2003 Rugby World Cup 2003 Rugby World Cup 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 Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The pre-event favourites were England, regarded by many at the time as the best team in the world. New Zealand, France, South Africa and defending champions Australia were also expected to make strong showings, with New Zealand being second favourites after victory in the southern-hemisphere
Wales at the Rugby World Cup hemisphere and those in Europe. Wales hosted the tournament in 1999, with Cardiff's Millennium Stadium built to coincide with the event. However, it is common for Rugby World Cups to have matches played outside their official host country, and all four tournaments hosted in Europe have used Wales to some degree as a World Cup venue. After the 2015 event, Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and its predecessor will have hosted a total 21 matches over a total of four world cups. This is the largest number of world cup games hosted by one venue. England was billed as the main host