KEY POINTS:
PARIS - A look back at the five previous rugby union World Cup finals:-
1987 - Australia and New Zealand
The first World Cup was hosted in the southern hemisphere with Australia and New Zealand sharing the responsibilities. Seven of the 16 places were filled by the
traditional world powers while invitations went out to nine others. The group stages were predictably one-sided.
Australia were the favourites with New Zealand and France expected to provide the stiffest opposition and so it proved to be. The semi-final between the Australians and the French was the match of the tournament and is still regarded as a classic with Serge Blanco's late wonder try ensuring a northern hemisphere representation in the final.
The French were no match for Brian Lochore's All Blacks, however, going down 9-29 as the Kiwis won the World Cup for the first and until this day only time.
Winners - New Zealand
1991 - England (with games also in Ireland, Scotland, Wales and France)
The quarter-finalists from 1987 were joined by eight teams who made it through regional qualifying. This time the All Blacks started favourites, but they were to be upstaged by the Australians.
In the group stages there was a major uspet with Western Samoa's 16-13 win over Wales in Cardiff which sent the Pacific Islanders into the last eight along with Canada who ousted Fiji.
Inspired by deadly winger David Campese, the Wallabies nearly fell to Ireland in Dublin in the quarter-finals, but they survived and comfortably defeated the All Blacks in the semi-finals.
England ousted Scotland at the same stage, but they were outthought and outplayed by the Australians 6-12 in a disappointing final at Twickenham.
Winners - Australia
1995 - South Africa
With apartheid at an end South Africa was back in the fold and what became known as the Rainbow World Cup was a powerful political statement. Again 16 teams were involved with Wales again failing to make it through to the quarter-finals after a heart-breaking 24-23 loss to Ireland.
There was no question who was the star of the tournament. Giant All Black winger Jonah Lomu was an attacking force the like of which had never been seen before in rugby union. His four tries against shell-shocked England in the semi-finals remains one of the most outstanding individual accomplishments in the history of the World Cup.
But even Lomu could not turn back the Springboks tide in the final as Francois Pienaar's side won 15-12 in extra-time in front of a rapturous crowd in Johannesburg. The skipper received the William Webb Ellis cup from the hands of President Nelson Mandela clad in Springbok green. There were bitter accusations later that the Kiwis had been subject to a food-poisoning plot in their hotel on the eve of the final.
Winners - South Africa
1999 - Wales (with games also in England, France, Scotland and Ireland)
The tournament was expanded from 16 to 20 teams split up into five groups of four countries which necessitated a playoff format involving the five runners-up and best third-placed side to constitute the quarter-finals.
With centre Tim Horan to the fore, Australia went from strength to strength extinguishing the Welsh fire in front of a charged up Millennium stadium in Cardiff.
The All Blacks though were still the hot favourites until they came to grief in a classic semi-final at Twickenham against France. The French had looked below par in their previous games, but from the start they took the game to the Kiwis and overran them 43-31 with great flair and invention.
Sadly for Pierre Berbizier's men, they were unable to reproduce the fireworks against the cool and calculating Australians in the final. Skippered by incomparable lock John Eales, the Wallabies won 35-12 to lift the World Cup for the second time.
Winners - Australia
2003 - Australia>
The last edition of the World Cup was originally awarded jointly to Australia and New Zealand, but a dispute over stadium adverstising left the Australians to share the burden alone. The 20-team format was maintained, but this time the teams were split into four groups of five with the top two reaching the quarter-finals.
The group stages saw the usual lop-sided results with Australia wracking up a record margin 142-0 victory over Namibia. Predictably the quarter-finals involved the old Five Nations plus New Zealand, Australia and South Africa from the south.
Both semi-finals were knife-edge affairs, England edging ill-disciplined France in a Sydney downpour and Australia outsmarting the hugely fancied All Blacks thanks to Stirling Mortlock's interception try.
The final was a thriller with Johnny Wilkinson's dramatic drop goal in extra-time clinching the first World Cup win for England and the northern hemisphere.
Winners - England
- AFP
