Australia at the Rugby World Cup

File:Rugby world cup countries best results and hosts rev1.png

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

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 tournament

1987 New Zealand & Australia

Pool 1 {{#section:1987 Rugby World Cup Pool 1|Standings}}

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{{#section:1987 Rugby World Cup Pool 1|AusVsEng}}

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{{#section:1987 Rugby World Cup Pool 1|AusVsUsa}}

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{{#section:1987 Rugby World Cup Pool 1|AusVsJpn}}

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1991 UK, Ireland and France

Pool 3 Template:1991 Rugby World Cup Pool 3

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1995 South Africa

Pool A Template:1995 Rugby World Cup Pool A

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1999 Wales

Pool E Template:1999 Rugby World Cup Pool E

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2003 Australia

Pool A {{#section:2003 Rugby World Cup|PoolATable}}

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2007 France

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2011 New Zealand

Pool C Template:2011 Rugby World Cup Pool C

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2015 England

Pool A Template:2015 Rugby World Cup Pool A

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2019 Japan

2019 Rugby World Cup Pool D

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Hosting

File:World Cup Telstra stadium.jpg

The opening game at Stadium Australia between Australia and Argentina in 2003.

1987

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

City	Stadium	Capacity
Brisbane	Ballymore Stadium	24,000
Sydney	Concord Oval	20,000

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 Sydney Football Stadium was one of two venues in Sydney that were used for football during the 2000 Olympic Games. The other venue in Sydney was the Stadium Australia which was the centrepiece of the 2000 Olympic Games. Also known as Stadium Australia, Telstra Stadium was built at a cost of over A$600 million and was the biggest stadium used in the 2003 World Cup. The only stadium with a retractable roof used was the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne.

Stadium	Games	City	State	Capacity	Highest attendance
Stadium Australia	7	Sydney	New South Wales	83,500	82,957 (Final: Australia vs England)
Sydney Football Stadium	5	Sydney	New South Wales	41,159	37,137 (Scotland vs. Fiji)
Central Coast Stadium	3	Gosford	New South Wales	20,119	19,653 (Japan vs. United States)
Wollongong Showground	2	Wollongong	New South Wales	18,484	17,833 (France vs. United States)
Lang Park	9	Brisbane	Queensland	52,500	48,778 (Australia vs. Romania)
Willows Sports Complex	3	Townsville	Queensland	24,843	21,309 (France vs. Japan)
Docklands Stadium	7	Melbourne	Victoria	53,371	54,206 (Australia vs. Ireland)
Subiaco Oval	5	Perth	Western Australia	42,922	38,834 (South Africa vs. England)
Canberra Stadium	4	Canberra	Australian Capital Territory	24,647	22,641 (Italy vs. Wales)
Adelaide Oval	2	Adelaide	South Australia	33,597	33,000 (Australia vs. Namibia)
York Park	1	Launceston	Tasmania	19,891	15,457 (Namibia vs. Romania)

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 – Adam Ashley-Cooper vs 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.