2011 Rugby World Cup the first Asian nation to host the first Rugby World Cup. Japan had the necessary infrastructure already in place, by virtue of its co-hosting the 2002 FIFA World Cup. South Africa had hosted the tournament in 1995. The 2011 South African bid, led by former national captain Francois Pienaar, had strong support from their national government. South Africa had also won the right to host the 2010 FIFA World Cup. The IRB Council meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005 announced that New Zealand had been selected after IRB inspections of each applicant host nation during June and July 2005.
Portugal at the Rugby World Cup hosted any World Cup games. Portugal at the Rugby World Cup The record of Portugal at the Rugby World Cup is currently limited to a single presence in the 2007 Rugby World Cup, the tournament's sixth edition. Portugal was the last team to qualify, via a 24–23 aggregate victory over Uruguay, and was allocated to Group C along with heavy favorites New Zealand (All Blacks), Scotland, Italy and Romania. The team lost all four matches but succeeded in scoring points and one try in every match, and was able to gain a bonus point on the final game against Romania.