History of the Rugby World Cup England 12–6, and became the first nation to win the cup away from home. The 1995 Rugby World Cup was hosted by South Africa, and was the first time that all matches would be played in just a single country. It was the first time that South Africa participated in the tournament following the end of their international sports boycott due to the apartheid regime. South Africa won the tournament, defeating New Zealand 15–12 in the final. Joel Stransky kicked a drop-goal in extra time to grab the victory for South Africa. The All Blacks were mysteriously struck down with
Rugby World Cup hosts that the World Cup has to be held in one of our senior core markets on a regular basis . . . However, the commercial success of the tournament also means we can now consider placing the tournament in new developing markets to assist the game's strategic growth." The first Rugby World Cup was hosted by Australia and New Zealand after the Australian Rugby Union and the New Zealand Rugby Union each independently wrote to the International Rugby Board seeking to conduct a World Cup tournament. The final was played in Auckland, New Zealand at Eden Park and won by