Australia at the Rugby World Cup

The Australia national rugby union team, known as the Wallabies, has played in all ten Rugby World Cup tournaments. They have won the World Cup on two occasions; only New Zealand and South Africa have won more. Australia has hosted or co-hosted the tournament twice – in 1987 and 2003, and is scheduled to host it in 2027.

By position

Rugby World Cup
Year	Round	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	Squad
1987	Fourth place	6	4	0	2	186	108	Squad
1991	Champions	6	6	0	0	126	55	Squad
1995	Quarter-finals	4	2	0	2	109	66	Squad
1999	Champions	6	6	0	0	221	73	Squad
2003	Runners-up	7	6	0	1	345	78	Squad
2007	Quarter-finals	5	4	0	1	225	53	Squad
2011	Third place	7	5	0	2	211	95	Squad
2015	Runners-up	7	6	0	1	222	118	Squad
2019	Quarter-finals	5	3	0	2	152	108	Squad
2023	Pool stage	4	2	0	2	90	91	Squad
2027	To be determined.
2031	To be determined.
Total	Champions (2)	57	44	0	13	1,887	845
Champions    Runners-up    Third place    Fourth place Home venue

By tournament

1987 New Zealand & Australia

Pool 1

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	Pts	Qualification
Australia	3	3	0	0	108	41	+67	18	6	Knockout stage
England	3	2	0	1	100	32	+68	15	4
United States	3	1	0	2	39	99	−60	5	2
Japan	3	0	0	3	48	123	−75	7	0

Quarter-final

Semi-final

13 June 1987

Australia	24–30	France
Try: Campese Codey Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh (3) Drop: Lynagh		Try: Lorieux Sella Lagisquet Blanco Con: Camberabero (4) Pen: Camberabero (2)

Concord Oval, Sydney Attendance: 17,768 Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland)

Third place play-off

18 June 1987

Australia	21–22	Wales
Try: Burke Grigg Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh (2) Drop: Lynagh		Try: Roberts Moriarty Hadley Con: Thorburn (2) Pen: Thorburn (2)

Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua Referee: Fred Howard (England)

1991 UK, Ireland and France

Pool 3

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Australia	3	3	0	0	79	25	+54	6
Western Samoa	3	2	0	1	54	34	+20	4
Wales	3	1	0	2	32	61	−29	2
Argentina	3	0	0	3	38	83	−45	0

9 October 1991

Australia	9–3	Western Samoa
Pen: Lynagh (3)		Pen: Vaea

Pontypool Park, Pontypool Referee: Ed Morrison (England)

Quarter-final

20 October 1991

Ireland	18–19	Australia
Try: Hamilton Con: Keyes Pen: Keyes (3) Drop: Keyes		Try: Campese (2) Lynagh Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

Semi-final

27 October 1991

Australia	16–6	New Zealand
Try: Campese Horan Con: Lynagh Pen: Lynagh (2)		Pen: Fox (2)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

Final

1995 South Africa

Pool A

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
South Africa	3	3	0	0	68	26	+42	9
Australia	3	2	0	1	87	41	+46	7
Canada	3	1	0	2	45	50	−5	5
Romania	3	0	0	3	14	97	−83	3

25 May 1995

South Africa	27–18	Australia
Try: Hendriks Stransky Con: Stransky Pen: Stransky (4) Drop: Stransky		Try: Kearns Lynagh Con: Lynagh Pen: Lynagh

Newlands Stadium, Cape Town Attendance: 51,000 Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

31 May 1995

Australia	27–11	Canada
Try: Lynagh Tabua Roff Con: Lynagh (3) Pen: Lynagh (2)		Try: Charron Pen: Rees (2)

Boet Erasmus Stadium, Port Elizabeth Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Patrick Robin (France)

3 June 1995

Australia	42–3	Romania
Try: Smith Wilson Roff Foley Burke Con: Burke (2) Eales (4)		Pen: Ivanciuc

Danie Craven Stadium, Stellenbosch Attendance: 15,000 Referee: Naoki Saito (Japan)

Quarter-final

1999 Wales

Pool E

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	Pts
Australia	3	3	0	0	135	31	+104	9
Ireland	3	2	0	1	100	45	+55	7
Romania	3	1	0	2	50	126	−76	5
United States	3	0	0	3	52	135	−83	3

10 October 1999

Ireland	3–23	Australia
Pen: Humphreys		Try: Tune Horan Con: Burke (2) Pen: Burke (2) Eales

Lansdowne Road, Dublin Referee: Clayton Thomas (Wales)

Quarter-final

Semi-final

30 October 1999

South Africa	21–27 (a.e.t.)	Australia
Pen: De Beer (6) Drop: De Beer		Pen: Burke (8) Drop: Larkham

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 75,000 Referee: Derek Bevan (Wales)

Final

6 November 1999

Australia	35–12	France
Try: Tune Finegan Con: Burke (2) Pen: Burke (7)		Pen: Lamaison (4)

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 74,500 Referee: André Watson (South Africa)

2003 Australia

Pool A

Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	BP	Pts	Qualification
Australia	4	4	0	0	273	32	+241	2	18	Quarter-finals
Ireland	4	3	0	1	141	56	+85	3	15
Argentina	4	2	0	2	140	57	+83	3	11
Romania	4	1	0	3	65	192	−127	1	5
Namibia	4	0	0	4	28	310	−282	0	0

Quarter-final

Semi-final

Final

2007 France

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	4	4	0	0	215	41	+174	4	20	Qualified for the quarter-finals
2	Fiji	4	3	0	1	114	136	−22	3	15
3	Wales	4	2	0	2	168	105	+63	4	12	Eliminated, automatic qualification for RWC 2011
4	Japan	4	0	1	3	64	210	−146	1	3
5	Canada	4	0	1	3	51	120	−69	0	2

8 September 2007

Australia	91–3	Japan
Try: Elsom (3) Latham (2) Barnes (2) Mitchell Smith Ashley-Cooper Sharpe Freier Con: Mortlock (7) Giteau (3) Pen: Mortlock		Pen: Ono

Stade de Gerland, Lyon Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)

23 September 2007

Australia	55–12	Fiji
Try: Mitchell (3) Giteau (2) Ashley-Cooper Hoiles Con: Giteau (4) Pen: Giteau (3) Drop: Barnes		Try: Neivua Ratuva Con: Bai

Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

29 September 2007

Australia	37–6	Canada
Try: Mitchell (2) Baxter Freier Smith Latham Con: Shepherd (2) Pen: Huxley		Pen: Pritchard (2)

Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux Referee: Chris White (England)

Quarter-final

2011 New Zealand

Pool C

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Ireland	4	4	0	0	135	34	+101	15	1	17	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup
2	Australia	4	3	0	1	173	48	+125	25	3	15
3	Italy	4	2	0	2	92	95	−3	13	2	10	Eliminated but qualified for 2015 Rugby World Cup
4	United States	4	1	0	3	38	122	−84	4	0	4
5	Russia	4	0	0	4	57	196	−139	8	1	1

11 September 2011 15:30

Australia	32–6	Italy
Try: Alexander 50' m Ashley-Cooper 55' c O'Connor 58' c Ioane 66' c Con: O'Connor (3/4) Pen: Cooper (2/3) 19', 30'	Report	Pen: Mi. Bergamasco (2/3) 38', 40+'

North Harbour Stadium, Auckland Attendance: 25,731 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

Quarter-final

Semi-final

16 October 2011 20:30

New Zealand	20–6	Australia
Try: Nonu Pen: Weepu Drop: Cruden		Pen: O'Connor Drop: Cooper

Eden Park, Auckland Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Third place play-off

21 October 2011 20:30 UTC+13)

Wales	18–21	Australia
Try: Shane Williams 50' m Halfpenny 80+' c Con: S. Jones (1/1) Pen: Hook (1/2) 20' S. Jones (1/1) 71'	Tracker	Try: Barnes 12' c McCalman 76' m Con: O'Connor (1/2) Pen: O'Connor (2/4) 54', 58' Drop: Barnes (1/1) 68'

Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 53,014 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

2015 England

Pool A

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Australia	4	4	0	0	141	35	+106	17	1	17	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup
2	Wales	4	3	0	1	111	62	+49	11	1	13
3	England	4	2	0	2	133	75	+58	16	3	11	Eliminated but qualified for 2019 Rugby World Cup
4	Fiji	4	1	0	3	84	101	−17	10	1	5
5	Uruguay	4	0	0	4	30	226	−196	2	0	0

27 September 2015 12:00

Australia	65–3	Uruguay
Try: McMahon (2) 7' m, 69' m Tomane 9' c Mumm 26' m Speight 31' c McCalman (2) 36' c, 61' c Mitchell (2) 47' m, 52' m To'omua 71' m Kuridrani 80' c Con: Cooper (5/11) 10', 32', 36', 62', 80'	Report	Pen: Berchesi (1/1) 24'

Villa Park, Birmingham Attendance: 39,605 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)

3 October 2015 20:00

England	13–33	Australia
Try: Watson 56' c Con: Farrell (1/1) 57' Pen: Farrell (2/2) 13', 65'	Report	Try: Foley (2) 20' c, 35' c Giteau 80' c Con: Foley (3/3) 22', 36', 80' Pen: Foley (4/4) 8', 50', 72', 76'

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 81,010 Referee: Romain Poite (France)

10 October 2015 16:45

Australia	15–6	Wales
Pen: Foley (5/6) 25', 31', 37', 51', 73'	Report	Pen: Biggar (2/3) 5', 34'

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 80,863 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Quarter-final

18 October 2015 16:00 UTC+01)

Australia	35–34	Scotland
Try: Ashley-Cooper 9' m Mitchell (2) 30' m, 43' c Hooper 40' m Kuridrani 64' c Con: Foley (2/5) 44', 65' Pen: Foley (2/2) 54', 80'	Report	Try: Horne 18' c Seymour 59' m Bennett 74' c Con: Laidlaw (2/3) 19', 75' Pen: Laidlaw (5/5) 14', 21', 34', 47', 69'

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 77,110 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)

Semi-final

25 October 2015 16:00 UTC+00)

Argentina	15–29	Australia
Pen: Sánchez (5/5) 7', 24', 36', 45', 55'	Report	Try: Simmons 2' c Ashley-Cooper (3) 10' c, 32' m, 72' c Con: Foley (3/4) 3', 11', 73' Pen: Foley (1/2) 48'

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 80,025 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

Final

31 October 2015 16:00 UTC+00)

New Zealand	34–17	Australia
Try: Milner-Skudder 39' c Nonu 42' m Barrett 79' c Con: Carter (2/3) 40', 80' Pen: Carter (4/4) 8', 27', 36', 75' Drop: Carter 70'	Report	Try: Pocock 53' Kuridrani 64' c Con: Foley (2/2) 54', 65' Pen: Foley (1/1) 14'

Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 80,125 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

2019 Japan

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	T	B	Pts	Qualification
1	Wales	4	4	0	0	136	69	+67	17	3	19	Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup
2	Australia	4	3	0	1	136	68	+68	20	4	16
3	Fiji	4	1	0	3	110	108	+2	17	3	7	Eliminated but qualified for 2023 Rugby World Cup
4	Georgia	4	1	0	3	65	122	−57	9	1	5
5	Uruguay	4	1	0	3	60	140	−80	6	0	4

11 October 2019 19:15 UTC+09)

(1 BP) Australia	27–8	Georgia
Try: White 23' c Koroibete 60' c Dempsey 75' m Genia 79' m Con: To'omua (2/4) 24', 61' Pen: To'omua (1/1) 37'	Report	Try: Todua 70' m Pen: Matiashvili (1/1) 28'

Shizuoka Stadium, Fukuroi Attendance: 39,802 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)

Quarter-final

Hosting

1987

Australia hosted the first Rugby World Cup in 1987 along with New Zealand. Two stadiums in Australia were used.

Most of the pool games were in New Zealand, but the semi-finals, and one of the quarter-finals, were played in Australia.

2003

Australia won the right to host the World Cup in 2003 without the involvement of New Zealand after a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The overall stadium capacity was reduced from the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales.

The Adelaide Oval underwent a A$20 million redevelopment for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, financed entirely by the South Australian Cricket Association, with two new grandstands built adjacent to the Victor Richardson Gates. Lang Park in Brisbane was a new venue designed specifically for rugby, built at a cost of A$280 million, and was opened just before the start of the 2003 World Cup. The Central Coast Stadium was also a newly built venue, and opened in February 2000 at a cost of A$30 million.

The

Australia intended to bid for the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups, but withdrew from the bidding. The bids were awarded to England and Japan respectively.

2027

Australia won their bid to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup on 12 May 2022. The tournament will take place between 10 September and 27 October, 2027.

Overall record

Opponent	Played	Win	Draw	Lost	Win %
Argentina	3	3	0	0	100%
Canada	2	2	0	0	100%
England	7	3	0	4	43%
Fiji	4	3	0	1	75%
France	2	1	0	1	50%
Georgia	2	2	0	0	100%
Ireland	5	4	0	1	80%
Italy	1	1	0	0	100%
Japan	2	2	0	0	100%
Namibia	1	1	0	0	100%
New Zealand	4	2	0	2	50%
Portugal	1	1	0	0	100%
Romania	3	3	0	0	100%
Russia	1	1	0	0	100%
Samoa	1	1	0	0	100%
Scotland	2	2	0	0	100%
South Africa	3	2	0	1	67%
United States	3	3	0	0	100%
Uruguay	2	2	0	0	100%
Wales	8	5	0	3	71%
Overall	57	44	0	13	79%

Team records

Most points in a tournament

• 345 – 2003
• 225 – 2007
• 222 – 2015
• 221 – 1999
• 211 – 2011

Most points in a game

• 142 – vs  Namibia, 2003
• 91 – vs  Japan, 2007
• 90 – vs  Romania, 2003
• 68 – vs  Russia, 2011
• 67 – vs  
  United States
  , 2011
• 66 – vs  Namibia, 2015
• 57 – vs  Romania, 1999
• 55 – vs  
  United States
  , 1999
• 55 – vs  Fiji, 2007

Individual records

Most World Cup matches

• 21 – James Slipper (2011, 2015, 2019, 2023)
• 20 – George Gregan (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007)
• 19 – Adam Ashley-Cooper (2007, 2011, 2015, 2019)

Most points overall

• 195 – Michael Lynagh (1987, 1991, 1995)
• 125 – Matt Burke (1995, 1999)
• 100 – Elton Flatley (2003)
• 85 – Bernard Foley (2015, 2019)
• 70 – Drew Mitchell (2007, 2011, 2015)
• 65 – Matt Giteau (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015)
• 60 – Adam Ashley-Cooper (2007, 2011, 2015, 2019)

Most individual points in a game

• 42 – Mat Rogers vs  Namibia, 2003
• 30 – Elton Flatley vs  Romania, 2003
• 28 – Bernard Foley vs  England, 2015
• 27 – Matt Giteau vs  Fiji, 2007
• 25 – Matt Burke vs  France, 1999
• 25 – Chris Latham vs  Namibia, 2003
• 25 – Ben Donaldson vs  Georgia, 2023

Most tries overall

• 14 – Drew Mitchell (2007, 2011, 2015)
• 12 – Adam Ashley-Cooper (2007, 2011, 2015, 2019)
• 11 – Chris Latham (1999, 2003, 2007)
• 10 – David Campese (1987, 1991, 1995)
• 8 – Matt Giteau (2003, 2007, 2011, 2015)
• 7 – Joe Roff (1995, 1999)

Most tries in a game

• 5 – Chris Latham vs  Namibia, 2003
• 3 – Toutai Kefu vs  Romania, 1999
• 3 – Mat Rogers vs  Romania, 2003
• 3 –
  Lote Tuqiri vs  Namibia
  , 2003
• 3 – Matt Giteau vs  Namibia, 2003
• 3 – Rocky Elsom vs  Japan, 2003
• 3 – Drew Mitchell vs  Fiji, 2007
• 3 –
  United States
  , 2011
• 3 – Adam Ashley-Cooper vs  Argentina, 2015

Most penalty goals overall

• 33 – Michael Lynagh (1987, 1991, 1995)
• 21 – Elton Flatley (1999, 2003)
• 19 – Matt Burke (1995, 1999)
• 17 – Bernard Foley (2015, 2019)
• 7 – James O'Connor (2011)
• 7 – Ben Donaldson (2023)

Most penalty goals in a game

• 8 – Matt Burke vs  South Africa, 1999
• 7 – Matt Burke vs  France, 1999
• 5 – Michael Lynagh vs  England, 1995
• 5 – Elton Flatley vs  New Zealand, 2003

Most drop goals

• 3 – Berrick Barnes (2007, 2011)
• 2 – Michael Lynagh (1987, 1991, 1995)
• 1 – George Gregan (1995, 1999, 2003, 2007)
• 1 – Stephen Larkham (1999, 2003, 2007)
• 1 – Quade Cooper (2011)

Portrayal on screen

Australia can be seen playing South Africa in the feature film Invictus based on the 1995 Rugby World Cup.

References

• Davies, Gerald (2004). The History of the Rugby World Cup. Sanctuary Publishing.
  ISBN 1-86074-602-0
  .
• ISBN 0-642-36811-2
  .