 3 Martin Castrogiovanni 37'
HK 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini 67'
LP 1 Salvatore Perugini
Replacements:
HK 16 Fabio Ongaro 67'
PR 17 Andrea Lo Cicero 37'
LK 18 Marco Bortolami 61'
FL 19 Paul Derbyshire 49'
SH 20 Edoardo Gori 57'
FH 21 Riccardo Bocchino 41'
FB 22 Luke McLean 77'
Coach:
Nick Mallett

Man of the Match:
Sean O'Brien (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Television match official:
Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup knockout stage
Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                   
8 October 18:00 (05:00 UTC) – Wellington        
  Ireland  10
15 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
  Wales  22  
  Wales  8
8 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
    France  9  
  England  12
23 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
  France  19  
  France  7
9 October 18:00 (05:00 UTC) – Wellington
    New Zealand  8
  South Africa  9
16 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
  Australia  11  
  Australia  6 Third place
9 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
    New Zealand  20  
  New Zealand  33   Wales  18
  Argentina  10     Australia  21
21 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
8 October 2011
18:00 NZDT (UTC+13)		 Ireland  10 – 22  Wales Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 35,787
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
Try: Earls 45' c
Con: O'Gara (1/1)
Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 24'
 Try: Williams 3' c
Phillips 51' m
J. Davies 64' c
Con: Priestland (2/3)
Pen: Halfpenny (1/1) 29'
Priestland (0/2)
Ireland
FB 15 Rob Kearney
RW 14 Tommy Bowe
OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy
LW 11 Keith Earls 72'
FH 10 Ronan O'Gara 56'
SH 9 Conor Murray 56'
N8 8 Jamie Heaslip 75'
OF 7 Sean O'Brien
BF 6 Stephen Ferris 75'
RL 5 Paul O'Connell
LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan
TP 3 Mike Ross
HK 2 Rory Best
LP 1 Cian Healy
Replacements:
HK 16 Sean Cronin
PR 17 Tom Court
LK 18 Donnacha Ryan 75'
N8 19 Denis Leamy 75'
SH 20 Eoin Reddan 56'
FH 21 Jonathan Sexton 56'
WG 22 Andrew Trimble 72'
Coach:
Declan Kidney
Wales
FB 15 Leigh Halfpenny
RW 14 George North
OC 13 Jonathan Davies
IC 12 Jamie Roberts
LW 11 Shane Williams
FH 10 Rhys Priestland 78'
SH 9 Mike Phillips
N8 8 Toby Faletau
OF 7 Sam Warburton (c)
BF 6 Dan Lydiate
RL 5 Alun Wyn Jones
LL 4 Luke Charteris 41'
TP 3 Adam Jones
HK 2 Huw Bennett
LP 1 Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK 16 Lloyd Burns
PR 17 Paul James
LK 18 Bradley Davies 41'
N8 19 Ryan Jones
SH 20 Lloyd Williams
FH 21 James Hook 78'
CE 22 Scott Williams
Coach:
Warren Gatland

Man of the Match:
Mike Phillips (Wales)

Touch judges:
Wayne Barnes (England)
Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:
Giulio de Santis (Italy)

Hosting

Main article: Rugby World Cup hosts

The Rugby World Cup is held every four years, and tends to alternate between the northern and southern hemispheres. Every northern hemisphere tournament so far has been held in Europe, and in general Ireland usually hosts some games when it is held there.

1991: England/Wales/Scotland/Ireland/France

The 1991 Rugby World Cup final was played in England, while pool and finals games were played all over European nations. Pool A, which England was in, saw matches played mostly in London, though games were also taken to Leicester, Gloucester and Otley. Pool B games, which involved European nations, Scotland and Ireland, had all their games in either Dublin or Edinburgh with one game being played in Belfast. Pool C, which Wales was a part of, had all their games in Cardiff, with two taken to Pontypridd and one played in Llanelli. Pool D, which France were a part of, saw games played in Agen, Bayonne, Béziers and Grenoble. None of the quarter-finals or semi-finals were played in England. The final was played at the Rugby Football Union's Twickenham.

The following Irish stadiums were used:

City Stadium Capacity
Dublin Landsdowne Road 49,000
Belfast Ravenhill 12,300

1999: Wales

The 1999 World Cup was hosted by Wales, but an agreement was reached so that the other unions in the Five Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland and Scotland) also hosted matches.

The format of the pool games was similar to the 1991 World Cup in England. All Pool A games were held in Scotland, Pool B games in England, Pool C games in France and Pool D games were all held in Wales. Second round play-offs and the quarter-finals were held a variety of European venues, the semi-finals were held at Twickenham Stadium, London. The third place play-off and the final were held at the new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Venues in Ireland included Lansdowne Road, the traditional home of the Irish Rugby Football Union, Ravenhill, the Northern Ireland IRFU owned venue and Thomond Park.

The following Irish stadiums were used:

City Stadium Capacity
Dublin Lansdowne Road 49,250
Limerick Thomond Park 13,500
Belfast Ravenhill Stadium 12,500

2007: France

The 2007 competition was held in France, with some games played in Wales and Scotland. There was a substantial increase in the overall capacity of stadiums compared to the 2003 Rugby World Cup, as the smallest venue at the 2007 tournament was 33,900. France won the right to host the event in 2003. Three matches were played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, two Pool B games that featured Wales and as well as a quarter-final. Two Pool C matches were held at Edinburgh's Murrayfield. Ireland were also offered to host matches at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, but had to decline the offer as construction work was scheduled to begin on the stadium.[5] The semifinals and final were held at Stade de France, Saint-Denis.

References

  1. ^ "Ireland 32–17 Namibia". BBC Sport. 9 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/6984269.stm. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  2. ^ "Ireland 14–10 Georgia". BBC Sport. 15 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/6995087.stm. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  3. ^ "France 25–3 Ireland". BBC Sport. 21 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/7005286.stm. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  4. ^ "Argentina 30–15 Ireland". BBC Sport. 30 September 2007. http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport2/hi/rugby_union/irish/7018298.stm. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
  5. ^ "Scotland looks to give up World cup matches at Murrayfield". worldcupweb.com. http://www.worldcupweb.com/WCrugby/content/show_article.asp?id=461&cat=2. Retrieved 7 May 2006. 
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