Rugby union in South Africa Rugby union in South Africa Rugby union in South Africa is a very popular team sport, along with cricket and football, and is widely played all over the country. The National team is among the strongest in the world and has been ranked in the top seven of the World Rugby Rankings since its inception in 2003. The country hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and won again the 2007 tournament in France. Given South Africa's history, as with much else in South Africa, the organisation and playing of rugby has been entangled with politics, and racial politics
1999 Rugby World Cup included Murrayfield Stadium, the home of the Scottish Rugby Union ; Hampden Park, the home of the Scottish Football Association ; and the smallest venue in the 1999 tournament, Netherdale, in Galashiels, in the Scottish Borders. Venues in Ireland included Lansdowne Road, the traditional home of the Irish Rugby Football Union, Ravenhill and Thomond Park. France used five venues, the most of any nation, including the French national stadium, Stade de France, which hosted the final of both the 1998 FIFA World Cup and the 2007 Rugby World Cup. With the expansion of the Rugby World Cup from 16 to