National team appearances in the Rugby World Cup

This article lists the début of national teams that have so far qualified for the Rugby World Cup and their number of appearances.

Début of national teams

25 nations have thus far qualified for the Rugby World Cup. After the inaugural 16 made their debut in 1987, at least one side has been new to every subsequent world cup.

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

By number of appearances

Team	# of appearances	Record streak	Active streak	Debut	Most recent	Best result
New Zealand	7	7	7	1987	2011	1.1 !Champions (1987, 2011)
South Africa	5	5	5	1995	2011	1.2 !Champions (1995, 2007)
Australia	7	7	7	1987	2011	1.3 !Champions (1991, 1999)
England	7	7	7	1987	2011	1.4 !Champions (2003)
France	7	7	7	1987	2011	2 !Runners-up (1987, 1999, 2011)
Argentina	7	7	7	1987	2011	3.1 !Third place (2007)
Wales	7	7	7	1987	2011	3.2 !Third place (1987)
Scotland	7	7	7	1987	2011	4 !Fourth place (1991)
Ireland	7	7	7	1987	2011	5.1 !Quarterfinals (1987, 1991, 1995, 2003, 2011)
Fiji	6	4	4	1987	2011	5.2 !Quarterfinals (1987, 2007)
Samoa	6	6	6	1991	2011	5.3 !Quarterfinals (1991, 1995)
Canada	7	7	7	1987	2011	5.4 !Quarterfinals (1991)
Italy	7	7	7	1987	2011	6 !Round 1
Japan	7	7	7	1987	2011	6 !Round 1
Romania	7	7	7	1987	2011	6 !Round 1
United States	6	4	4	1987	2011	6 !Round 1
Tonga	6	5	5	1987	2011	6 !Round 1
Namibia	4	4	4	1999	2011	6 !Round 1
Georgia	3	3	3	2003	2011	6 !Round 1
Zimbabwe	2	2	0	1987	1991	6 !Round 1
Uruguay	2	2	0	1999	2003	6 !Round 1
Ivory Coast	1	1	0	1995	1995	6 !Round 1
Spain	1	1	0	1999	1999	6 !Round 1
Portugal	1	1	0	2007	2007	6 !Round 1
Russia	1	1	1	2011	2011	6 !Round 1

Comprehensive team results

Map of countries' best results (click to enlarge)

Legend

• 1st — Champions
• 2nd — Runners-up
• 3rd — Third place
• 4th — Fourth place
• QF — Quarterfinals (knockout round of 8)
• R2 — Round 2 (1999: quarterfinal playoffs)
• R1 — Round 1 (pool stage)
•  ••  — Invited or qualified but declined or withdrew
•  •  — Did not qualify
•     — Not invited (1987) / Did not enter / Withdrew
• Q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
•    — 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)
Argentina	R1 13th	R1 14th	R1 13th	QF 8th	R1 9th	3rd	QF 8th	Q
Australia	4th	1st	QF 5th	1st	2nd	QF 6th	3rd	Q
Canada	R1 9th	QF 8th	R1 10th	R1 12th	R1 14th	R1 17th	R1 13th
England	QF 5th	2nd	4th	QF 5th	1st	2nd	QF 6th	Q
Fiji	QF 8th	R1 13th	•	R2 10th	R1 10th	QF 7th	R1 14th
France	2nd	QF 7th	3rd	2nd	4th	4th	2nd	Q
Georgia	••(2)		•	•	R1 19th	R1 13th	R1 15th
Ireland	QF 7th	QF 6th	QF 8th	R2 9th	QF 6th	R1 11th	QF 7th	Q
Italy	R1 12th	R1 10th	R1 11th	R1 20th	R1 12th	R1 12th	R1 11th	Q
Ivory Coast(1)		•	R1 15th	•	•	•	•
Japan	R1 15th	R1 9th	R1 16th	R1 17th	R1 17th	R1 16th	R1 17th		Q
Namibia			•	R1 19th	R1 20th	R1 20th	R1 20th
New Zealand	1st	3rd	2nd	4th	3rd	QF 5th	1st	Q
Portugal		•	•	•	•	R1 19th	•
Romania	R1 11th	R1 12th	R1 14th	R1 14th	R1 15th	R1 15th	R1 19th
Russia	••(2)		•	•	•	•	R1 18th
Samoa(3)		QF 7th	QF 7th	R2 11th	R1 11th	R1 14th	R1 10th	Q
Scotland	QF 6th	4th	QF 6th	QF 6th	QF 8th	QF 8th	R1 9th	Q
South Africa(4)			1st	3rd	QF 5th	1st	QF 5th	Q
Spain		•	•	R1 18th	•	•	•
Tonga	R1 14th	•	R1 12th	R1 15th	R1 18th	R1 10th	R1 12th	Q
United States	R1 10th	R1 15th	•	R1 16th	R1 13th	R1 18th	R1 16th
Uruguay			•	R1 13th	R1 16th	•	•
Wales	3rd	R1 11th	R1 9th	QF 7th	QF 7th	R1 9th	4th	Q
Zimbabwe	R1 16th	R1 16th	•	•	•	•	•

¹ The team representing Côte d'Ivoire (also known as Ivory Coast) is recognised as Ivory Coast by the International Rugby Board.

² 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.

³ Samoa was known as Western Samoa until 1997.

⁴ South Africa did not compete in 1987 and 1991 as a result of being subject to an international sporting boycott; this was in opposition to the country's apartheid regime.

Result of host nations

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 also held by Wales, being eliminated in the quarter-finals in 1999.

Year	Host nation	Finish
1987	New Zealand	Champions
	Australia	Fourth Place
1991	England	Runners-up
	Scotland	Fourth Place
	France	Quarter Final
	Ireland	Quarter Final
	Wales	Group Stage
1995	South Africa	Champions
1999	Wales	Quarter Final
2003	Australia	Runners-up
2007	France	Fourth Place
2011	New Zealand	Champions
2015	England	To be decided
2019	Japan	To be decided

Results of defending champions

A defending champion has never won the World Cup. The best result is runners-up by Australia and England 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
1987	—	—
1991	New Zealand	Third Place
1995	Australia	Quarter Final
1999	South Africa	Third Place
2003	Australia	Runners-up
2007	England	Runners-up
2011	South Africa	Quarter Final
2015	New Zealand	To be decided

External links

• Rugbyworldcup.com
• IRB.com