Ireland at the Rugby World Cup

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

The Ireland national rugby union team have played all eight Rugby World Cup tournaments. They have played in the quarter-finals at all but two tournaments, but have yet to progress to the semi-finals. They have finished top of their pool twice. Ireland has never played either South Africa or England in a World Cup match.

Ireland has competed at every Rugby World Cup since the tournament was first held in Australia and New Zealand in 1987.

Summary[]

After a loss to Wales, Ireland finished second in their pool in 1987 but were then knocked out by Australia in their quarter final in Sydney.

In 1991 Ireland again lost only the one match in pool play (to Scotland). They again met the Australians in the quarter-finals, who defeated them by one point.^[1] Runner-up in their pool in 1995 to New Zealand, Ireland were defeated by France in their quarter-final in Durban.

Ireland finished second in their pool in 1999, behind Australia and went into the quarter-final play-offs (a system exclusive to the 1999 tournament). There they lost to Argentina, and thus, not being quarter-finalists, they were not given automatic entry into 2003.

They defeated Russia and Georgia to go through the 2003 World Cup as Europe 1. They finished second to Australia in their pool, and were knocked out by France in the quarter finals.

They started in the so-called "Group of death" with hosts France, Argentina, Namibia and Georgia in the 2007 Rugby World Cup. They played Namibia (the lowest ranked team in the World cup) in their opening game on 9 September which resulted in a narrow 32–17 win.^[2] Their progress was then put into doubt when they beat Georgia 14–10, not obtaining a bonus point.^[3] France's victory over Namibia 87–10 put Ireland's progression from the group in doubt, and this was compounded when the French defeated Ireland 25–3.^[4] Entering their last group match against Argentina, needing four tries to secure a bonus point without allowing Argentina anything, Ireland were defeated by 30 points to 15 and crashed out at the pool stage for the first time.^[5]

Ireland began their 2011 Rugby World Cup campaign on the back of four defeats in a series of warm-up tests in August, with a 22–10 victory over the United States in New Plymouth on 11 September. Failing to secure a bonus point against world cup minnows the United States, a team ranked far below Ireland, this was an unconvincing win. Contrary to preceding form, and indeed beating most commentators expectations, Ireland produced a memorable performance to defeat reigning tri-nations champions Australia 15–6 in their second pool game in Eden Park in Auckland on 17 September. This was the first Irish win against tri-nations opposition in the southern hemisphere in 32 years. It was also Ireland's first ever win against Australia in the Rugby World Cup. After comprehensive wins against Russia and Italy in the final two pool-stage matches, Ireland topped Pool C. This was the first ever time Ireland came first in a world cup pool. Ireland advanced to the quarter-finals to face Wales in Wellington. They were defeated 22–10 by the Welsh, thus ending their 2011 campaign.

Ireland topped Pool D of the 2015 Rugby World Cup with four victories and with two bonus points. Ireland beat Canada and Romania with bonus points in their first two games. Ireland then faced Italy, coming out on top 16–9,^[6] the only try coming from Keith Earls who surpassed Brian O'Driscoll as Ireland's leading Rugby World Cup try scorer with eight. The final pool game saw Ireland face France. The winner would set up a quarter final against Argentina and avoid the All Blacks. Ireland overcame the loss to injury of key players Jonathan Sexton, Peter O'Mahony and Paul O'Connell to run out 24–9 winners.^[7]^[8] The victory set up another game for Ireland in the Millennium Stadium against Pool C runners up Argentina on 18 October 2015. Ireland battled and came back from a 17-point deficit to come within 3 points of their opponents, but eventually lost 43–20.

At the 2019 Rugby World Cup, Ireland began with a 27–3 win against Scotland on 22 September before losing to Japan a week later 19–12 in the Shizuoka Stadium.^[9]^[10] Wins over Russia by 35-0 and Samoa by 47-5 set up a quarter-final against New Zealand on 19 October.^[11]^[12] In Joe Schmidt's last game in charge, New Zealand won easily by 46–14 to eliminate Ireland from the World Cup at the quarter-final stage for the seventh time.^[13]^[14]^[15]

By position[]

Rugby World Cup

Qualification

Year

Round

Pld

W

D

L

PF

PA

Squad

Pos

Pld

W

D

L

PF

PA

1987

Quarter-finals

4

2

0

2

99

74

Squad

Invited

1991

Quarter-finals

4

2

0

2

120

70

Squad

Automatically qualified

1995

Quarter-finals

4

2

0

2

105

130

Squad

Automatically qualified

1999

Quarter-finals play-off

4

2

0

2

124

73

Squad

1st

2

0

123

35

2003

Quarter-finals

5

3

0

2

162

99

Squad

1st

2

0

98

17

2007

Pool Stage

4

2

0

2

64

82

Squad

Automatically qualified

2011

Quarter-finals

5

4

0

1

145

56

Squad

Automatically qualified

2015

Quarter-finals

5

4

0

1

154

78

Squad

Automatically qualified

2019

Quarter-finals

5

3

0

2

135

73

Squad

Automatically qualified

2023

Automatically qualified

Total

Quarter-finals

40

24

0

16

1108

735

4

0

221

52

Champions Runners-up Third place Fourth place	Home venue

Matches[]

1987 Rugby World Cup[]

Pool 2 matches –

Team v t	P	W	L	PF	PA	Tries	Pts
Wales	3	3	0	82	31	13	6
Ireland	3	2	1	84	41	11	4
Canada	3	1	2	65	90	7	2
Tonga	3	0	3	29	98	3	0

1987-05-25

Ireland	6–13	Wales
Pen: Kiernan (2)	Report	Try: Ring Pen: Thorburn Drop: Davies (2)

Athletic Park, Wellington
Attendance: 17,500
Referee: Kerry Fitzgerald

1987-05-30

Canada	19–46	Ireland
Try: Cardinal Pen: Rees (3) Wyatt Drop: Rees	Report	Tries: Crossan (2) Bradley Spillane Ringland MacNeill Con: Kiernan (5) Pen: Kiernan (2) Drop: Ward Kiernan

Carisbrook, Dunedin
Attendance: 10,000
Referee: Fred Howard

1987-06-03

Ireland	32–9	Tonga
Tries: Mullin (3) MacNeill (2) Con: Ward (3) Pen: Ward (2)	Report	Pen: Amone (3)

Ballymore, Brisbane
Attendance: 3,000
Referee: Guy Maurette

Quarter-final

7 June 1987

Australia	33–15	Ireland
Tries: Burke (2) McIntyre Smith Con: Lynagh (4) Pen: Lynagh (3)	Report	Tries: MacNeill Kiernan Con: Kiernan (2) Pen: Kiernan

Concord Oval, Sydney
Attendance: 14,356
Referee: Brian Anderson (Scotland)

1991 Rugby World Cup[]

Pool 2 matches –

Team v t	P	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
Scotland	3	3	0	122	36	6
Ireland	3	2	1	102	51	4
Japan	3	1	2	77	87	2
Zimbabwe	3	0	3	31	158	0

1991-10-06

Ireland	55–11	Zimbabwe
Tries: Robinson (4), Popplewell (2), Geoghegan, Curtis Con: Keyes (4) Pen: Keyes (5)	Report	Tries: Dawson, Pen:

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 40,000
Referee: Keith Lawrence

1991-10-09

Ireland	32–16	Japan
Tries: Mannion (2), O’Hara, Staples Con: Keyes (2) Pen: Keyes (4)	Report	Tries: Hayashi, Kajihara, Yoshida Con: Hosokawa (2)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Laikini Colati

1991-10-12

Scotland	24–15	Ireland
Tries: Shiel, Armstrong, S. Hastings Con: G. Hastings (2) Pen: G. Hastings (3) Drop: Chalmers	Report	Pen: Keyes (4) Drop: Keyes

Murrayfield, Edinburgh
Attendance: 60,000
Referee: Fred Howard

Quarter-final

20 October 1991

Ireland	18–19	Australia
Tries: Hamilton Con: Keyes Pen: Keyes (3) Drop: Keyes	Report	Tries: Campese (2), Lynagh Con: Lynagh (2) Pen: Lynagh

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 54,500
Referee: Jim Fleming (Scotland)

1995 Rugby World Cup[]

Pool C matches –

Team v t	P	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
New Zealand	3	3	0	222	45	9
Ireland	3	2	1	93	94	7
Wales	3	1	2	89	68	5
Japan	3	0	3	55	252	3

1995-05-27

Ireland	19–43	New Zealand
Tries: David Corkery, Denis McBride, Gary Halpin Con: Eric Elwood (2)	Report	Tries: Jonah Lomu (2), Josh Kronfeld, Frank Bunce, Glen Osborne Con: Andrew Mehrtens (3) Pen: Andrew Mehrtens (4)

Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Attendance: 38 000
Referee: Wayne Erickson

1995-05-31

Ireland	50–28	Japan
Tries: Neil Francis, Simon Geoghegan, David Corkery, Eddie Halvey, Niall Hogan Con: Paul Burke (6) Pen: Paul Burke	Report	Tries: Sinali Latu, Ko Izawa, Seiji Hirao, Masanori Takura Con: Yoshihito Yoshida (4)

Free State Stadium, Bloemfontein
Attendance: 15 000
Referee: Stef Neethling

1995-06-04

Ireland	24–23	Wales
Tries: Eddie Halvey, Nick Popplewell, Denis McBride Con: Eric Elwood (3) Pen: Eric Elwood	Report	Tries: Jonathan Humphreys, Hemi Taylor Con: Neil Jenkins (2) Pen: Neil Jenkins (2) Drop: Adrian Davies

Ellis Park, Johannesburg
Attendance: 35 000
Referee: Ian Rogers

Quarter finals –

1995-06-10

France	36–12	Ireland
Tries: Philippe Saint-Andre, Émile Ntamack Con: Thierry Lacroix Pen: Thierry Lacroix (8)	Report	Pen: Eric Elwood (4)

Kings Park Stadium, Durban
Attendance: 18 000
Referee: Ed Morrison

1999 Rugby World Cup[]

Pool E matches –

Team v t	P	W	L	PF	PA	Pts
Australia	3	3	0	135	31	9
Ireland	3	2	1	100	45	7
Romania	3	1	2	50	126	5
United States	3	0	3	52	135	3

1999-10-02

Ireland	53–8	United States
Tries: Keith Wood (4), Brian O'Driscoll, Justin Bishop, Penalty try Con: David Humphreys (4) Eric Elwood (2) Pen: David Humphreys (2)	Report	Tries: Kevin Dalzell Pen: Kevin Dalzell

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 30,000
Referee: Joel Dume

1999-10-10

Ireland	3–23	Australia
Pen: David Humphreys	Report	Tries: Ben Tune, Tim Horan Con: Matthew Burke (2) Pen: Matthew Burke (2), John Eales

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 49,250
Referee: Clayton Thomas

1999-10-15

Ireland	44–14	Romania
Tries: Conor O'Shea (2), Andrew Ward, Thomas Tierney, Dion O'Cuinneagain Con: Eric Elwood (5) Pen: Eric Elwood (2) Drop goals: Brian O'Driscoll	Report	Tries: Cristian Sauan Pen: Petre Mitu (3)

Lansdowne Road, Dublin
Attendance: 33,000
Referee: Brain Campsell

Quarter-final play off

1999-10-20

Ireland	24–28	Argentina
Pen: David Humphreys (7) Drop: David Humphreys	Report	Tries: Diego Albanese Con: Gonzalo Quesada Pen: Gonzalo Quesada (7)

Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens
Attendance: 22,000
Referee: Stuart Dickinson

2003 Rugby World Cup[]

Group A matches –

Team v t	Pld	W	L	PF	PA	BP	Pts
Australia	4	4	0	273	32	2	18
Ireland	4	3	1	141	56	3	15
Argentina	4	2	2	140	57	3	11
Romania	4	1	3	65	192	1	5
Namibia	4	0	4	28	310	0	0

2003-10-11

Ireland	45–17	Romania
Tries: S. Horgan, Wood, Hickie (2), Costello Con: Humphreys (3), O'Gara Pen: Humphreys (4)	Report	Tries: Penalty try, Maftei Con: Tofan, Vioreanu Pen: Tofan

Bluetongue Central Coast Stadium, Gosford
Attendance: 19,123
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan

2003-10-19

Ireland	64–7	Namibia
Tries: Quinlan (2), Dempsey, Hickie, Horan, Miller (2), G. Easterby, S. Horgan, Kelly Con: O'Gara (7)	Report	Tries: Powell Con: Wessels

Aussie Stadium, Sydney
Attendance: 35,382
Referee:

2003-10-26

Argentina	15–16	Ireland
Pen: Quesada (3) Drop: Quesada, Corleto	Report	Tries: Quinlan Con: Humphreys Pen: Humphreys, O'Gara (2)

Adelaide Oval
Attendance: 30,203
Referee: André Watson

2003-11-01

Australia	17–16	Ireland
Tries: Smith Pen: Flatley (3) Drop: Gregan	Report	Tries: O'Driscoll Con: O'Gara Pen: O'Gara (2) Drop: O'Driscoll

Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 54,206
Referee: Paddy O'Brien

2003-11-09

France	43–21	Ireland
Tries: Magne 3' c Dominici 29' c Harinordoquy 33' c Crenca 47' c Con: Michalak (4) Pen: Michalak (5)	Report	Tries: Maggs 52' c O'Driscoll (2) 65' c, 80+2' c Con: Humphreys (3)

Telstra Dome, Melbourne
Attendance: 33,134
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan

2007 Rugby World Cup[]

Pool D matches –

Team v t	Pld	W	L	TF	PF	PA	+/−	BP	Pts
Argentina	4	4	0	16	143	33	+110	2	18
France	4	3	1	24	188	37	+151	3	15
Ireland	4	2	2	9	64	82	−18	1	9
Georgia	4	1	3	5	50	111	−61	1	5
Namibia	4	0	4	3	30	212	−182	0	0

9 September 2007
20:00

Ireland	32–17	Namibia
Tries: O'Driscoll 5' c Trimble 19' m Easterby 30' m Penalty try 49' c Flannery 76' m Con: O'Gara (2/5) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 17'	Report	Tries: Nieuwenhuis 60' c Van Zyl 64' c Con: Wessels (2/2) Pen: Wessels (1/2) 40+'

Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
Attendance: 33,694
Referee: Joël Jutge (France)

15 September 2007
21:00

Ireland	14–10	Georgia
Tries: R. Best 17' c Dempsey 55' c Con: O'Gara (2/2)	Report	Try: Shkinin 45' c Con: Kvirikashvili (1/1) Pen: Kvirikashvili (1/2) 37'

Stade Chaban-Delmas, Bordeaux
Attendance: 33,807
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

21 September 2007
21:00

France	25–3	Ireland
Tries: Clerc (2) 59' m, 69' m Pen: Élissalde (5/6) 7', 18', 22', 40+', 55'	Report	Drop: O'Gara (1/1) 37'

Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 80,267
Referee: Chris White (England)

30 September 2007
17:00

Ireland	15–30	Argentina
Tries: O'Driscoll 32' c Murphy 47' m Con: O'Gara (1/2) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 20'	Report	Tries: Borges 17' m Agulla 39' c Con: F. Contepomi (1/2) Pen: F. Contepomi (3/4) 43', 62', 66' Drop: Hernández (3/5) 21', 36', 79'

Parc des Princes, Paris
Attendance: 45,450
Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)

2011 Rugby World Cup[]

Ireland qualified for the 2011 RWC automatically.

Team v t	Pld	W	L	TF	PF	PA	+/−	BP	Pts
Ireland	4	4	0	15	135	34	+101	1	17
Australia	4	3	1	25	173	48	+125	3	15
Italy	4	2	2	13	92	95	−3	2	10
United States	4	1	3	4	38	122	−84	0	4
Russia	4	0	4	8	57	196	−139	1	1

11 September 2011
18:00

Ireland	22 – 10	United States
Try: Bowe (2) 40' c, 60' c Best 56' m Con: Sexton (1/1) O'Gara (1/2) Pen: Sexton (1/5) 17'	Report	Try: Emerick 80+' c Con: Malifa (1/1) Pen: Paterson (1/2) 54'

Stadium Taranaki, New Plymouth
Attendance: 20,823
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)


Ireland
FB	15	Geordan Murphy	67'
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy
LW	11	Keith Earls
FH	10	Jonathan Sexton	51'
SH	9	Conor Murray	51'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	Shane Jennings	61'
BF	6	Stephen Ferris
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	Mike Ross
HK	2	Rory Best	61'
LP	1	Tom Court	65'
Replacements:
HK	16	Jerry Flannery	61'
PR	17	Tony Buckley	65'
LK	18	Donnacha Ryan
N8	19	Denis Leamy	61'
SH	20	Eoin Reddan	51'
FH	21	Ronan O'Gara	51'
WG	22	Andrew Trimble	67'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


United States
FB	15	Blaine Scully
RW	14	Takudzwa Ngwenya
OC	13	Paul Emerick
IC	12	Andrew Suniula
LW	11	James Paterson
FH	10	Roland Suniula	59'
SH	9	Mike Petri	67'
N8	8	Nic Johnson
OF	7	Todd Clever (c)
BF	6	Louis Stanfill
RL	5	Hayden Smith
LL	4	John van der Giessen
TP	3	Shawn Pittman
HK	2	Phil Thiel	68'
LP	1	Mike MacDonald	63'
Replacements:
HK	16	Chris Biller	68'
PR	17	Mate Moeakiola	63'
LK	18	Scott LaValla
FL	19	Pat Danahy
SH	20	Tim Usasz	67'
FH	21	Nese Malifa	59'
WG	22	Colin Hawley
Coach:
Eddie O'Sullivan

Man of the Match:
Paul O'Connell (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Nigel Owens (Wales)
(Italy)
Television match official:
(England)

17 September 2011
20:30

Australia	6 – 15	Ireland
Pen: O'Connor (2/4) 11', 23'	Report	Pen: Sexton (2/5) 17', 49' O'Gara (2/2) 62', 71' Drop: Sexton 19'

Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 58,678
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)


Australia
FB	15	Kurtley Beale
RW	14	James O'Connor
OC	13	Anthony Fainga'a	75'
IC	12	Pat McCabe
LW	11	Adam Ashley-Cooper
FH	10	Quade Cooper
SH	9	Will Genia
N8	8	Radike Samo	74'
OF	7	Ben McCalman
BF	6	Rocky Elsom	73'
RL	5	James Horwill (c)
LL	4	Dan Vickerman	63'
TP	3	Ben Alexander	63'
HK	2	Tatafu Polota-Nau
LP	1	Sekope Kepu
Replacements:
HK	16	Saia Fainga'a
PR	17	James Slipper	63'
LK	18	Rob Simmons	63'
N8	19	Wycliff Palu	73'
FL	20	Scott Higginbotham	74'
SH	21	Luke Burgess
WG	22	Drew Mitchell	75'
Coach:
Robbie Deans


Ireland
FB	15	Rob Kearney	75'
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)	60' to 63'
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy	50'
LW	11	Keith Earls
FH	10	Jonathan Sexton
SH	9	Eoin Reddan	57'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	Seán O'Brien
BF	6	Stephen Ferris
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	Mike Ross	77'
HK	2	Rory Best
LP	1	Cian Healy
Replacements:
HK	16	Seán Cronin
PR	17	Tom Court	77'
LK	18	Donnacha Ryan
N8	19	Denis Leamy
SH	20	Conor Murray	57'
FH	21	Ronan O'Gara	50'
WG	22	Andrew Trimble	60' 63' 75'
Coach:
Declan Kidney

Man of the Match:
Cian Healy (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Craig Joubert (South Africa)
(Italy)
Television match official:
(England)

25 September 2011
18:00

Ireland	62 – 12	Russia
Try: McFadden 10' c O'Brien 13' c Boss 38' c Earls(2) 39' c, 48' c Trimble 40+' m Kearney 65' c Jennings 73' c Buckley 79' m Con: O'Gara (6/7) Sexton (1/2) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 6'	Report	Try: Artemyev 50' c Simplikevich 59' m Con: Rachkov (1/2)

Rotorua International Stadium, Rotorua
Attendance: 25,661
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)


Ireland
FB	15	Rob Kearney
RW	14	Fergus McFadden
OC	13	Keith Earls	49'
IC	12	Paddy Wallace
LW	11	Andrew Trimble
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara	67'
SH	9	Isaac Boss	66'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	Seán O'Brien	57'
BF	6	Donnacha Ryan
RL	5	Leo Cullen (c)
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan	46'
TP	3	Tony Buckley
HK	2	Seán Cronin
LP	1	Cian Healy	49'
Replacements:
HK	16	Rory Best
PR	17	Mike Ross	49'
N8	18	Denis Leamy	46'
FL	19	Shane Jennings	57'
SH	20	Eoin Reddan	66'
FH	21	Jonathan Sexton	67'
WG	22	Geordan Murphy	49'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


Russia
FB	15	Vasily Artemyev
RW	14	Denis Simplikevich
OC	13	Andrei Kuzin
IC	12	Sergey Trishin
LW	11	Vladimir Ostroushko	71'
FH	10	Konstantin Rachkov	8' to 18'
SH	9	Alexander Yanyushkin (c)	74'
N8	8	Victor Gresev
OF	7	Andrei Garbuzov	45'
BF	6	Artem Fatakhov
RL	5	Adam Byrnes
LL	4	Denis Antonov	49'
TP	3	Alexander Khrokin	50'
HK	2
LP	1	Sergey Popov	74'
Replacements:
HK	16
PR	17	Ivan Prishchepenko	50'
LK	18		74'
FL	19	Alexander Voytov	49'
SH	20		74'
WG	21	Mikhail Sidorov	45'
FB	22	Mikhail Babaev	71'
Coaches:
Nikolay Nerush Kingsley Jones

Man of the Match:
Ronan O'Gara (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Dave Pearson (England)
Jérôme Garces (France)
Television match official:
(Italy)

2 October 2011
20:30

Ireland	36 – 6	Italy
Try: O'Driscoll 47' c Earls (2) 52' c, 80+' c Con: O'Gara (2/2) Sexton (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (4/5) 7', 18', 35', 44' Sexton (1/1) 70'	Report	Pen: Mi. Bergamasco (2/3) 11', 21'

Otago Stadium, Dunedin
Attendance: 28,027
Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)


Ireland
FB	15	Rob Kearney
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)	74'
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy
LW	11	Keith Earls
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara	67'
SH	9	Conor Murray	74'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip
OF	7	Seán O'Brien
BF	6	Stephen Ferris	73'
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan	59'
TP	3	Mike Ross
HK	2	Rory Best	53'
LP	1	Cian Healy	73'
Replacements:
HK	16	Seán Cronin	53'
PR	17	Tom Court	73'
LK	18	Donnacha Ryan	59'
N8	19	Denis Leamy	73'
SH	20	Eoin Reddan	74'
FH	21	Jonathan Sexton	67'
WG	22	Andrew Trimble	74'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


Italy
FB	15	Andrea Masi
RW	14	Tommaso Benvenuti
OC	13	Gonzalo Canale
IC	12	Gonzalo Garcia
LW	11	Mirco Bergamasco
FH	10	Luciano Orquera	41'
SH	9	Fabio Semenzato	57'
N8	8	Sergio Parisse (c)	77'
OF	7	Mauro Bergamasco	49'
BF	6	Alessandro Zanni
RL	5	Corniel van Zyl	61'
LL	4	Quintin Geldenhuys
TP	3	Martin Castrogiovanni	37'
HK	2	Leonardo Ghiraldini	67'
LP	1	Salvatore Perugini
Replacements:
HK	16	Fabio Ongaro	67'
PR	17	Andrea Lo Cicero	37'
LK	18	Marco Bortolami	61'
FL	19	Paul Derbyshire	49'
SH	20	Edoardo Gori	57'
FH	21	Riccardo Bocchino	41'
FB	22	Luke McLean	77'
Coach:
Nick Mallett

Man of the Match:
Seán O'Brien (Ireland)

Touch judges:
Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)
Chris Pollock (New Zealand)
Television match official:
(South Africa)

Quarter-finals

8 October 2011
18:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Ireland	10 – 22	Wales
Try: Earls 45' c Con: O'Gara (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 24'	Report	Try: Williams 3' c Phillips 51' m J. Davies 64' c Con: Priestland (2/3) Pen: Halfpenny (1/1) 29' Priestland (0/2)

Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 35,787
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)


Ireland
FB	15	Rob Kearney
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy
LW	11	Keith Earls	72'
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara	56'
SH	9	Conor Murray	56'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip	75'
OF	7	Seán O'Brien
BF	6	Stephen Ferris	75'
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	Mike Ross
HK	2	Rory Best
LP	1	Cian Healy
Replacements:
HK	16	Seán Cronin
PR	17	Tom Court
LK	18	Donnacha Ryan	75'
N8	19	Denis Leamy	75'
SH	20	Eoin Reddan	56'
FH	21	Jonathan Sexton	56'
WG	22	Andrew Trimble	72'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


Wales
FB	15	Leigh Halfpenny
RW	14	George North
OC	13	Jonathan Davies
IC	12	Jamie Roberts
LW	11	Shane Williams
FH	10	Rhys Priestland	78'
SH	9	Mike Phillips
N8	8	Taulupe Faletau
OF	7	Sam Warburton (c)
BF	6	Dan Lydiate
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones
LL	4	Luke Charteris	41'
TP	3	Adam Jones
HK	2	Huw Bennett
LP	1	Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK	16	Lloyd Burns
PR	17	Paul James
LK	18	Bradley Davies	41'
N8	19	Ryan Jones
SH	20	Lloyd Williams
FH	21	James Hook	78'
CE	22	Scott Williams
Coach:
Warren Gatland

Man of the Match:
Mike Phillips (Wales)

Touch judges:
Wayne Barnes (England)
Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:
(Italy)

2015 Rugby World Cup[]

Team v t	Pld	W	L	TF	PF	PA	+/−	BP	Pts
Ireland	4	4	0	16	134	35	+99	2	18
France	4	3	1	12	120	63	+57	2	14
Italy	4	2	2	7	74	88	–14	2	10
Romania	4	1	3	7	60	129	–69	0	4
Canada	4	0	4	7	58	131	–73	2	2


19 September 2015	Ireland	50–7	Canada	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
27 September 2015	Ireland	44–10	Romania	Wembley Stadium, London

4 October 2015	Ireland	16–9	Italy	Olympic Stadium, London
11 October 2015	France	9–24	Ireland	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff

Quarter-finals

18 October 2015
13:00 BST (UTC+01)

Ireland	20–43	Argentina
Try: Fitzgerald 26' c Murphy 44' c Con: Madigan (2/2) 27', 45' Pen: Madigan (2/4) 20', 53'	Report	Try: Moroni 3' c Imhoff (2) 10' c, 73' c Tuculet 69' c Con: Sánchez (4/4) 5', 10', 70', 74' Pen: Sánchez (5/6) 13', 22', 51', 64', 77'

Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
Attendance: 72,316
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

2019 Rugby World Cup[]

Pool stage

Team v t	Pld	W	L	TF	PF	PA	+/−	BP	Pts
Japan	4	4	0	13	115	62	+53	3	19
Ireland	4	3	1	18	121	27	+94	4	16
Scotland	4	2	2	16	119	55	+64	3	11
Samoa	4	1	3	8	58	128	–70	1	5
Russia	4	0	4	1	19	160	–141	0	0

22 September 2019
16:45 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Ireland	27–3	Scotland
Try: Ja. Ryan 6' c Best 14' m Furlong 25' c Conway 56' m Con: Sexton (1/2) 8' Murray (1/2) 27' Pen: Carty (1/1) 68'	Report	Pen: Laidlaw (1/1) 21'

International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
Attendance: 63,731
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)

28 September 2019
16:15 JST (UTC+09)

Japan	19–12	Ireland (1 BP)
Try: Fukuoka 58' c Con: Tamura (1/1) 60' Pen: Tamura (4/6) 17', 33', 39', 71'	Report	Try: Ringrose 13' m Kearney 20' c Con: Carty (1/2) 21'

Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi
Attendance: 47,813
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)

3 October 2019
19:15 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Ireland	35–0	Russia
Try: Kearney 1' c O'Mahony 12' c Ruddock 34' c Conway 61' c Ringrose 75' c Con: Sexton (3/3) 3', 14', 36' Carty (2/2) 62', 76'	Report

Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe
Attendance: 26,856
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)

12 October 2019
19:45 JST (UTC+09)

(1 BP) Ireland	47–5	Samoa
Try: Best 4' c Furlong 10' c Sexton (2) 21' c, 39' m Larmour 48' c Stander 65' c Conway 70' c Con: Sexton (4/5) 5', 11', 23', 50 Carbery (2/2) 67', 72'	Report	Try: J. Lam 26' m

Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium, Fukuoka
Attendance: 17,967
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)

Quarter-finals

19 October 2019
19:15 JST (UTC+09)

New Zealand	46–14	Ireland
Try: A. Smith (2) 14' c, 20' c B. Barrett 32' Taylor 48' c Todd 61' Bridge 73' c J. Barrett 79' Con: Mo'unga (4/7) 15', 22', 49', 74' Pen: Mo'unga (1/1) 6'	Report	Try: Henshaw 69' Penalty try 76' Con: Carbery (1/1) 69'

Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu
Attendance: 46,686
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Overall record[]

Against	Played	Win	Lost	Win %
Australia	5	1	4	20
Argentina	4	1	3	25
Canada	2	2	0	100
France	4	1	3	25
Georgia	1	1	0	100
Italy	2	2	0	100
Japan	3	2	1	66.67
Namibia	2	2	0	100
New Zealand	2	0	2	0
Romania	3	3	0	100
Russia	2	2	0	100
Scotland	2	1	1	50
Tonga	1	1	0	100
United States	3	3	0	100
Wales	3	1	2	33.33
Zimbabwe	1	1	0	100
Overall	40	24	16	60

Hosting[]

The Rugby World Cup is held every four years, and tends to alternate between the northern and southern hemispheres. Most northern hemisphere tournaments so far has been held in Europe, with the exclusion of the Japan World Cup in 2019 and in general Ireland usually hosts some games when it is held in Europe.

1991: UK/Ireland/France[]

Irish stadiums in 1991 World Cup
City	Stadium	Capacity
Dublin	Lansdowne Road	49,000
Belfast	Ravenhill	12,300

The 1991 Rugby World Cup final was played in England, while pool and finals games were played all over European nations. Pool A, which England was in, saw matches played mostly in London, though games were also taken to Leicester, Gloucester and Otley. Pool B games, which involved European nations, Scotland and Ireland, had all their games in either Dublin or Edinburgh with one game being played in Belfast. Pool C, which Wales was a part of, had all their games in Cardiff, with two taken to Pontypridd and one played in Llanelli. Pool D, which France were a part of, saw games played in Agen, Bayonne, Béziers and Grenoble. None of the quarter-finals or semi-finals were played in England. The final was played at the Rugby Football Union's Twickenham.

1999: Wales[]

Irish stadiums in 1999 World Cup
City	Stadium	Capacity
Dublin	Lansdowne Road	49,250
Limerick	Thomond Park	13,500
Belfast	Ravenhill Stadium	12,500

The 1999 World Cup was hosted by Wales, but an agreement was reached so that the other unions in the Five Nations Championship (England, France, Ireland and Scotland) also hosted matches.

The format of the pool games was similar to the 1991 World Cup in England. All Pool A games were held in Scotland, Pool B games in England, Pool C games in France and Pool D games were all held in Wales. Second round play-offs and the quarter-finals were held a variety of European venues, the semi-finals were held at Twickenham Stadium, London. The third place play-off and the final were held at the new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff.

Venues in Ireland included Lansdowne Road, the traditional home of the Irish Rugby Football Union, Ravenhill, the Northern Ireland IRFU owned venue and Thomond Park.

2007: France[]

The 2007 competition was held in France, with some games played in Wales and Scotland. France won the right in 2003 to host the 2007 tournament. Three matches were played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. Two matches were held at Edinburgh's Murrayfield. Ireland were also offered to host matches at Lansdowne Road in Dublin, but had to decline the offer as construction work was scheduled to begin on the stadium.^[16]

2023: Bid[]

Ireland bid to host the 2023 Rugby World Cup, losing out to eventual hosts, France.

References[]

Davies, Gerald (2004) The History of the Rugby World Cup (Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, (ISBN 1860746020)
Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). Story of the Rugby World Cup, Australian Post Corporation, (ISBN 0-642-36811-2)

^ "'It might have been a World Cup quarter-final but we were prepared to go on strike'". The 42. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.
^ "Ireland 32–17 Namibia". BBC Sport. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
^ "Ireland 14–10 Georgia". BBC Sport. 15 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
^ "France 25–3 Ireland". BBC Sport. 21 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
^ "Argentina 30–15 Ireland". BBC Sport. 30 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.
^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Ireland 16-9 Italy". RugbyWorldCup.com Sport. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.
^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Ireland 24–9 France". BBC Sport. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.
^ "Injury ends Paul O'Connell's Ireland career". RTÉ Sport. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
^ "Joe Schmidt's side win Rugby World Cup opener". BBC Sport. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ "Japan stun Ireland to pull off another famous Rugby World Cup upset". The Guardian. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ "Ireland get World Cup campaign back on track with hard-fought Russia rout". The Guardian. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ "Ireland thrash Samoa to ease into last eight despite Bundee Aki red card". The Guardian. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ "New Zealand thrash Ireland to set up World Cup semi-final with England". The Guardian. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ "New Zealand 46-14 Ireland: 'We gave All Blacks a leg up' says Irish coach Schmidt". BBC Sport. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ "Joe Schmidt 'blown away' by offers to continue coaching". The 42. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.
^ "Lansdowne Road to miss World Cup". RTE.ie. 3 September 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2018.

[1] "'It might have been a World Cup quarter-final but we were prepared to go on strike'". The 42. 17 October 2021. Retrieved 18 October 2021.

[2] "Ireland 32–17 Namibia". BBC Sport. 9 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.

[3] "Ireland 14–10 Georgia". BBC Sport. 15 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.

[4] "France 25–3 Ireland". BBC Sport. 21 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.

[5] "Argentina 30–15 Ireland". BBC Sport. 30 September 2007. Retrieved 23 March 2009.

[6] "Rugby World Cup 2015: Ireland 16-9 Italy". RugbyWorldCup.com Sport. 4 October 2015. Retrieved 4 October 2015.

[7] "Rugby World Cup 2015: Ireland 24–9 France". BBC Sport. 11 October 2015. Retrieved 11 October 2015.

[8] "Injury ends Paul O'Connell's Ireland career". RTÉ Sport. 13 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.

[9] "Joe Schmidt's side win Rugby World Cup opener". BBC Sport. 22 September 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

[10] "Japan stun Ireland to pull off another famous Rugby World Cup upset". The Guardian. 28 September 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

[11] "Ireland get World Cup campaign back on track with hard-fought Russia rout". The Guardian. 3 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

[12] "Ireland thrash Samoa to ease into last eight despite Bundee Aki red card". The Guardian. 12 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

[13] "New Zealand thrash Ireland to set up World Cup semi-final with England". The Guardian. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

[14] "New Zealand 46-14 Ireland: 'We gave All Blacks a leg up' says Irish coach Schmidt". BBC Sport. 19 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

[15] "Joe Schmidt 'blown away' by offers to continue coaching". The 42. 22 October 2019. Retrieved 23 October 2019.

[16] "Lansdowne Road to miss World Cup". RTE.ie. 3 September 2004. Retrieved 15 May 2018.

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v t National team appearances in the Rugby World Cup by tier
Tier 1 teams	Argentina Australia England France Ireland Italy New Zealand Scotland South Africa Wales
Tier 2 teams	Canada Fiji Georgia Japan Namibia Portugal Romania Russia Samoa Spain Tonga United States Uruguay
Tier 3 teams	Ivory Coast Zimbabwe