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
History of the Rugby World Cup History of the Rugby World Cup The first Rugby World Cup was held in 1987, hosted by Australia and New Zealand who pushed for the tournament to be approved. Since the first tournament, 7 others have been held at four-year intervals. The 2015 tournament was won by New Zealand, the cup was held from 19 September 2015 till 31 October 2015. It was held in England and Wales. Apart from regular test matches and touring sides, tournaments that resembled a world cup format – albeit not of its scale, but in terms of international nations competing, are competitions such as