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National team appearances in the Rugby World Cup

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This article presents the national team appearances in the Rugby World Cup. The article tracks the appearances, results, and debuts for all national teams that have participated in at least one Rugby World Cup.

Number of appearances

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Tournament appearances by team, up to and including 2023:

Team Apps Record
streak 		Active
streak 		Debut Most
recent 		Best result
 South Africa 8 8 8 1995 2023 Champions (1995, 2007, 2019, 2023)
 New Zealand 10 10 10 1987 2023 Champions (1987, 2011, 2015)
 Australia 10 10 10 1987 2023 Champions (1991, 1999)
 England 10 10 10 1987 2023 Champions (2003)
 France 10 10 10 1987 2023 Runners-up (1987, 1999, 2011)
 Wales 10 10 10 1987 2023 Third place (1987)
 Argentina 10 10 10 1987 2023 Third place (2007)
 Scotland 10 10 10 1987 2023 Fourth place (1991)
 Ireland 10 10 10 1987 2023 Quarter-finals (eight times)
 Fiji 9 7 7 1987 2023 Quarter-finals (1987, 2007, 2023)
 Samoa 9 9 9 1991 2023 Quarter-finals (1991, 1995)
 Canada 9 9 0 1987 2019 Quarter-finals (1991)
 Japan 10 10 10 1987 2023 Quarter-finals (2019)
 Italy 10 10 10 1987 2023 2 wins (six times)
 Tonga 9 8 8 1987 2023 2 wins (2007, 2011)
 Georgia 6 6 6 2003 2023 2 wins (2015)
 Portugal 2 1 1 2007 2023 1 win and 1 draw (2023)
 Romania 9 8 1 1987 2023 1 win (six times)
 United States 8 6 0 1987 2019 1 win (1987, 2003, 2011)
 Uruguay 5 3 3 1999 2023 1 win (1999, 2003, 2019, 2023)
 Namibia 7 7 7 1999 2023 1 draw (2019)
 Zimbabwe 2 2 0 1987 1991 0 wins
 Ivory Coast 1 1 0 1995 1995 0 wins
 Spain 1 1 0 1999 1999 0 wins
 Russia 2 1 0 2011 2019 0 wins
 Chile 1 1 1 2023 2023 0 wins

Results by tournament

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Map of countries' best results (click to enlarge)
Legend
  • QF — Quarterfinalist
  • R2 — Round 2 (1999: quarterfinal playoffs)
  • R1 — Round 1 (pool stage)
  • Q — Qualified
  • •• — Invited but declined or qualified but withdrew
  • • — Did not qualify
  • × — Expelled after qualification/Disqualified
  •   — Not invited (1987) / Did not enter or withdrew from qualifying
  •   — Hosts

For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

Team 1987
(16) 		1991
(16) 		1995
(16) 		1999
(20) 		2003
(20) 		2007
(20) 		2011
(20) 		2015
(20) 		2019
(20) 		2023
(20) 		2027
(24) 		2031
(24)
Africa
 Ivory Coast • R1 • • • • • • •
 Namibia • R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1
 South Africa(3) 1st 3rd QF 1st QF 3rd 1st 1st
 Zimbabwe R1 R1 • • • • • • • • Q
Asia
 Japan R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 QF R1 Q
Europe
 England QF 2nd 4th QF 1st 2nd QF R1 2nd 3rd Q
 France 2nd QF 3rd 2nd 4th 4th 2nd QF QF QF Q
 Georgia ••(1) • • R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1
 Ireland QF QF QF R2 QF R1 QF QF QF QF Q
 Italy R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 Q
 Portugal • • • • R1 • • • R1
 Romania R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 •(4) R1
 Russia ••(1) • • • • R1 • R1 •
 Scotland QF 4th QF QF QF QF R1 QF R1 R1 Q
 Spain • • R1 • • • • •(4) ×(5)
 Wales 3rd R1 R1 QF QF R1 4th QF 4th QF Q
North America
 Canada R1 QF R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 •
 United States R1 R1 • R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 • Q
Oceania
 Australia 4th 1st QF 1st 2nd QF 3rd 2nd QF R1 Q
 Fiji QF R1 • R2 R1 QF R1 R1 R1 QF Q
 New Zealand 1st 3rd 2nd 4th 3rd QF 1st 1st 3rd 2nd Q
 Samoa(2) QF QF R2 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1
 Tonga R1 • R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1
South America
 Argentina R1 R1 R1 QF R1 3rd QF 4th R1 4th Q
 Chile • • • • • • • R1
 Uruguay • R1 R1 • • R1 R1 R1
Team 1987
(16) 		1991
(16) 		1995
(16) 		1999
(20) 		2003
(20) 		2007
(20) 		2011
(20) 		2015
(20) 		2019
(20) 		2023
(20) 		2027
(24) 		2031
(24)
  • 1 Georgia and Russia were part of the Soviet Union in 1987, whose national team declined an invitation to the inaugural World Cup on political grounds.
  • 2 Samoa was known as Western Samoa until 1997.
  • 3 South Africa did not compete in 1987 and 1991 while subject to an international sporting boycott in opposition to the country's apartheid regime.
  • 4 Romania and Spain fielded ineligible players during the Rugby Europe Championship, incurring points deductions resulting in their non-qualification in 2019.[1]
  • 5 Spain had initially qualified, but were deducted 10 points for fielding an ineligible player in two qualifying games, resulting in Spain losing their place.[2]

Debut of national teams

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26 nations have thus far qualified for the Rugby World Cup. From 1987 until 2011, each edition featured at least one new debuting country. The 2015 tournament was the first edition with no country making its debut. It simply featured the return of Uruguay after not qualifying for the 2007 and 2011 editions. The 2019 was the same, with Romania disqualified and replaced by Russia.

Year Nation(s) Total
1987  Argentina
 Australia
 Canada
 England
 Fiji
 France
 Ireland
 Italy
 Japan
 New Zealand
 Romania
 Scotland
 Tonga
 United States
 Wales
 Zimbabwe 		16
1991  Samoa 1
1995  Ivory Coast
 South Africa 		2
1999  Namibia
 Spain
 Uruguay 		3
2003  Georgia 1
2007  Portugal 1
2011  Russia 1
2015 (none) 0
2019 (none) 0
2023  Chile 1

Result of host nations

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The best result by hosts is champions, achieved by New Zealand in 1987 and 2011, and by South Africa in 1995. The worst result was by Wales in 1991 with only one win in pool play, although they did not host the final. The worst result by a country who hosted the final is held by England, being eliminated in the group stage in 2015.

Year Host nation Finish
1987  New Zealand Champions
 Australia Fourth place
1991  England Runners-up
 Scotland Fourth place
 France Quarter-finals
 Ireland Quarter-finals
 Wales Group stage
1995  South Africa Champions
1999  Wales Quarter-finals
2003  Australia Runners-up
2007  France Fourth place
2011  New Zealand Champions
2015  England Group stage
2019  Japan Quarter-finals
2023  France Quarter-finals
2027  Australia To be determined
2031  United States

Results of defending champions

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New Zealand and South Africa are the only nations to successfully defend the World Cup as defending champions in 2015 and 2023 respectively. Australia and England achieved runner up in 2003 and 2007, respectively. The worst results were by Australia in 1995 and South Africa in 2011, both exiting in the quarter-finals.

Year Defending champions Finish
1991  New Zealand Third place
1995  Australia Quarter-finals
1999  South Africa Third place
2003  Australia Runners-up
2007  England Runners-up
2011  South Africa Quarter-finals
2015  New Zealand Champions
2019  New Zealand Third place
2023  South Africa Champions
2027  South Africa To be determined

Performance by confederation

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This is a summary of the best performances of each confederation in each tournament.

Confederation 1987
(16) 		1991
(16) 		1995
(16) 		1999
(20) 		2003
(20) 		2007
(20) 		2011
(20) 		2015
(20) 		2019
(20) 		2023
(20) 		2027
(24) 		2031
(24)
Africa R1 R1 1st 3rd QF 1st QF 3rd 1st 1st TBD TBD
Asia R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 QF R1 TBD TBD
Europe 2nd 2nd 3rd 2nd 1st 2nd 2nd QF 2nd 3rd TBD TBD
North America R1 QF R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 — TBD TBD
Oceania 1st 1st 2nd 1st 2nd QF 1st 1st 3rd 2nd TBD TBD
South America R1 R1 R1 QF R1 3rd QF 4th R1 4th TBD TBD

Number of teams by confederation

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This is a summary of the total number of participating teams by confederation in each tournament.

Confederation 1987
(16) 		1991
(16) 		1995
(16) 		1999
(20) 		2003
(20) 		2007
(20) 		2011
(20) 		2015
(20) 		2019
(20) 		2023
(20) 		2027
(24) 		2031
(24)
Africa 1 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 TBD TBD
Asia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 TBD TBD
Europe 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 8 8 9 TBD TBD
North America 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 TBD TBD
Oceania 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 TBD TBD
South America 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 3 TBD TBD

Appearance droughts

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This section is a list of droughts associated with the participation of national rugby union teams in the Rugby World Cups.

Longest active droughts

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Does not include teams that have not yet made their first appearance or teams that no longer exist.

Team Last appearance WC Missed
 Zimbabwe 1991 8
 Ivory Coast 1995 7
 Spain 1999 6
 Canada 2019 1
 Russia 2019 1
 United States 2019 1

Longest droughts overall

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Only includes droughts begun after a team's first appearance and until the team ceased to exist updated to include qualification for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Team Prev. appearance Next appearance WC Missed
 Zimbabwe 1991 active 8
 Ivory Coast 1995 active 7
 Spain 1999 active 6
 Portugal 2007 2023 3
 Uruguay 2003 2015 2

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Russia handed World Cup place as Romania penalised for ineligible player". The Guardian. 16 May 2018.
  2. ^ "Independent Appeal Committee decision regarding Spain player eligibility". World Rugby. 27 June 2022. Retrieved 8 September 2023.
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