Rugby Union World Cup 2003

Rugby Union World Cup 2003
host	Australia
World Champion 2nd place 3rd place	England Australia New Zealand
Duration	October 10 - November 22, 2003
Nations	88 (final tournament: 20)
Games	48
spectator	1,837,547 (38,282 per game)
Top scorer	Jonny Wilkinson (113)
Most attempts	Doug Howlett and Mils Muliaina (7 each)

The 5th Rugby Union World Cup took place from October 10 to November 22, 2003 in Australia . There were 20 national teams in 48 games against each other. Originally, a joint event with New Zealand was planned, but all games were awarded to Australia after legal disputes between the New Zealand Association and the World Association.

Before the start of the World Cup, England, New Zealand, France, Australia and South Africa were favorites to win the title. England became world champions for the first time , defeating the hosts in the final after extra time. It was the first time ever that a team from the northern hemisphere could win the world title.

Venues

The 48 games took place in eleven different stadiums spread across the country, but with a focus on the regions on the east coast.

The Adelaide Oval, actually a cricket stadium, was expanded for the 2003 Rugby World Cup and two grandstands were added. The cost of 20 million AUD took over the South Australian Cricket Association . The Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane is a new building specially tailored to the needs of rugby. The construction cost was A $ 280 million and the stadium opened a few days before the World Cup began. Also relatively new is the Central Coast Stadium in Gosford, costing A $ 30 million and opening in February 2000.

Sydney was represented with two venues. The Aussie Stadium served as the main stadium for the 2000 Summer Olympics soccer tournament . The Telstra Stadium in Sydney Olympic Park was the centerpiece of the Olympic Games. It cost over A $ 600 million and is the second largest stadium in Australia after the Melbourne Cricket Ground. The only stadium with a sliding roof was the Telstra Dome in Melbourne.

Scene of the opening ceremony at Telstra Stadium

city	Stadion	capacity
Sydney	Telstra Stadium	83,500
Melbourne	Telstra Dome	53,371
Brisbane	Suncorp Stadium	52,500
Perth	Subiaco oval	42,922
Sydney	Aussie Stadium	41,159
Adelaide	Adelaide oval	33,597
Townsville	Dairy Farmers Stadium	24,843
Canberra	Canberra Stadium	24,647
Gosford	Central Coast Stadium	20,119
Launceston	York Park	19,891
Wollongong	WIN Stadium	18,484

qualification

→ Main article : 2003 Rugby Union World Cup / qualification

Twenty teams had qualified for the 2003 World Cup. The eight participants in the quarter-finals of the 1999 World Cup were automatically eligible to start, including the reigning world champion and host Australia (each marked with *). For the remaining twelve starting places, 80 teams, more than ever before, played qualifying games. The participating nations were almost the same as at the World Cup four years ago. Instead of Spain, Georgia qualified this time.

Africa  Namibia  South Africa * America  Argentina *  Canada  United States  Uruguay Oceania  Australia *  Fiji  New Zealand *  Samoa  Tonga

Asia  Japan Europe  England *  France *  Georgia  Ireland  Italy  Romania  Scotland *  Wales *

format

The opening game between Australia and Argentina at Telstra Stadium in Sydney

The field of participants was divided into four groups, each with five national teams. The first two in each group qualified for the quarter-finals. For the first time ever, a bonus point system was used in the group stage. This has proven itself in the southern hemisphere years ago and was later also introduced in Europe; but not in the Six Nations :

• 4 points if you win
• 2 points if there is a tie
• 0 points in the event of a loss (before possible bonus points)
• 1 bonus point for four or more successful attempts , regardless of the final score
• 1 bonus point if you lose less than seven points

Preliminary round

In the early stages, the Australian media criticized the quality of the tournament, as the “small” teams were literally overrun by the rugby “superpowers” ​​with a difference of 60 or more points. The South Pacific teams Fiji, Samoa and Tonga were also weakened as they had to forego numerous key players from foreign leagues. They had been warned by their clubs that their contracts would not be renewed if they participated.

The group stage of the tournament went roughly as expected. The only tension was whether a "small" team would be able to leave a significant team behind and advance to the quarter-finals. In Group A Argentina lost to Ireland by only one point, in Group B Fiji lost to the Scots with only two points. Italy showed a satisfactory overall performance in Group D. In Group C, Samoa almost created a sensation and was initially in the lead against England, but had to admit defeat due to the better condition of the English.

In the encounters between the major teams, the form of the day usually decided. South Africa played disappointing overall and had to be content with second place behind England, which gave them the strong New Zealanders as quarter-final opponents. Defending champions Australia narrowly outpaced Ireland and Wales pushed the New Zealand All Blacks . France did not have much trouble with Scotland.

Group A

	country	Games	Victories	Unent.	Ndlg.	Game points	Diff.	Bonus points	Table points
1.	Australia	4th	4th	0	0	273: 32	+ 241	2	18th
2.	Ireland	4th	3	0	1	141: 56	+ 85	3	15th
3.	Argentina	4th	2	0	2	140: 57	+ 83	3	11
4th	Romania	4th	1	0	3	65: 192	- 127	1	5
5.	Namibia	4th	0	0	4th	28: 310	- 282	0	0

October 10, 2003	Australia	24: 8	Argentina	Telstra Stadium , Sydney

---

October 11, 2003	Ireland	45: 17	Romania	Central Coast Stadium , Gosford

---

October 14, 2003	Argentina	67: 14	Namibia	Central Coast Stadium, Gosford

---

October 18, 2003	Australia	90: 8	Romania	Suncorp Stadium , Brisbane

---

October 19, 2003	Ireland	64: 7	Namibia	Aussie Stadium , Sydney

---

October 22, 2003	Argentina	50: 3	Romania	Aussie Stadium, Sydney

---

October 25, 2003	Australia	142: 0	Namibia	Adelaide Oval , Adelaide

---

October 26, 2003	Argentina	15:16	Ireland	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

---

October 30, 2003	Namibia	7:37	Romania	York Park , Launceston

---

November 1, 2003	Australia	17:16	Ireland	Telstra Dome , Melbourne

Group B

	country	Games	Victories	Unent.	Ndlg.	Game points	Diff.	Bonus points	Table points
1.	France	4th	4th	0	0	204: 70	+ 134	4th	20th
2.	Scotland	4th	3	0	1	102: 97	+ 5	2	14th
3.	Fiji	4th	2	0	2	98: 114	- 16	2	10
4th	United States	4th	1	0	3	86: 125	- 39	2	6th
5.	Japan	4th	0	0	4th	79: 163	- 84	0	0

October 11, 2003	France	61: 18	Fiji	Suncorp Stadium , Brisbane

---

October 11, 2003	Scotland	32: 11	Japan	Dairy Farmers Stadium , Townsville

---

October 15, 2003	Fiji	19:18	United States	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

---

October 18, 2003	France	51: 29	Japan	Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville

---

October 20, 2003	Scotland	39:15	United States	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

---

October 23, 2003	Fiji	41: 13	Japan	Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville

---

October 25, 2003	France	51: 9	Scotland	Telstra Stadium , Sydney

---

October 27, 2003	Japan	26:39	United States	Central Coast Stadium , Gosford

---

October 31, 2003	France	41:14	United States	WIN Stadium , Wollongong

---

November 1, 2003	Scotland	22:20	Fiji	Aussie Stadium , Sydney

Group C

	country	Games	Victories	Unent.	Ndlg.	Game points	Diff.	Bonus points	Table points
1.	England	4th	4th	0	0	255: 47	+ 208	3	19th
2.	South Africa	4th	3	0	1	184: 60	+ 124	3	15th
3.	Samoa	4th	2	0	2	138: 117	+ 21	2	10
4th	Uruguay	4th	1	0	3	56: 255	- 199	0	4th
5.	Georgia	4th	0	0	4th	46: 200	- 154	0	0

October 11, 2003	South Africa	72: 6	Uruguay	Subiaco Oval , Perth

---

October 12, 2003	England	84: 6	Georgia	Subiaco Oval, Perth

---

October 15, 2003	Samoa	60: 13	Uruguay	Subiaco Oval, Perth

---

October 18, 2003	South Africa	6:25	England	Subiaco Oval, Perth

---

October 19, 2003	Georgia	9:46	Samoa	Subiaco Oval, Perth

---

October 24, 2003	South Africa	46: 19	Georgia	Aussie Stadium , Sydney

---

October 26, 2003	England	35:22	Samoa	Telstra Dome , Melbourne

---

October 28, 2003	Georgia	12:24 pm	Uruguay	Aussie Stadium, Sydney

---

November 1, 2003	South Africa	60:10	Samoa	Suncorp Stadium , Brisbane

---

November 2, 2003	England	111: 13	Uruguay	Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane

Group D

	country	Games	Victories	Unent.	Ndlg.	Game points	Diff.	Bonus points	Table points
1.	New Zealand	4th	4th	0	0	282: 57	+ 225	4th	20th
2.	Wales	4th	3	0	1	132: 98	+ 34	2	14th
3.	Italy	4th	2	0	2	77: 123	- 46	0	8th
4th	Canada	4th	1	0	3	54: 135	- 81	1	5
5.	Tonga	4th	0	0	4th	46: 178	- 132	1	1

October 11, 2003	New Zealand	70: 7	Italy	Telstra Dome , Melbourne

---

October 12, 2003	Wales	41:10	Canada	Telstra Dome, Melbourne

---

October 15, 2003	Italy	36:12	Tonga	Canberra Stadium , Canberra

---

October 17, 2003	New Zealand	68: 6	Canada	Telstra Dome, Melbourne

---

October 19, 2003	Wales	27:20	Tonga	Canberra Stadium, Canberra

---

October 21, 2003	Italy	19:14	Canada	Canberra Stadium, Canberra

---

October 24, 2003	New Zealand	91: 7	Tonga	Suncorp Stadium , Brisbane

---

October 25, 2003	Italy	15:27	Wales	Canberra Stadium, Canberra

---

October 29, 2003	Canada	24: 7	Tonga	WIN Stadium , Wollongong

---

November 2, 2003	New Zealand	53: 37	Wales	Telstra Stadium , Sydney

Final round

	Quarter finals				Semifinals				final
	New Zealand	29
	South Africa	9
					New Zealand	10
					Australia	22nd
	Australia	33
	Scotland	16
									Australia	17th
									England	20th
	France	43
	Ireland	21st
					France	7th			Game for third place
					England	24
	England	28							New Zealand	40
	Wales	17th							France	13

In the quarter-finals, the favorites prevailed, even if England had a hard time against the stubborn Welsh team. France decided the game against Ireland in the early stages and managed the lead safely. South Africa could not improve compared to the group games and never had a chance against New Zealand. Australia easily prevailed against Scotland.

The first semi-final ended in a surprise when Australia beat the favored New Zealanders. Thus, for the first time ever, the reigning world champion was able to move into the next World Cup final. In the second semi-final, England's Jonny Wilkinson beat the opposing team from France almost single-handedly and scored all the points, with the penalty kicks being decisive.

In the final, the teams from Australia and England faced each other at the Telstra Stadium in Sydney. Around 40% of the 82,957 spectators were from England. Australia took the lead early on, but England dominated the rest of the first half and went into the break 14-5. In the second half, the Australians increasingly forced their opponents to make mistakes and caught up point by point. After a controversial decision by the referee, Australia was able to equalize with a penalty shortly before the end of normal time and force extra time. 21 seconds before the end of extra time, it was now 17:17, Jonny Wilkinson managed a hard-to-play drop goal. He decided the game and secured England their first world title.

Quarter finals

November 8, 2003	New Zealand	29: 9	South Africa	Telstra Dome , Melbourne Referee: Tony Spreadbury (ENG)
	Attempts: MacDonald 16th received Mealamu 59th received Rokocoko 72. n.erh. Raise: MacDonald (1) Penalty: MacDonald (3) Dropgoals: Mauger (1) 45.		Penalty Kicks: Hougaard (3)

---

November 8, 2003	Australia	33:16	Scotland	Suncorp Stadium , Brisbane Referee: Steve Walsh (NZL)
	Attempts: Mortlock 46th. Gregan 59th. Lyons 64th. Elevations: Flatley (3) Penalty kicks: Flatley (4)		Attempts: Russell 80th increases: Paterson (1) Penalty kicks: Paterson (2) Dropgoals: Paterson (1) 38.

---

November 9, 2003	France	43: 21	Ireland	Telstra Dome, Melbourne Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (RSA)
	Attempts: Magne 3rd received Dominici 29th raised Harinordoquy 33rd raised Crenca 47th raised increases: Michalak (4) Penalty kicks: Michalak (5)		Attempts: Maggs 52nd increased O'Driscoll (2) 65th increased , 80th increased increases: Humphreys (3)

---

November 9, 2003	England	28: 17	Wales	Suncorp Stadium , Brisbane Referee: Alain Rolland (IRL)
	Attempts: Greenwood 44th increases: Wilkinson (1) Penalty kicks: Wilkinson (6) Dropgoals: Wilkinson (1) 80.		Attempts: Jones 30. n.erh. Charvis 35th n.erh. Williams 71st increases: Harris (1)

Semifinals

November 15, 2003	New Zealand	10:22	Australia	Telstra Stadium , Sydney Referee: Chris White (ENG)
	Attempts: Thorne 35th increments: MacDonald (1) Penalty kicks: MacDonald (1)		Attempts: Mortlock 9. Increased increases: Flatley (1) Penalty kicks: Flatley (5)

---

November 16, 2003	France	7:24	England	Telstra Stadium, Sydney Referee: Paddy O'Brien (NZL)
	Attempts: Betsen 10. Increased increases: Michalak (1)		Penalty kicks: Wilkinson (5) Dropgoals: Wilkinson (3) 9th, 38th, 58th

3rd place match

November 20, 2003	New Zealand	40: 13	France	Telstra Stadium, Sydney Referee: Chris White (ENG)
	Tries: Jack . 12. erh Howlett . 20. erh Rokocoko . 51. erh Thorn 54. erh. Muliaina 58. Holah n.erh. Elevations: MacDonald (1) Carter (4)		Attempts: Elhorga 42nd increases: Yachvili (1) Penalty kicks : Yachvili (1) Dropgoals : Yachvili (1)

final

November 22, 2003	Australia	17:20 a.d.	England	Telstra Stadium, Sydney Referee: André Watson (RSA)
	Attempts: Tuqiri 6th after. Penalty Kicks: Flatley (4)	report	Attempts: Robinson 38th n.erh. Penalty Kicks: Wilkinson (4) Dropgoals: Wilkinson (1) 100.

World Champion 2003

England
(first title)

statistics

Teams

team	Games	Victories	Unent.	Ndlg.	Points	tries	elevated Ungen	criminal kicks	Drop goals
New Zealand	7th	6th	0	1	361	52	40	6th	1
Australia	7th	6th	0	1	345	43	32	21st	1
England	7th	7th	0	0	327	36	27	23	8th
France	7th	5	0	2	267	29	22nd	22nd	4th
South Africa	5	3	0	2	193	27	17th	7th	1
Ireland	5	3	0	2	162	20th	16	9	1
Wales	5	3	0	2	149	17th	14th	11	1
Argentina	4th	2	0	2	140	18th	13	6th	2
Samoa	4th	2	0	2	138	18th	12	8th	0
Scotland	5	3	0	2	118	12	8th	13	1
Fiji	4th	2	0	2	98	10	6th	12	0
United States	4th	1	0	3	89	9	7th	9	1
Japan	4th	0	0	4th	79	6th	5	12	1
Italy	4th	2	0	2	77	5	5	14th	0
Romania	4th	1	0	3	65	8th	5	5	0
Uruguay	4th	1	0	3	56	6th	4th	6th	0
Canada	4th	1	0	3	54	4th	2	9	1
Tonga	4th	0	0	4th	46	7th	4th	1	0
Georgia	4th	0	0	4th	46	1	1	12	1
Namibia	4th	0	0	4th	28	4th	4th	0	0
total	48				2828	332	244	206	24

Most points scored

rank	player	team	position	Games	tries	elevated Ungen	criminal kicks	Drop goals	Total
1.	Jonny Wilkinson	England	Connection half	6th	0	10	23	8th	113
2.	Frédéric Michalak	France	Connection half	6th	2	18th	18th	1	103
3.	Elton Flatley	Australia	Inner three quarters	6th	1	16	21st	0	100
4th	Leon MacDonald	New Zealand	Inner three quarters	7th	4th	20th	5	0	75
5.	Chris Paterson	Scotland	Connection half	5	3	7th	13	1	71
6th	Mat Rogers	Australia	Goalkeeper	7th	5	16	0	0	57
7th	Mike Hercus	United States	Connection half	4th	2	7th	9	0	51
8th.	Rima Wakarua	Italy	Connection half	3	0	4th	14th	0	50
9.	Earl Va'a	Samoa	Connection half	4th	1	10	8th	0	49
10.	Daniel Carter	New Zealand	Connection half	5	2	19th	0	0	48
	Derick Hougaard	South Africa	Connection half	5	2	10	5	1	48

Most attempts made

rank	player	team	position	Games	tries
1.	Doug Howlett	New Zealand	Outer three-quarters	7th	7th
	Mils Muliaina	New Zealand	Goalkeeper	7th	7th
3.	Joe Rocococo	New Zealand	Outer three-quarters	5	6th
4th	Chris Latham	Australia	Goalkeeper	1	5
	Josh Lewsey	England	Goalkeeper	5	5
	Will Greenwood	England	Inner three quarters	6th	5
	Mat Rogers	Australia	Goalkeeper	7th	5
	Lot Tuqiri	Australia	Outer three-quarters	7th	5
8th.	Pablo Bouza	Argentina	Number eight	2	4th
	Martin Gaitán	Argentina	Inner three quarters	2	4th
	Caleb Ralph	New Zealand	Outer three-quarters	4th	4th
	Christophe Dominici	France	Outer three-quarters	5	4th
	Stirling Mortlock	Australia	Inner three quarters	5	4th
	Matt Giteau	Australia	Inner three quarters	6th	4th
	Leon MacDonald	New Zealand	Goalkeeper	7th	4th
	Jason Robinson	England	Outer three-quarters	7th	4th
	Carlos Spencer	New Zealand	Connection half	7th	4th

Aftermath

The English team celebrates in Trafalgar Square, London

The English world championship team landed at Heathrow Airport three days after the final and was enthusiastically welcomed by thousands of fans despite the early hour of the day (around 4:30 in the morning). On December 8th, an impressive Victory Parade took place through the streets of London to Trafalgar Square .

The 2003 Rugby Union World Cup had a cumulative television audience of around 3.5 billion. An estimated 40,000 international spectators traveled to Australia during the World Cup. This resulted in the tourism industry to a sharp increase in revenue, which at about 100 million AUD to be estimated. In April 2004, the International Rugby Board published a report that set new records in all areas of the Rugby World Cup. The Australian Rugby Union reported that revenues were above expectations and the surplus was A $ 44.5 million. The hosting of the Rugby World Cup resulted in an increase in the number of spectators in the rugby league Super 12 as well as in the number of junior players.

Web links

Commons : 2003 Rugby World Cup  - collection of images, videos and audio files

• Review of worldcupweb.com
• BBC tournament review