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 Tournament appearances by team, up to and including 2027:
Team Record streak Active streak Debut Most recentBest result 9 9 9 1995 2027 (1995, 2007, 2019, 2023) 11 11 11 1987 2027 (1987, 2011, 2015) 11 11 11 1987 2027 (1991, 1999) 11 11 11 1987 2027 (2003) 11 11 11 1987 2027 (1987, 1999, 2011) 11 11 11 1987 2027 (1987) 11 11 11 1987 2027 (2007) 11 11 11 1987 2027 (1991) 11 11 11 1987 2027 10 8 8 1987 2027 (1987, 2007, 2023) 10 10 10 1991 2027 (1991, 1995) 11 11 11 1987 2027 10 9 1 1987 2027 (1991) 11 11 11 1987 2027 10 9 9 1987 2027 7 7 7 2003 2027 3 2 2 2007 2027 10 8 2 1987 2027 6 4 4 1999 2027 9 6 1 1987 2027 7 7 7 1999 2023 3 2 1 1987 2027 1 1 0 1995 1995 2 1 1 1999 2027 2 1 0 2011 2019 2 1 1 2023 2027 1 1 1 2027 2027
Results by tournament
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.
Team1987(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••••••••TBD•R1R1R1R1R1R1R1•TBD(3)1st3rdQF1stQF3rd1st1stQTBDR1R1••••••••QTBDAsia•••••••••QTBDR1R1R1R1R1R1R1R1QFR1QTBDEuropeQF2nd4thQF1st2ndQFR12nd3rdQTBD2ndQF3rd2nd4th4th2ndQFQFQFQTBD••(1)••R1R1R1R1R1R1QTBDQFQFQFR2QFR1QFQFQFQFQTBDR1R1R1R1R1R1R1R1R1R1QTBD••••R1•••R1QTBDR1R1R1R1R1R1R1R1•(4)R1QTBD••(1)••••R1•R1•(6)•(6)TBDQF4thQFQFQFQFR1QFR1R1QTBD••R1•••••(4)×(5)QTBD3rdR1R1QFQFR14thQF4thQFQTBDNorth AmericaR1QFR1R1R1R1R1R1R1•QTBDR1R1•R1R1R1R1R1R1•QQOceania4th1stQF1st2ndQF3rd2ndQFR1QTBDQFR1•R2R1QFR1R1R1QFQTBD1st3rd2nd4th3rdQF1st1st3rd2ndQTBD(2)QFQFR2R1R1R1R1R1R1QTBDR1•R1R1R1R1R1R1R1R1QTBDSouth AmericaR1R1R1QFR13rdQF4thR14thQTBD•••••••R1QTBD•R1R1••R1R1R1QTBDTeam1987(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. 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. 6 Russia did not compete in 2023 and 2027 while subject to the Russian invasion of Ukraine, World Rugby and Rugby Europe suspended Russia from international and European continental rugby union competition and Rugby Union of Russia was suspended from World Rugby and Rugby Europe.
Debut of national teams 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) Total1987 161991 11995 21999 32003 12007 12011 12015 (none)02019 (none)02023 12027 1
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 held by England, being eliminated in the group stage in 2015.
YearHost nationFinish 1987 Champions Fourth place 1991 Runners-up Fourth place Quarter-finals Quarter-finals Group stage 1995 Champions 1999 Quarter-finals 2003 Runners-up 2007 Fourth place 2011 Champions 2015 Group stage 2019 Quarter-finals 2023 Quarter-finals 2027 To be determined 2031
Results of defending champions 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 Third place 1995 Quarter-finals 1999 Third place 2003 Runners-up 2007 Runners-up 2011 Quarter-finals 2015 Champions 2019 Third place 2023 Champions 2027 To be determined
Performance by confederation 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 R11st3rd QF1st QF3rd1st1st TBD TBDAsia R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 QF R1 TBD TBDEurope2nd2nd3rd2nd1st2nd2nd QF2nd3rd TBD TBDNorth America R1 QF R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 R1 — TBD TBDOceania1st1st2nd1st2nd QF1st1st3rd2nd TBD TBDSouth America R1 R1 R1 QF R13rd QF4th R14th TBD TBD
Number of teams by confederation 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 2 TBDAsia 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 1 2 TBDEurope 7 7 7 8 8 9 9 8 8 9 10 TBDNorth America 2 2 1 2 2 2 2 2 2 0 2 TBDOceania 4 4 4 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 5 TBDSouth America 1 1 1 2 2 1 1 2 2 3 3 TBD
Appearance droughts This section is a list of droughts associated with the participation of national rugby union teams in the Rugby World Cups.
Longest Active Droughts Does not include teams that have not yet made their first appearance or teams that no longer exist.
Team Last Appearance WC Missed 1995 8 2019 2
Longest Overall Droughts Only includes droughts begun after a team's first appearance and until the team ceased to exist updated to include qualification for the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Team Previous appearance Next appearance WC Missed 1995 Active 8 1991 2027 8 1999 2027 6 2007 2023 3 2019 Active 2 2003 2015 2
See also History of the Rugby World Cup Rugby World Cup qualification Rugby World Cup Overall Record
References
External links Rugbyworldcup.com IRB.com