Retrace the highs and lows of the 2007 Rugby World Cup here at RugbyPass. From England’s attempt to retain their title to New Zealand’s disappointment, our rugby gurus have uncovered every thrilling win and anticlimactic loss. No matter what you want to know, you’ll find key facts and figures in this in-depth review.
Scroll down to discover every detail about the 2007 Rugby World Cup squads, results and winners.
Where was the 2007 Rugby World Cup held?
Hosts: France
Champions: South Africa
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was held in France. Although France was the sole host, an agreement was reached to hold games in two other countries. As a result, 42 matches were played in France, four were played in Wales and two were played in Scotland.
Twelve nations joined the eight previous quarter finalists to compete for the Webb Ellis Cup. Before the tournament, New Zealand were touted as the odds-on favourites. But, in a shocking turn of events, the All Blacks suffered their worst tournament; they crashed out after losing their quarter final match against France. In contrast, Argentina enjoyed their best Rugby World Cup and finished in third place.
After a tryless final, South Africa emerged as the victors. They claimed their second world title after defeating England 15-6.
2007 Rugby World Cup: Statistics
Below you’ll find insightful statistics and details from the 2007 Rugby World Cup. This includes the participating squads, venues, players and the final standings.
Participating nations
The 2007 tournament was contested by 20 teams. The eight quarter-finalists from 2003 automatically received entry, leaving 12 spots open for qualifying. A total of 83 teams competed for these remaining places, with 10 filled during regional qualifying matches. The last two places were allocated via repechage.
Here are the 2007 Rugby World Cup squads:
Africa: Namibia and South Africa
Asia: Japan
Americas: Argentina, Canada and the United States
Europe: England, France, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Romania, Portugal, Scotland and Wales
Oceania: Australia, Fiji, New Zealand, Samoa and Tonga
There was only one debutant in 2007: Portugal. Alongside Tonga, Portugal qualified for the tournament through the repechage process.
Matches, venues and attendance
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was played across 48 matches. These games were held at 12 stadia: 10 in France, one in Scotland and one in Wales. A record 2,263,223 people attended these matches with an average of 47,150 spectators per game.
Here are the 2007 Rugby World Cup venues:
Stadium | Country | City | Capacity |
Stade de France | France | Saint-Denis | 80,000 |
Stade Vélodrome | France | Marseille | 59,500 |
Parc des Princes | France | Paris | 47,870 |
Stade Félix-Bollaert | France | Lens | 41,400 |
Stade de Gerland | France | Lyon | 41,100 |
Stade de la Beaujoire | France | Nantes | 38,100 |
Stadium de Toulouse | France | Toulouse | 35,700 |
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard | France | Saint-Étienne | 35,650 |
Stade Chaban-Delmas | France | Bordeaux | 34,440 |
Stade de la Mosson | France | Montpellier | 33,900 |
Millennium Stadium | Wales | Cardiff | 74,500 |
Murrayfield | Scotland | Edinburgh | 67,144 |
Who won the Rugby World Cup in 2007?
Champions: South Africa
Runner-up: England
Third place: Argentina
South Africa were the 2007 Rugby World Cup winners. The Springboks overpowered the competition from the first whistle. They sailed through six matches before defeating England in the final. As such, England took second place. The defending champions claimed five tight victories and lost two games, both against South Africa.
In third place was Argentina. Los Pumas won five matches before succumbing to South Africa in the semi-finals. To date, this third-place finish remains Argentina’s best Rugby World Cup result.
Top try and point scorers
Bryan Habana was the top try scorer at the 2007 Rugby World Cup. He scored eight tries to match Jonah Lomu’s record. Meanwhile the tournament’s top point scorer was Percy Montgomery. The Springbok centurion racked up 105 points. This figure placed him well ahead of the second-top scorer, Felipe Contepomi, who scored 91 points.
2007 Rugby World Cup: Pool stage review
The matches held during the pool stage delivered all-out wins and several closely contested matches. These 2007 Rugby World Cup fixtures saw England endure their first of two losses against South Africa. Meanwhile Fiji achieved their best pool stage result since the inaugural tournament.
Once again, the group stage was contested in four pools. Each pool contained five teams who played each of the other teams in their pool once. After 40 matches, the top eight teams qualified for the quarter finals.
As in 2003, each team received four points for winning and two for a draw. Additionally, one bonus point was awarded to a team that scored four or more tries, or that lost by seven points or fewer.
Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
England | Australia | Italy | Argentina |
Samoa | Canada | New Zealand | France |
South Africa | Fiji | Portugal | Georgia |
Tonga | Japan | Romania | Ireland |
United States | Wales | Scotland | Namibia |
Pool A
Pool A comprised England, Samoa, South Africa, Tonga and the United States. As expected, South Africa and England secured their place in the quarter finals. However, this pool did feature one staggering loss: South Africa hammered England 36-0.
This was England’s first scoreless match in Rugby World Cup history. On top of this, it was also the first time a World Cup winner had failed to gain a single point.
Pool A | |||||||
Team | Win | Draw | Loss | Points Difference | Bonus Points | Tries scored | Points |
South Africa | 4 | 0 | 0 | +142 | 3 | 24 | 19 |
England | 3 | 0 | 1 | +20 | 2 | 11 | 14 |
Tonga | 2 | 0 | 2 | -7 | 1 | 9 | 9 |
Samoa | 1 | 0 | 3 | -74 | 1 | 5 | 5 |
United States | 0 | 0 | 4 | -81 | 1 | 7 | 1 |
Pool B
Australia, Canada, Fiji, Japan and Wales were placed in pool B. Australia won the pool with a +174 points difference. Fiji finished second and secured their first quarter-final spot since 1987.
This pool featured a draw between Japan and Canada. The two teams tied 12-12. This was the first Rugby World Cup draw in 20 years; the first occurred when France faced Scotland in 1987.
Pool B | |||||||
Team | Win | Draw | Loss | Points Difference | Tries scored | Bonus Points | Points |
Australia | 4 | 0 | 0 | +174 | 30 | 4 | 20 |
Fiji | 3 | 0 | 1 | -22 | 14 | 3 | 15 |
Wales | 2 | 0 | 2 | +64 | 23 | 4 | 12 |
Japan | 1 | 0 | 3 | -146 | 7 | 1 | 3 |
Canada | 0 | 0 | 4 | -69 | 6 | 0 | 2 |
Pool C
Pool C consisted of Italy, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania and Scotland. New Zealand finished in first place. They won the maximum number of points available and set a new pool-stage record by scoring 309 points in their four matches. Meanwhile, Scotland was the runner-up of pool C.
Pool C | |||||||
Team | Win | Draw | Loss | Points Difference | Tries scored | Bonus Points | Points |
New Zealand | 4 | 0 | 0 | +274 | 46 | 4 | 20 |
Scotland | 3 | 0 | 1 | +50 | 14 | 2 | 14 |
Italy | 2 | 0 | 2 | -32 | 8 | 1 | 9 |
Romania | 1 | 0 | 3 | -121 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
Portugal | 0 | 0 | 4 | -171 | 4 | 1 | 1 |
Pool D
The biggest shock of the pool came from Ireland. The Irish side was eliminated after losing two matches against France and Argentina.
Pool D | |||||||
Team | Win | Draw | Loss | Points Difference | Tries scored | Bonus Points | Points |
Argentina | 4 | 0 | 0 | +110 | 16 | 2 | 18 |
France | 3 | 0 | 1 | +151 | 24 | 3 | 15 |
Ireland | 2 | 0 | 2 | -18 | 9 | 1 | 9 |
Georgia | 1 | 0 | 3 | -61 | 5 | 1 | 5 |
Namibia | 0 | 0 | 4 | -182 | 3 | 0 | 0 |
A total of eight squads progressed to the knockout round. They were:
Pool A: South Africa and England
Pool B: Australia and Fiji
Pool C: New Zealand and Scotland
Pool D: Argentina and France
2007 Rugby World Cup: Knockout stage review
From the hard-fought quarter final between New Zealand and France to the final showdown between England and South Africa, here are the 2007 Rugby World Cup knockout stage fixtures and results:
Quarter-Finals | Semi-Finals | Third Place | Final | ||||
Team | Result | Team | Result | Team | Result | Team | Result |
England | 12 | ||||||
Australia | 10 | England | 14 | ||||
France | 20 | France | 9 | ||||
New Zealand | 18 | Argentina | 34 | South Africa | 15 | ||
South Africa | 37 | France | 10 | England | 6 | ||
Fiji | 20 | South Africa | 37 | ||||
Argentina | 19 | Argentina | 13 | ||||
Scotland | 13 | ||||||
2007 Rugby World Cup Quarterfinals
The 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter finals included two down-to-the-wire encounters. The first saw England defeat Australia 12-10.
Next, New Zealand suffered a close-fought 18-20 loss against France. Although the All Blacks got off to a strong start, Les Bleus applied the pressure and fought back during the second half. Thanks to a late try from Yannick Jauzion and a conversion by Jean-Baptiste Élissalde, the French successfully edged the All Blacks out of the competition.
The quarter finals also saw two overwhelming victories. Firstly, Argentina maintained their early lead to overpower Scotland 19-13. Then, South Africa conquered Fiji with a resounding 37-20 victory.
By the close of the quarter finals, England, France, South Africa and Argentina booked their places in the semi finals.
2007 Rugby World Cup Semi-Finals
Held at Stade de France, the 2007 Rugby World Cup semi finals featured one southern hemisphere and one northern hemisphere clash. The first match saw Jonny Wilkinson steer England to victory over France.
It was a tense game that saw both sides fight to assert their authority. The hosts, France, were up 6-5 at half time. They started strong during the second half, with Lionel Beauxis booting his third penalty. However, Wilkinson came through. Although he missed one penalty and three drop goals, he kicked nine points in England’s 14-9 victory.
The second match was a display of skill. The South African squad dominated Argentina and secured a 37-13 win.
By half time, the score read 24-6 to the Springboks. Although Los Pumas attempted to fight back, nothing could beat the infallible Percy Montgomery. He converted two tries from Bryan Habana, as well as one each from Fourie du Preez and Danie Rossouw.
2007 Rugby World Cup Third Place Play-Off
The third-place play-off was another emphatic win. In a repeat of their opening pool-stage clash, Argentina met France. The French side made every effort to reach the try line but they were outplayed by Argentina’s defence.
Despite the roar of the Parc des Princes crowd, Los Pumas secured their biggest test victory against Les Bleus. The match ended 34-10 to Argentina, who celebrated their best ever Rugby World Cup finish.
2007 Rugby World Cup Final
The 2007 Rugby World Cup final was contested by England and South Africa. The game was held at Stade de France on 20 October 2007. It was here that England hoped to become the first team to defend their title.
The two teams were locked in battle. The England squad tried their best to break through South Africa’s defensive line but to no avail. Even Wilkinson failed to recapture the verve of their 2003 win. In the end, he was no match for Percy Montgomery who converted four penalties for the Springboks.
The 2007 Rugby World Cup final score ended 15-6 to South Africa and the Springboks lifted their second Webb Ellis Cup.
The Only Northern Hemisphere Win
The 2007 tournament was an action-packed year. As the 2007 Rugby World Cup winners, South Africa entered an exclusive club. They became only the second team to win two World Championships.
The 2007 Rugby World Cup results speak for themselves. New Zealand endured their worst ever Rugby World Cup finish, making a shock exit in the quarter finals. Meanwhile Fiji equalled their 1987 record and Argentina enjoyed their most successful competition.
