Rugby World Cup (Kylaris)
Current season or competition: 2025 Rugby World Cup | |
.png){kind=logo} Logo of the IRFB, branded as Kylaris Rugby | |
| Sport | Rugby union |
|---|---|
| Instituted | 1981; 43 years ago |
| Number of teams | 20 (finals) |
| Holders |  Garambura (2021) |
| Most titles |  Caldia Nuvania (3 titles) |
| Website | rugbyworldcup |
The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament held every four years and contested by the top twenty international qualifying teams. Since its inception in 1981, the tournament has been governed by the International Rugby Football Board, the sport's international governing body. Five different teams have won the Rugby World Cup: Caldia have won three times and jointly hold the record of most titles (1989, 2009 and 2017) with Nuvania who have also won three times (1981, 1993 and 2013), whilst Garambura and Satavia have both won twice (Garambura won in 2001 and 2021 and Satavia in 1985 and 1997). Estmere are the only one-time winners, having defeated Caldia in 2005. The most recent World Cup, hosted by Satavia in 2021, was won by Garambura.
Since the tournament's inception, twenty teams have participated, but with increasing demand and the emergence of several new competitive teams, proposals are under discussion to increase the number of teams to twenty-four.
Format
Qualification
Under the current format, 20 teams qualify for the Rugby World Cup. 12 (or in some cases 13) nations qualify automatically: the top three finishers in each pool from the previous World Cup and the host nation. The remaining seven slots are filled based on international qualifying competitions, and three places are available for nations from Euclea, whilst two are available from the Asterias and Coius respectively. If the host nation finished within the top three of their group at the previous World Cup (and therefore only 12 nations qualified automatically) the remaining place is decided based on an intercontinental playoff tournament between nations who failed to qualify in their respective regional groups and is rewarded as the repechage place.
Tournament
The tournament (sometimes referred to as the "Finals") involves twenty teams competing over six weeks. Teams are organised into four pools of five teams where they play all the other teams in their group, as part of the round-robin stage. The draw is not random; rather the teams are seeded based on World Rugby rankings two years before the event. This has drawn criticism as it means the pools are often unbalanced as teams often change significantly in the period between the draw and the World Cup. The four highest-ranked teams are placed in Pools A-D, followed by the next four highest-ranked teams. The third place in each group consists of the final four qualifying teams that lie outside the top eight rankings (i.e. those ideally seeded places 9-13), whilst the remaining two places in each pool are made up of qualifying nations. The top two teams of each pool continue into the knockout stage whilst the remaining three teams are knocked out and do not progress; the team that finishes third, however, automatically qualifies for the next World Cup.
Eight teams, therefore, enter the knockout stage, where the winner of each pool is placed with a runner-up of a different pool. The first knockout stage is the quarter-finals, which are then followed by the semi-finals. The two losers of the semi-finals compete for third place (the "Bronze Final") whilst the winners go onto the finals. If a knockout stage match ends in a draw, two ten-minute halves of extra time are played, and if the score remains tied, the match is decided by golden point, in which the first team to score wins.
History
Formative years and the Empire League
Before the Rugby World Cup, there was no single world tournament, but many smaller regional tournaments. The first international game, played between Estmere and Borland in 1871 ended with a victory 4-1 to Estmere, and further international matches soon followed, primarily within Euclea. The Euclean Championship was contested between Estmere, Gaullica, Caldia, Borland and Etruria and was first held in 1886, and dominated by Estmere in its early years before Caldia gradually established itself as the pre-eminent rugby playing nation in the early 1900s. Meanwhile, Nuvania and Satavia began contesting the Kitchener Cup in 1907, a three-match test series held annually. Satavia and Nuvania became the two primary rugby-playing nations in the Asterias and welcomed sporadic Euclean tours. The first real attempt at a global league was the Empire League, contested by Estmere and the colonies and dominions of Estmere, which was planned to be held every four years but the competition only saw two editions - in 1918 and 1922 - both of which were won by Satavia, whilst Estmere finished second. Ultimately, the venture proved unsuccessful due to a lack of demand and such a competition would never be attempted again until the creation of the Rugby World Cup. Adding to the complications of arranging international fixtures was the differing set of rules that were followed for Rugby Union; indeed a split over the rules in Estmere lead to the foundation of the modern sport of Rugby League in 1895, achieving only significant popularity in Borland and western Estmere. By the end of the Great War, two clear sets of rules had formed - Euclean and Asterian, the latter played primarily by Nuvania and Satavia. The need to standardise the international rules of Rugby Union became clear and in 1941, the International Rugby Football Board was formed to be the sport's governing body.
Rugby soon became popular in new markets, most notably Garambura and Rwizikuru as the sport experienced rapid growth in the years following the Great War. Despite the rise of despotic regimes in Asteria and Bahia, international fixtures became increasingly common (save for a period from 1973 until 1976 when Satavia was suspended from the IRFB) and discussions of hosting a "world cup" began around this time but were frequently dismissed and met with contempt, particularly by the "traditional" rugby playing nations of Estmere and Gaullica.
Modern professional era
Facing increased competition from Rugby League, which was tempting Union players to code-switch with the promise of significantly higher wages, the IRFB was forced to declare Rugby Union an "open game" in 1979, removing the restrictions on payments and benefits to players. As part of the IRFB's attempts to re-open Rugby Union and increase its popularity, serious proposals for a meeting of all teams in a world cup tournament were discussed and considered for the first time. Despite initial pushback from Estmere and Gaullica, who had sought to preserve the old order of national touring (as most nations chose to tour in Estmere or Gaullica, the RFU and FGR made by far the most money from ticket sales and sponsorship). However, Gaullica relented once it became clear most IRFB member states were in favour, followed by Estmere soon after. There was no qualification tournament for the 1981 event; nations were invited by the IRFB council, whilst Caldia was unilaterally picked to host. 1981 was also the only World Cup which saw four points awarded for a try (whilst points for conversions and penalties remain the same at present), as the value of a try was increased to five points in 1983. The 1981 edition also saw the sole appearance of Jindao, who were defeated heavily by Caldia (121-6), Rizealand (56-0), Etruria (44-9) and Rwizikuru (40-12). Jindao failed to qualify for the next tournament and has failed to qualify for all tournaments since. Despite being invited, and initially accepting, Garambura did not participate in the 1981 tournament as it was forced to pull out citing financial difficulties as well squad selection difficulties as many players were eligible for both Garambura and Rwizikuru. Since missing the 1981 tournament, Garambura has finished in the top eight of every tournament since. Nuvania defeated Gaullica 24-21 in their quarter-final match before going on to defeat Satavia in the quarter-finals 9-6 and winning the inaugural World Cup by defeating Caldia 22-14, whilst Estmere finished ahead of Satavia 14-13. The tournament was regarded to have been a great success, and consequently, host selection for the 1985 and 1989 events began shortly after the tournament's competition. Despite bids from champions Nuvania as well as Gaullica, Estmere was selected as the 1985 tournament host, whilst Rizealand was selected as the host for the 1989 event. The host was voted for by the member nations of the IRFB in a secret ballot, though many nations chose to publicly state their vote; voting was conducted by elimination once each candidate had presented their bids.
The 1985 tournament, hosted in Estmere, saw the debuts of Garambura, who went on to finish fourth losing 12-9 in the Bronze final to Nuvania, as well as Senria, Rwizikuru and Soravia. The tournament was especially popular, and featured a vast and diverse number of host locations; two games were even hosted at Wyndsome College, the location of the alleged invention of Rugby Union. Estmere was met with a particularly difficult pool stage playing and losing to both Rizealand and Gaullica and despite a victory against Senria, was unable to progress past the pool stage, becoming the first nation to host a World Cup and fail to enter the knockout stages, a feat only repeated by Cassier and Etruria in 2001 and 2005 respectively. Caldia would once again finish second, being narrowly defeated by Satavia 30-28 in a match that saw four red cards (three of which were awarded to Caldian players), a record that still stands for the highest number of red cards awarded during a Rugby World Cup match.
Rizealand hosted the 1989 tournament, primarily in Fáel State, the home of Rizealander rugby thanks to its Caldian ties. Caldia would go on to win the tournament, defeating Estmere 12-7 but not without controversy; a try by Isaiah Godwinesone was controversially disallowed by Rizealander referee Seoirse Ó Conaill - Ó Conaill never referred another first-class match.
The 1993 tournament was hosted by Nuvania and is the only tournament to date in which the host nation emerged victorious; Nuvania defeated Satavia 17-16 after extra time, marking the only tournament in which extra time has been played in a final. Satavia scored two penalties in the course of extra time and were on the brink of becoming the first nation to win two editions of the tournament, before an 89th-minute try was scored and converted by fly-half Joel Piennaar, handing victory to Nuvania at the death, making Nuvania the first repeat winner.
The 1997 tournament, hosted by Gaullica, saw Satavia claim a second, and to date its most recent, World Cup victory. In stark contrast to the previous edition of the championship, Nuvania was defeated heavily by Satavia in the final, 55-14, the largest margin of victory in any World Cup final to date. Hosts Gaullica were defeated 21-19 in the quarter-finals by Estmere, who would go on to lose their semi-final match against Nuvania before beating Garambura to take third place. 2001 saw Cassier host the tournament - Cassier would then fail to make it past the group stages. Garambura would go on to win the tournament, becoming the first nation other than Caldia, Nuvania and Satavia to do so, having defeated Caldia 27-15 in the final. Meanwhile, as in the previous two years, Nuvania and Satavia would face each other in the knockout rounds over third place, with Satavia beating Nuvania 14-9. Notably, Estmere too failed to pass through the pool stage for the second time in their history at the tournament.
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The 2005 tournament was hosted by Etruria, who once again failed to make it out of the group stage, making this the second tournament in a row in which the host did not progress past the pool stage. Many of the venues were in southern Vespasia, long regarded as the home of Etrurian rugby. Estmere finally achieved World Cup success, defeating Caldia in the final. Meanwhile, Garambura would defeat Satavia in the Bronze place match beginning a decline in Satavian rugby results at the World Cup. The big upset of the tournament occurred when Nuvania failed to progress out of their pool, which they shared with Etruria, after being defeated by both Senria and Maucha. The following tournament in 2009 saw Caldia become the first nation to win back-to-back editions of the World Cup when they defeated Nuvania 45-18 in the final. Senria was the surprise of the tournament, knocking out hosts Estmere in the quarter-finals 34-32 in a match coined the "Morwall Miracle". Estmere, who was seeded first in the tournament, and ranked first in the world at the time, was defeated by the team ranked twelfth in the world in a match regarded as one of the greatest upsets in the history of sport. Senria would later lose to Garambura 39-9 but achieved their best result in the tournament to date.
Caldia once again hosted the tournament in 2013, achieving their worst result since 1997, losing in the semi-finals to Garambura before being defeated in the Bronze Final 13-7 by Estmere. Nuvania achieved parity with Caldia in terms of World Cup tournament victories by defeating Garambura 23-6. Meanwhile, Satavia would, for the second tournament in a row, be knocked out during the quarter-final stage. 2017 would see the World Cup hosted in Bahia for the first time, by Garambura. Caldia would reclaim their place as champions by defeating rivals Nuvania 15-12, whilst Satavia returned to the top four by besting hosts Garambura 33-7 to take third place.
Garambura became two-time champions when they defeated hosts Satavia at the 2021 tournament. Despite flash-flooding delaying the start of the tournament (and postponing the opening match), all forty-eight matches were completed. The tournament saw the debuts of Alsland and Gapolania - Gapolania, despite being the lowest-ranked team in the tournament, caused great upset when it defeated Tengaria and Cassier in the pool stage, whilst a draw with Maucha saw the Kolibri advance through to the quarter-finals - only to be knocked out by Satavia. Caldia defeated Rizealand in the bronze final to take third, despite having lost a pool game to Rizealand. This also marked the first tournament in which Rizealand was able to advance past the quarter-finals, and only the second time Gaullica was unable to proceed through the pool stage.
Trophy
The winners of the Rugby World Cup are awarded the Longwood Cup, named for the Estmero-Satavian general and politician who served as Prime Minister of Estmere for 14 years from 1846 to 1860, who is often anecdotally (and erroneously) credited with having created the game of Rugby Football alongside a number of his fellow students who attended Wyndsome College under the direction of headmaster Sir Aristides Rugby. The cup is gold plated and is inscribed with the name of the organiser, "International Rugby Football Board", the name of the cup "Longwood Cup" as well as the Solarian phrase "ad altiora tendo" ("I strive towards higher things"). The cup was created in 1980, in the run-up to the first tournament, and is based on the cup used by the Empire League during its short existence.
Results
Tournaments
- Key
- aet: result/match won after extra time
Performance of nations
Twenty-three national teams have participated in the Rugby World Cup (not including qualifying tournaments, where most recently fifty-two nations competed). Of these, five have won the Rugby World Cup (Caldia, Estmere, Garambura, Nuvania and Satavia) whilst Nuvania remains the only nation to have both hosted and won a tournament in 1993. Caldia has hosted two tournaments, finishing as runner-up in 1981 and fourth in 2013. Estmere has also hosted the tournament twice, failing to make it past the pool stage in 1985 and only making the quarter-finals in 2009. Rizealand, Nuvania, Gaullica, Cassier, Etruria, Garambura and Satavia have all hosted the tournament once.
Of the twenty-three nations that have qualified and participated in the tournament, seven have taken part in every single tournament whilst two - Caldia and Satavia - have finished in the top eight in all eleven tournaments. Garambura has finished in the top eight in every tournament it has participated in, having missed the 1981 edition. Meanwhile, Gapolania has also finished in the top eight in every tournament, having only participated in one (2021).
Team records
| Team | Champions | Runners-up | Third | Fourth | Quarter-finals | Apps in top 8 |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Caldia
|
3 (1989, 2009, 2017) | 4 (1981, 1985, 2001, 2005) | 2 (1993, 2021) | 1 (2013) | 1 (1997) | 11 |
| Nuvania
|
3 (1981, 1993, 2013) | 3 (1997, 2009, 2017) | 1 (1985) | 2 (1989, 2001) | 1 (2021) | 10 |
 Satavia
|
2 (1985, 1997) | 2 (1993, 2021) | 2 (2001, 2017) | 2 (1981, 2005) | 3 (1989, 2009, 2013) | 11 |
| Garambura
|
2 (2001, 2021) | 1 (2013) | 2 (2005, 2009) | 3 (1985, 1997, 2017) | 2 (1989, 1993) | 10 |
| Template:Country data Estmere | 1 (2005) | 1 (1989) | 3 (1981, 1997, 2013) | 1 (1993) | 3 (2009, 2017, 2021) | 9 |
 Gaullica
|
– | – | 1 (1989) | – | 8 (list) | 9 |
 Rizealand
|
– | – | – | 1 (2021) | 7 (list) | 8 |
 Senria
|
– | – | – | 1 (2009) | 3 (2001, 2005, 2017) | 4 |
 Cassier
|
– | – | – | – | 4 (1981, 1985, 1997, 2005) | 4 |
 Etruria
|
– | – | – | – | 4 (1981, 1989, 2001, 2013) | 4 |
| File:RwizikuruFlag.PNG Rwizikuru | – | – | – | – | 4 (1985, 1993, 2001, 2013) | 4 |
 Maucha
|
– | – | – | – | 2 (2005, 2009) | 2 |
 Azmara
|
– | – | – | – | 1 (2021) | 1 |
 Gapolania
|
– | – | – | – | 1 (2021) | 1 |
