Ireland at the Rugby World Cup

      Map of nations best results, excluding nations which unsuccessfully participated in qualifying tournaments.

      The Ireland national rugby union team have played all seven Rugby World Cup tournaments, but have yet to appear in a semi-final. Strangely, Ireland has never played either South Africa or England in a RWC match.

      Ireland has competed at every Rugby World Cup since the tournament was first held in Australia and New Zealand in 1987. The furthest Ireland have progressed at any World Cup has been to the quarter-finals, which they have made five times. After a loss to Wales, Ireland finished second in their pool in 1987 but were then knocked out by Australia in their quarter final in Sydney. In 1991 Ireland again lost only the one match in pool play (to Scotland). They again met the Australians in the quarter-finals, who defeated them by one point. Runner-up in their pool in 1995 to the All Blacks, Ireland were defeated by France in their quarter-final in Durban.

      Ireland finished second in their pool in 1999, behind Australia and went into the quarter-final play-offs (a system exclusive to the 1999 tournament). There they lost to Argentina, and thus, not being a quarter-finalists, they were not given automatic entry into 2003. They defeated Russia and Georgia to go through as Europe 1. They finished second to Australia in their pool, and were knocked out by France in the quarter finals.

      They started in the so-called "Group of death" with hosts France, Argentina, Namibia and Georgia in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They played Namibia (the lowest ranked team in the World cup) in their opening game on 9 September which resulted in a narrow 32–17 win.[1] Their progress was then put into doubt when they beat Georgia 14–10, not obtaining a bonus point.[2] France's victory over Namibia 87–10 put Ireland's progression from the group in doubt, and this was compounded when the French defeated Ireland 25–3.[3] Entering their last group match against Argentina, needing four tries to secure a bonus point without allowing Argentina anything, Ireland were defeated by 30 points to 15 and crashed out at the pool stage for the first time.[4]

      Ireland began their 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign on the back of four defeats in a series of warm-up tests in August, with a 22-10 victory over the United States in New Plymouth on 11 September. Failing to secure a bonus point against world cup minnows the United States, a team ranked far below Ireland, this was an unconvincing win. Contrary to preceding form, and indeed beating most commentators expectations, Ireland produced a memorable performance to defeat reigning tri-nations champions Australia 15-6 in their second pool game in Eden Park in Auckland on 17 September. This was the first Irish win against tri-nations opposition in the southern hemisphere in 32 years. It was also Ireland's first ever win against Australia in the Rugby World Cup. After comprehensive wins against Russia and Italy in the final two pool-stage matches, Ireland topped Pool C. This was the first ever time Ireland came first in a world cup pool. Ireland advanced to the quarter-finals to face Wales in Wellington. They were defeated 22-10 by the Welsh, thus ending their 2011 campaign.

      By position

      Ireland has reached the quarter-finals five times, but have not progressed beyond that stage.

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      Matches

      1987 Rugby World Cup

      Pool 2 matches –

      Team P W D L PF PA Pts
       Wales 3 3 0 0 82 31 6
       Ireland 3 2 0 1 84 41 4
       Canada 3 1 0 2 65 90 2
       Tonga 3 0 0 3 29 98 0
      1987-05-25
      		 Ireland  6–13  Wales Athletic Park, Wellington
      Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald Australia
      Pen: Kiernan (2) Try: Ring
      Pen: Thorburn
      Drop: Davies (2)
      1987-05-30
      		 Canada  19–46  Ireland Carisbrook, Dunedin
      Referee: Fred Howard England
      Try: Cardinal
      Pen: Rees (3)
      Wyatt
      Drop: Rees      		 Tries: Crossan (2)
      Bradley
      Spillane
      Ringland
      MacNeill
      Con: Kiernan (5)
      Pen: Kiernan (2)
      Drop: Ward
      Kiernan
      1987-06-03
      		 Ireland  32–9  Tonga Ballymore, Brisbane
      Referee: Guy Maurette France
      Tries: Mullin (3)
      MacNeill (2)
      Con: Ward (3)
      Pen: Ward (2)      		 Pen: Amone (3)

      Quarter-final

      7 June 1987
      		 Australia  33–15  Ireland Concord Oval, Sydney
      Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland)
      Tries: Burke (2)
      McIntyre
      Smith
      Con: Lynagh (4)
      Pen: Lynagh (3)      		 Tries: MacNeill
      Kiernan
      Con: Kiernan (2)
      Pen: Kiernan

      1991 Rugby World Cup

      Pool B matches –

      Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
       Scotland 3 0 0 122 36 9
       Ireland 2 0 1 102 51 7
       Japan 1 0 2 77 87 5
       Zimbabwe 0 0 3 31 158 3
      1991-10-06
      		 Ireland  55–11  Zimbabwe Landsdowne Road, Dublin
      Referee: Keith Lawrence

      New Zealand
      Tries: Robinson (4), Popplewell (2), Geoghegan, Curtis
      Con: Keyes (4)
      Pen: Keyes (5)      		 Tries: Dawson, Schultz
      Pen: Ferreira
      1991-10-09
      		 Ireland  32–16  Japan Landsdowne Road, Dublin
      Referee: Laikini Colati

      Fiji
      Tries: Mannion (2), O’Hara, Staples
      Con: Keyes (2)
      Pen: Keyes (4)      		 Tries: Hayashi, Kajihara, Yoshida
      Con: Hosokawa (2)
      1991-10-12
      		 Scotland  24–15  Ireland Murrayfield, Edinburgh
      Referee: Fred Howard

      England
      Tries: Shiel, Armstrong, S. Hastings
      Con: G. Hastings (2)
      Pen: G. Hastings (3)
      Drop: Chalmers      		 Pen: Keyes (4)
      Drop: Keyes

      Quarter-final

      20 October 1991
      		 Ireland  18–19  Australia Lansdowne Road, Dublin
      Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)
      Tries: Hamilton
      Con: Keyes
      Pen: Keyes (3)
      Drop: Keyes      		 Report Tries: Campese (2), Lynagh
      Con: Lynagh (2)
      Pen: Lynagh

      1995 Rugby World Cup

      Pool C matches –

      Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
       New Zealand 3 0 0 225 45 9
       Ireland 2 0 1 93 94 7
       Wales 1 0 2 89 68 5
       Japan 0 0 3 55 252 3
      1995-05-27
      		 Ireland  19–43  New Zealand Ellis Park, Johannesburg
      Attendance: 38 000
      Referee: Wayne Erickson Australia
      Tries: David Corkery, Dennis McBride, Garrett Halpin
      Con: Eric Elwood (2)      		 Tries: Jonah Lomu (2), Josh Kronfeld, Frank Bunce, Glen Osborne
      Con: Andrew Mehrtens (3)
      Pen: Andrew Mehrtens (4)
      1995-05-31
      		 Ireland  50–28  Japan Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
      Attendance: 15 000
      Referee: Stef Neethling South Africa
      Tries: Neil Franis, Simon Geoghegan, David Corkery, Eddie Halvey, Niall Hogan
      Con: Paul Burke (6)
      Pen: Paul Burke      		 Tries: Sinali-Tui Latu, Ko Izawa, Seiji Hirao, Masanori Takura
      Con: Yoshihito Yoshida (4)
      1995-06-04
      		 Ireland  24–23  Wales Ellis Park, Johannesburg
      Attendance: 35 000
      Referee: Ian Rogers South Africa
      Tries: Eddie Halvey, Nick Popplewell, Denis McBride
      Con: Eric Elwood (3)
      Pen: Eric Elwood      		 Tries: Jonathan Humphreys, Hemi Taylor
      Con: Neil Jenkins (2)
      Pen: Neil Jenkins (2)
      Drop: Adrian Davies

      Quarter finals –

      Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                         
      10 June – Ellis Park, Johannesburg        
        South Africa  42
      17 June – Kings Park Stadium, Durban
        Western Samoa  14  
        South Africa  19
      10 June – Kings Park Stadium, Durban
          France  15  
        France  36
      24 June – Ellis Park, Johannesburg (a.e.t.)
        Ireland  12  
        South Africa  15
      11 June – Newlands, Cape Town
          New Zealand  12
        England  25
      18 June – Newlands, Cape Town
        Australia  22  
        England  29 Third place
      11 June – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
          New Zealand  45  
        New Zealand  48   France  19
        Scotland  30     England  9
      22 June – Loftus Versfeld, Pretoria
      1995-06-10
      		 France  36–12  Ireland Kings Park Stadium, Durban
      Attendance: 18 000
      Referee: Ed Morrison England
      Tries: Philippe Saint-Andre, Émile Ntamack
      Con: Thierry Lacroix
      Pen: Thierry Lacroix (8)      		 Pen: Eric Elwood (4)

      1999 Rugby World Cup

      Pool 5 matches –

      Team Won Drawn Lost For Against Points
       Australia 3 0 0 135 31 6
       Ireland 2 0 1 100 45 4
       Romania 1 0 2 50 126 2
       United States 0 0 3 52 135 0
      1999-10-02
      		 Ireland  53–8  United States Lansdowne Road, Dublin
      Referee: Joel Dume France
      Tries: Keith Wood (4), Eric Elwood (2), Brian O'Driscoll, Justin Bishop
      Con: David Humphreys (4)
      Pen: David Humphreys (2)      		 Tries: Kevin Dalzell
      Pen: Kevin Dalzell
      1999-10-10
      		 Ireland  3–23  Australia Lansdowne Road, Dublin
      Referee: Clayton Thomas Wales
      Pen: David Humphreys Tries: Ben Tune, Tim Horan
      Con: Matthew Burke (2)
      Pen: Matthew Burke (2), John Eales
      1999-10-15
      		 Ireland  44–14  Romania Lansdowne Road, Dublin
      Referee: Brain Campsell England
      Tries: Conor O'Shea (2), Andrew Ward, Thomas Tierney, Dion O'Cuinneagain
      Con: Eric Elwood (5)
      Pen: Eric Elwood (2)
      Drop goals: Brian O'Driscoll      		 Tries: Daniel Sauan
      Pen: Petre Mitu (3)


        Quarter-final play-offs Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                                           
              
        South Africa  South Africa 44  
          England  England 21  
      England  England 45
      Fiji  Fiji 24  
        South Africa  South Africa 21  
        Australia  Australia 27  
              
              
        Australia  Australia 24
          Wales  Wales 9  
            
              
        Australia  Australia 35
        France  France 12
              
              
        New Zealand  New Zealand 30
          Scotland  Scotland 18  
      Scotland  Scotland 35
      Samoa  Samoa 20  
        New Zealand  New Zealand 31
        France  France 43  
              
              
        France  France 47
          Argentina  Argentina 26  
      Argentina  Argentina 28
      Republic of Ireland  Ireland 24  
      1999-10-20
      		 Ireland  24–28  Argentina Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
      Attendance: 41,320
      Referee: Stuart Dickinson Australia
      Pen: David Humphreys (7)
      Drop: David Humphreys      		 Tries: Diego Albanese
      Con: Gonzalo Quesada
      Pen: Gonzalo Quesada (7)

      2003 Rugby World Cup

      Group A matches –

      Team Won Drawn Lost For Against BP Points
       Australia 4 0 0 273 32 2 18
       Ireland 3 0 1 141 56 3 15
       Argentina 2 0 2 140 57 3 11
       Romania 1 0 3 65 192 1 5
       Namibia 0 0 4 28 310 0 0
      2003-10-11
      		 Ireland  45–17  Romania Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
      Attendance: 19,123
      Referee: Jonathan Kaplan South Africa
      Tries: S. Horgan, Wood, Hickie (2), Costello
      Con: Humphreys (3), O'Gara
      Pen: Humphreys (4)      		 Report Tries: Penalty try, Maftei
      Con: Tofan, Vioreanu
      Pen: Tofan
      2003-10-19
      		 Ireland  64–7  Namibia Aussie Stadium, Sydney
      Attendance: 35,382
      Referee: Andrew Cole Australia
      Tries: Quinlan (2), Dempsey, Hickie, Horan, Miller (2), G. Easterby, S. Horgan, Kelly
      Con: O'Gara (7)      		 Report Tries: Powell
      Con: Wessels
      2003-10-26
      		 Argentina  15–16  Ireland Adelaide Oval
      Attendance: 30,203
      Referee: André Watson South Africa
      Pen: Quesada (3)
      Drop: Quesada, Corleto      		 Report Tries: Quinlan
      Con: Humphreys
      Pen: Humphreys, O'Gara (2)
      2003-11-01
      		 Australia  17–16  Ireland Telstra Dome, Melbourne
      Attendance: 54,206
      Referee: Paddy O'Brien New Zealand
      Tries: Smith
      Pen: Flatley (3)
      Drop: Gregan      		 Report Tries: O'Driscoll
      Con: O'Gara
      Pen: O'Gara (2)
      Drop: O'Driscoll
      Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                         
      8 November – Telstra Dome, Melbourne        
        New Zealand  29
      15 November – Telstra Stadium, Sydney
        South Africa  9  
        New Zealand  10
      8 November – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
          Australia  22  
        Australia  33
      22 November – Telstra Stadium, Sydney
        Scotland  16  
        Australia  17
      9 November – Telstra Dome, Melbourne
          England  20
        France  43
      16 November – Telstra Stadium, Sydney
        Ireland  21  
        France  7 Third place
      9 November – Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane
          England  24  
        England  28   New Zealand  40
        Wales  17     France  13
      20 November – Telstra Stadium, Sydney
      2003-11-09
      		 France  43–21  Ireland Telstra Dome, Melbourne
      Attendance: 33,134
      Referee: Jonathan Kaplan South Africa
      Tries: Magne 3' c
      Dominici 29' c
      Harinordoquy 33' c
      Crenca 47' c
      Con: Michalak (4)
      Pen: Michalak (5)      		 Report Tries: Maggs 52' c
      O'Driscoll (2) 65' c, 80+2' c
      Con: Humphreys (3)

      2007 Rugby World Cup

      Pool D matches –

      Main article: 2007 Rugby World Cup - Pool D
      Team Pld W D L TF PF PA +/- BP Pts
       Argentina 4 4 0 0 16 143 33 +110 2 18
      {ireland 4 3 0 1 24 188 37 +151 3 15
       Ireland 4 2 0 2 9 64 82 −18 1 9
       Georgia 4 1 0 3 5 50 111 −61 1 5
       Namibia 4 0 0 4 3 30 212 −182 0 0
        ARG FRA GEO IRE NAM
      Argentina – 17 – 12 33 – 3 30 – 15 63 – 3
      France – – 64 – 7 25 – 3 87 – 10
      Georgia – – – 10 – 14 30 – 0
      Ireland – – – – 32 – 17
      Namibia – – – – –

      2011 Rugby World Cup

      Ireland qualified for the 2011 RWC automatically.

      Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C
      Team
      		Pld W D L TF PF PA +/− BP Pts
       Ireland 4 4 0 0 15 135 34 +101 1 17
       Australia 4 3 0 1 25 173 48 +125 3 15
       Italy 4 2 0 2 13 92 95 −3 2 10
       United States 4 1 0 3 4 38 122 −84 0 4
       Russia 4 0 0 4 8 57 196 −139 1 1
      11 September 2011
      18:00      		 Ireland  22 – 10  United States Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
      Attendance: 20,823
      Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
      Try: Bowe (2) 40' c, 60' c
      Best 56' m
      Con: Sexton (1/1)
      O'Gara (1/2)
      Pen: Sexton (1/5) 17'
      		 Try: Emerick 80+' c
      Con: Malifa (1/1)
      Pen: Paterson (1/2) 54'
      Ireland
      FB 15 Geordan Murphy Substituted off 67'
      RW 14 Tommy Bowe
      OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c)
      IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy
      LW 11 Keith Earls
      FH 10 Jonathan Sexton Substituted off 51'
      SH 9 Conor Murray Substituted off 51'
      N8 8 Jamie Heaslip
      OF 7 Shane Jennings Substituted off 61'
      BF 6 Stephen Ferris
      RL 5 Paul O'Connell
      LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan
      TP 3 Mike Ross
      HK 2 Rory Best Substituted off 61'
      LP 1 Tom Court Substituted off 65'
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Jerry Flannery Substituted in 61'
      PR 17 Tony Buckley Substituted in 65'
      LK 18 Donnacha Ryan
      N8 19 Denis Leamy Substituted in 61'
      SH 20 Eoin Reddan Substituted in 51'
      FH 21 Ronan O'Gara Substituted in 51'
      WG 22 Andrew Trimble Substituted in 67'
      Coach:
      Ireland Declan Kidney
      United States
      FB 15 Blaine Scully
      RW 14 Takudzwa Ngwenya
      OC 13 Paul Emerick
      IC 12 Andrew Suniula
      LW 11 James Paterson
      FH 10 Roland Suniula Substituted off 59'
      SH 9 Mike Petri Substituted off 67'
      N8 8 Nic Johnson
      OF 7 Todd Clever (c)
      BF 6 Louis Stanfill
      RL 5 Hayden Smith
      LL 4 John van der Giessen
      TP 3 Shawn Pittman
      HK 2 Phil Thiel Substituted off 68'
      LP 1 Mike MacDonald Substituted off 63'
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Chris Biller Substituted in 68'
      PR 17 Mate Moeakiola Substituted in 63'
      LK 18 Scott LaValla
      FL 19 Pat Danahy
      SH 20 Tim Usasz Substituted in 67'
      FH 21 Nese Malifa Substituted in 59'
      WG 22 Colin Hawley
      Coach:
      Ireland Eddie O'Sullivan

      Man of the Match:
      Paul O'Connell (Ireland)

      Touch judges:
      Nigel Owens (Wales)
      Carlo Damasco (Italy)
      Television match official:
      Graham Hughes (England)


      17 September 2011
      20:30      		 Australia  6 – 15  Ireland Eden Park, Auckland
      Attendance: 58,678
      Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
      Pen: O'Connor (2/4) 11', 23'
      		 Pen: Sexton (2/5) 17', 49'
      O'Gara (2/2) 62', 71'
      Drop: Sexton 19'
      Australia
      FB 15 Kurtley Beale
      RW 14 James O'Connor
      OC 13 Anthony Fainga'a Substituted off 75'
      IC 12 Pat McCabe
      LW 11 Adam Ashley-Cooper
      FH 10 Quade Cooper
      SH 9 Will Genia
      N8 8 Radike Samo Substituted off 74'
      OF 7 Ben McCalman
      BF 6 Rocky Elsom Substituted off 73'
      RL 5 James Horwill (c)
      LL 4 Dan Vickerman Substituted off 63'
      TP 3 Ben Alexander Substituted off 63'
      HK 2 Tatafu Polota-Nau
      LP 1 Sekope Kepu
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Saia Fainga'a
      PR 17 James Slipper Substituted in 63'
      LK 18 Rob Simmons Substituted in 63'
      N8 19 Wycliff Palu Substituted in 73'
      FL 20 Scott Higginbotham Substituted in 74'
      SH 21 Luke Burgess
      WG 22 Drew Mitchell Substituted in 75'
      Coach:
      New Zealand Robbie Deans
      Ireland
      FB 15 Rob Kearney Substituted off 75'
      RW 14 Tommy Bowe
      OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c) Sent to blood bin60' to 63'
      IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy Substituted off 50'
      LW 11 Keith Earls
      FH 10 Jonathan Sexton
      SH 9 Eoin Reddan Substituted off 57'
      N8 8 Jamie Heaslip
      OF 7 Sean O'Brien
      BF 6 Stephen Ferris
      RL 5 Paul O'Connell
      LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan
      TP 3 Mike Ross Substituted off 77'
      HK 2 Rory Best
      LP 1 Cian Healy
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Sean Cronin
      PR 17 Tom Court Substituted in 77'
      LK 18 Donnacha Ryan
      N8 19 Denis Leamy
      SH 20 Conor Murray Substituted in 57'
      FH 21 Ronan O'Gara Substituted in 50'
      WG 22 Andrew Trimble Substituted in 60' Substituted off 63' Substituted in 75'
      Coach:
      Ireland Declan Kidney

      Man of the Match:
      Cian Healy (Ireland)

      Touch judges:
      Craig Joubert (South Africa)
      Carlo Damasco (Italy)
      Television match official:
      Graham Hughes (England)
      25 September 2011
      18:00      		 Ireland  62 – 12  Russia Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
      Attendance: 25,661
      Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
      Try: McFadden 10' c
      O'Brien 13' c
      Boss 38' c
      Earls(2) 39' c, 48' c
      Trimble 40+' m
      Kearney 65' c
      Jennings 73' c
      Buckley 79' m
      Con: O'Gara (6/7)
      Sexton (1/2)
      Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 6'
      		 Try: Artemyev 50' c
      Simplikevich 59' m
      Con: Rachkov (1/2)
      Ireland
      FB 15 Rob Kearney
      RW 14 Fergus McFadden
      OC 13 Keith Earls Substituted off 49'
      IC 12 Paddy Wallace
      LW 11 Andrew Trimble
      FH 10 Ronan O'Gara Substituted off 67'
      SH 9 Isaac Boss Substituted off 66'
      N8 8 Jamie Heaslip
      OF 7 Sean O'Brien Substituted off 57'
      BF 6 Donnacha Ryan
      RL 5 Leo Cullen (c)
      LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan Substituted off 46'
      TP 3 Tony Buckley
      HK 2 Sean Cronin
      LP 1 Cian Healy Substituted off 49'
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Rory Best
      PR 17 Mike Ross Substituted in 49'
      N8 18 Denis Leamy Substituted in 46'
      FL 19 Shane Jennings Substituted in 57'
      SH 20 Eoin Reddan Substituted in 66'
      FH 21 Jonathan Sexton Substituted in 67'
      WG 22 Geordan Murphy Substituted in 49'
      Coach:
      Ireland Declan Kidney
      Russia
      FB 15 Vasily Artemyev
      RW 14 Denis Simplikevich
      OC 13 Andrei Kuzin
      IC 12 Sergey Trishin
      LW 11 Vladimir Ostroushko Substituted off 71'
      FH 10 Konstantin Rachkov Temporarily suspended from 8' to 18'8' to 18'
      SH 9 Alexander Yanyushkin (c) Substituted off 74'
      N8 8 Victor Gresev
      OF 7 Andrei Garbuzov Substituted off 45'
      BF 6 Artem Fatakhov
      RL 5 Adam Byrnes
      LL 4 Denis Antonov Substituted off 49'
      TP 3 Alexander Khrokin Substituted off 50'
      HK 2 Valeri Tsnobiladze
      LP 1 Sergey Popov Substituted off 74'
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Evgeny Matveev
      PR 17 Ivan Prishchepenko Substituted in 50'
      LK 18 Alexey Travkin Substituted in 74'
      FL 19 Alexander Voytov Substituted in 49'
      SH 20 Andrey Bykanov Substituted in 74'
      WG 21 Mikhail Sidorov Substituted in 45'
      FB 22 Mikhail Babaev Substituted in 71'
      Coaches:
      Russia Nikolay Nerush
      Wales Kingsley Jones

      Man of the Match:
      Ronan O'Gara (Ireland)

      Touch judges:
      Dave Pearson (England)
      Jérôme Garces (France)
      Television match official:
      Giulio De Santis (Italy)
      2 October 2011
      20:30      		 Ireland  36 – 6  Italy Otago Stadium, Dunedin
      Attendance: 28,027
      Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
      Try: O'Driscoll 47' c
      Earls (2) 52' c, 80+' c
      Con: O'Gara (2/2)
      Sexton (1/1)
      Pen: O'Gara (4/5) 7', 18', 35', 44'
      Sexton (1/1) 70'
      		 Pen: Mi. Bergamasco (2/3) 11', 21'
      Ireland
      FB 15 Rob Kearney
      RW 14 Tommy Bowe
      OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c) Substituted off 74'
      IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy
      LW 11 Keith Earls
      FH 10 Ronan O'Gara Substituted off 67'
      SH 9 Conor Murray Substituted off 74'
      N8 8 Jamie Heaslip
      OF 7 Sean O'Brien
      BF 6 Stephen Ferris Substituted off 73'
      RL 5 Paul O'Connell
      LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan Substituted off 59'
      TP 3 Mike Ross
      HK 2 Rory Best Substituted off 53'
      LP 1 Cian Healy Substituted off 73'
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Sean Cronin Substituted in 53'
      PR 17 Tom Court Substituted in 73'
      LK 18 Donnacha Ryan Substituted in 59'
      N8 19 Denis Leamy Substituted in 73'
      SH 20 Eoin Reddan Substituted in 74'
      FH 21 Jonathan Sexton Substituted in 67'
      WG 22 Andrew Trimble Substituted in 74'
      Coach:
      Ireland Declan Kidney
      Italy
      FB 15 Andrea Masi
      RW 14 Tommaso Benvenuti
      OC 13 Gonzalo Canale
      IC 12 Gonzalo Garcia
      LW 11 Mirco Bergamasco
      FH 10 Luciano Orquera Substituted off 41'
      SH 9 Fabio Semenzato Substituted off 57'
      N8 8 Sergio Parisse (c) Substituted off 77'
      OF 7 Mauro Bergamasco Substituted off 49'
      BF 6 Alessandro Zanni
      RL 5 Cornelius Van Zyl Substituted off 61'
      LL 4 Quintin Geldenhuys
      TP 3 Martin Castrogiovanni Substituted off 37'
      HK 2 Leonardo Ghiraldini Substituted off 67'
      LP 1 Salvatore Perugini
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Fabio Ongaro Substituted in 67'
      PR 17 Andrea Lo Cicero Substituted in 37'
      LK 18 Marco Bortolami Substituted in 61'
      FL 19 Paul Derbyshire Substituted in 49'
      SH 20 Edoardo Gori Substituted in 57'
      FH 21 Riccardo Bocchino Substituted in 41'
      FB 22 Luke McLean Substituted in 77'
      Coach:
      South Africa Nick Mallett

      Man of the Match:
      Sean O'Brien (Ireland)

      Touch judges:
      Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
      Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
      Television match official:
      Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)
      Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup knockout stage
      Quarter-finals Semi-finals Final
                         
      8 October 18:00 (05:00 UTC) – Wellington        
        Ireland  10
      15 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
        Wales  22  
        Wales  8
      8 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
          France  9  
        England  12
      23 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
        France  19  
        France  7
      9 October 18:00 (05:00 UTC) – Wellington
          New Zealand  8
        South Africa  9
      16 October 21:00 (08:00 UTC) – Auckland
        Australia  11  
        Australia  6 Third place
      9 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
          New Zealand  20  
        New Zealand  33   Wales  18
        Argentina  10     Australia  21
      21 October 20:30 (07:30 UTC) – Auckland
      8 October 2011
      18:00 NZDT (UTC+13)      		 Ireland  10 – 22  Wales Westpac Stadium, Wellington
      Attendance: 35,787
      Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)
      Try: Earls 45' c
      Con: O'Gara (1/1)
      Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 24'
      		 Try: Williams 3' c
      Phillips 51' m
      J. Davies 64' c
      Con: Priestland (2/3)
      Pen: Halfpenny (1/1) 29'
      Priestland (0/2)
      Ireland
      FB 15 Rob Kearney
      RW 14 Tommy Bowe
      OC 13 Brian O'Driscoll (c)
      IC 12 Gordon D'Arcy
      LW 11 Keith Earls Substituted off 72'
      FH 10 Ronan O'Gara Substituted off 56'
      SH 9 Conor Murray Substituted off 56'
      N8 8 Jamie Heaslip Substituted off 75'
      OF 7 Sean O'Brien
      BF 6 Stephen Ferris Substituted off 75'
      RL 5 Paul O'Connell
      LL 4 Donncha O'Callaghan
      TP 3 Mike Ross
      HK 2 Rory Best
      LP 1 Cian Healy
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Sean Cronin
      PR 17 Tom Court
      LK 18 Donnacha Ryan Substituted in 75'
      N8 19 Denis Leamy Substituted in 75'
      SH 20 Eoin Reddan Substituted in 56'
      FH 21 Jonathan Sexton Substituted in 56'
      WG 22 Andrew Trimble Substituted in 72'
      Coach:
      Ireland Declan Kidney
      		IreWal 08102011.svg
      Wales
      FB 15 Leigh Halfpenny
      RW 14 George North
      OC 13 Jonathan Davies
      IC 12 Jamie Roberts
      LW 11 Shane Williams
      FH 10 Rhys Priestland Substituted off 78'
      SH 9 Mike Phillips
      N8 8 Toby Faletau
      OF 7 Sam Warburton (c)
      BF 6 Dan Lydiate
      RL 5 Alun Wyn Jones
      LL 4 Luke Charteris Substituted off 41'
      TP 3 Adam Jones
      HK 2 Huw Bennett
      LP 1 Gethin Jenkins
      Replacements:
      HK 16 Lloyd Burns
      PR 17 Paul James
      LK 18 Bradley Davies Substituted in 41'
      N8 19 Ryan Jones
      SH 20 Lloyd Williams
      FH 21 James Hook Substituted in 78'
      CE 22 Scott Williams
      Coach:
      New Zealand Warren Gatland

      Man of the Match:
      Mike Phillips (Wales)

      Touch judges:
      Wayne Barnes (England)
      Romain Poite (France)
      Television match official:
      Giulio de Santis (Italy)
      ↑Jump back a section

      Hosting

      Main article: Rugby World Cup hosts

      The Rugby World Cup is held every four years, and tends to alternate between the northern and southern hemispheres. Every northern hemisphere tournament so far has been held in Europe, and in general Ireland usually hosts some games when it is held there.

      1991: England/Wales/Scotland/Ireland/France

      The 1991 Rugby World Cup final was played in England, while pool and finals games were played all over European nations. Pool A, which England was in, saw matches played mostly in London, though games were also taken to Leicester, Gloucester and Otley. Pool B games, which involved European nations, Scotland and Ireland, had all their games in either Dublin or Edinburgh with one game being played in Belfast. Pool C, which Wales was a part of, had all their games in Cardiff, with two taken to Pontypridd and one played in Llanelli. Pool D, which France were a part of, saw games played in Agen, Bayonne, Béziers and Grenoble. None of the quarter-finals or semi-finals were played in England. The final was played at the Rugby Football Union's Twickenham.

      The following Irish stadiums were used:

      City Stadium Capacity
      Dublin Landsdowne Road 49,000
      Belfast Ravenhill 12,300

      1999: Wales

      The 1999 World Cup was hosted by Wales, but an agreement was reached so that the other unions in the Five Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland and Scotland) also hosted matches.

      The format of the pool games was similar to the 1991 World Cup in England. All Pool A games were held in Scotland, Pool B games in England, Pool C games in France and Pool D games were all held in Wales. Second round play-offs and the quarter-finals were held a variety of European venues, the semi-finals were held at Twickenham Stadium, London. The third place play-off and the final were held at the new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

      Venues in Ireland included Lansdowne Road, the traditional home of the Irish Rugby Football Union, Ravenhill, the Northern Ireland IRFU owned venue and Thomond Park.

      The following Irish stadiums were used:

      City Stadium Capacity
      Republic of Ireland Dublin Lansdowne Road 49,250
      Republic of Ireland Limerick Thomond Park 13,500
      United Kingdom Belfast Ravenhill Stadium 12,500

      2007: France

      The 2007 competition was held in France, with some games played in Wales and Scotland. There was a substantial increase in the overall capacity of stadiums compared to the 2003 Rugby World Cup, as the smallest venue at the 2007 tournament was 33,900. France won the right to host the event in 2003. Three matches were played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium, two Pool B games that featured Wales and as well as a quarter-final. Two Pool C matches were held at Edinburgh's Murrayfield. Ireland were also offered to host matches at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, but had to decline the offer as construction work was scheduled to begin on the stadium.[5] The semifinals and final were held at Stade de France, Saint-Denis.

      ↑Jump back a section

      References

      1. ^ "Ireland 32–17 Namibia". BBC Sport. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
      2. ^ "Ireland 14–10 Georgia". BBC Sport. 15 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
      3. ^ "France 25–3 Ireland". BBC Sport. 21 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
      4. ^ "Argentina 30–15 Ireland". BBC Sport. 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2009-03-23. 
      5. ^ "Scotland looks to give up World cup matches at Murrayfield". worldcupweb.com. Retrieved 7 May 2006. 
      Governing body
      Provinces
      National teams
      Mens
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      Competitions
      Related articles
      Nations who have competed in the Rugby World Cup by tier
      Tier 1 teams
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      Last modified on 3 February 2013, at 09:21