2011 Rugby World Cup - a proud tradition
Rugby World Cup, one of the major sporting events in the world, is organized by the International Rugby Board (IRB) in which Men’s national teams take part from around the globe in an attempt to win the William Webb Ellis Cup every four years. It has a rich
history of how it came about and the different changes that came along the way.
William Webb Ellis is credited with chalking out the rules of the game for the very first time and giving birth to a form of football which was previously unknown. Ever since the very first Rugby World Cup was held in 1987, this competition is religiously
awaited by fans world over.
It all started with an annual board meeting of the International Rugby Board (IRB) at the French Railways head quarter stationed in Paris on March 20 to21, 1985. The meeting was organised in order to assess the possibility of having a Rugby World Cup (RWC),
which had been proposed many times in the past.
Earlier, similar suggestions had been turned down for many years. Eventually, the possibility of a World Cup started attracting the IRB and approval was finally given for a Rugby World Cup to take place in 1987. The foundational Rugby World Cup was hosted
by Australia and New Zealand.
With the overall participation of 16 nations, New Zealand made their way to the top and have the distinction of being the first ever Rugby World Cup (RWC) title holders. Even though there were 16 nations on board, the real competition was amongst the three
teams, namely France, New Zealand and Australia. Knocking out Australia in the semi-finals, France cruised into the final to face the much stronger New Zealand. The All Blacks were merciless and delivered a 29-9 win against France.
Since the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup, the event punctuates the timeline every four years and has not only grown magnificently in terms of its popularity amongst the masses but also in generating business.
After 1987, the next Rugby World Cup was held in 1991 at Twickenham, which was won by Australia after a fierce battle of 12-6 against England. Australia managed to be the title holders, yet again in the 1999 Rugby World Cup tournament at Millenium Stadium
against France with a sweeping victory of 35-12.
South Africa is the proud holder of two RWC titles with one coming in 1997 and the very recent 2007. The final was hosted by France on October 20, 2007 and the Springbok’s took the title from the outgunned England squad.
The South African reign is under threat now as the next Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be held in 2011 in New Zealand. This event will kick off from the September 10, and wind up on the October 23 and is scheduled over the weekends. The venue for the final
is Eden Park, in Auckland. The seventh Rugby World Cup 2011 will host 20 participating teams, with the expected number of viewers to be up to 70,000.
This year’s hosts, New Zealand, have over several disasters to bring the world the coveted event. With only a couple of months left before the start of the event, preparations are picking up momentum and fans are getting ready to participate in the Rugby
world’s biggest showpiece.
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