2023-09-25 21:44:00
The ranking will be revealed this week, in five parts, from Monday to Friday, with the top 10 this Friday. Reminder: it was established for the first nine editions of the World Cup, from 1987 to 2019 inclusive. There is therefore no match from the current edition.
50. Wales – Australia 1987
Score : 22-21
Round: Match for 3rd place
Lieu : Rotorua International Stadium (Rotorua)
Date: June 18, 1987
So we begin this long look in the rearview mirror of the World Cup with a… match for 3rd place. The very first. Insignificant in terms of the impact of the result, but this Wales-Australia came to end the total failure of the Wallabies, far too sure of themselves in this first edition. After the defeat in the semi-final against France, this is the second blade which cuts the hair of a misplaced ego. Only one match interested coach Alan Jones: the announced final against the All Blacks. His men will ultimately have lost against two northern nations. Here, the Australians are crucified by a try from winger Adrian Hadley in the last minute and come out of this World Cup with their heads down.
49. Scotland – Ivory Coast 1995
Score : 89-0
Round: Group stage
Lieu : Olympia Park (Rustenburg)
Dates: May 25, 1995
36 years after its debut, the World Cup has slowly emerged from a form of inbreeding between the southern giants and the traditional Tournament nations in Europe. It is in this sense that the first, and to date last, participation of Côte d’Ivoire in 1995 was an event. An incredible adventure, while the national selection did not exist two decades earlier.
There is no match against Scotland in their first appearance. The XV du Chardon won 89-0. Gavin Hastings scores 44 points alone. A record, which will only hold for a few days, before New Zealander Simon Culhane beats it by one during the Blacks’ defeat against Japan. What does posterity care for? Unfortunately, the great Ivorian adventure turned into a tragedy during the match against Tonga, with the serious injury of Max Brito, injured in the vertebrae and paralyzed. The worst tragedy in the history of the World Cup.
48. Uruguay – Fiji 2019
Score : 30-27
Round: Group stage
Lieu : Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium (Kamaishi)
Date: September 25, 2019
It’s not quite on the same level as the gigantic surprise that Japan’s victory against South Africa was four years earlier, but Uruguay’s victory against Fiji remains one of the most famous sensations of the history of the group stages. An almost improbable defeat for the Fijians, who achieved a form of feat by losing despite… five tries. For “Los Teros”, it is certainly not a first, but this success is of a different scale than the two won in 1999 against Spain, and against Georgia four years later.
47. Fiji – Argentina 1987
Score : 28-9
Round: Group stage
Lieu : Rugby Park (Hamilton)
Dates: May 24, 1987
This was the great discovery of this very first World Cup, in 1987. Fiji was then completely unknown to the general public. Fijian rugby emerged significantly in the early 1980s and the invitation to the 1987 World Cup allowed the men of the islands to distinguish themselves. They created the first great sensation in history by clearly beating Argentina in the first round, a nation much more established and respected at the time. The Fijian game, unstructured but sometimes sparkling, brings a salutary touch of freshness.
46. South Africa – England 2007
Score : 15-6
Round: Final
Location: Stade de France (Saint-Denis)
Date: October 20, 2007
Perhaps the “worst” World Cup final so far. The only one, in any case, without the slightest attempt. A first sign. It wasn’t the most glamorous poster either. If South Africa were among the favorites, this was not the case for the English title holders, who came from nowhere to defend their crown in the final at the Stade de France. But this Rose still stung less than that of 2003. Without really trembling, the Springboks won the fight, on the basis of an impassable defense. A logical success in view of this final and this tournament, but for the emotion, we will come back.
45. New Zealand – Argentina 2015
Score : 26-16
Round: Group stage
Location: Wembley (London)
Date: September 19, 2015
The Pumas have never come so close to bringing down the black ogre in the World Cup. Reading the final score does not do justice to the progress of what was, for both teams, their first match in this 2015 World Cup. Argentina even failed to collect the defensive bonus, although it had led the score almost until the hour mark.
Jostled in the scrum, undisciplined like their captain Richie McCaw, the All Blacks will make the difference with their bench, notably Sonny Bill Williams, in the last part of the match. They avoided a historic defeat but they have rarely been threatened like this in the group stage (until their defeat this year against the Blues…).
44. Argentina – France 2007
Score : 17-12
Round: Group stage
Location: Stade de France (Saint-Denis)
Date: September 7, 2007
Argentinians in tears on the field during the anthems. French people overloaded with emotions after reading the famous letter from Guy Môquet in the locker room by Bernard Laporte. The former are galvanized by this overflow. The Blues, for their part, will be scared to death, as if it were war, as if they were gambling with their lives. In short, Laporte’s team was wrong in its approach and it paid for it by giving in in this opening match of “its” World Cup, at the Stade de France. Trailing 14-3 then 17-9 at the break, it will never come back.
43. Australia – South Africa 1999
Score: 27-21 (after overtime)
Round: Semi-final
Lieu : Twickenham Stadium (Londres)
Date: October 30, 1999
Nick Mallett had warned: his men would not play “a very open match”. Effectively. Against England in the quarters, this option paid off, the world champions relying largely on the boot of their fly-half transformed into a hero, Jamie De Beer. In fact, for 100 minutes, since this semi-final went into overtime, South Africa lived, and finally perished by the foot of JDB, who never stopped trying to occupy the field.
But unlike the English, the Wallabies were prepared for this monomaniacal approach. They are also more complete than the English and if the fate of this match took a long time to be sealed, the Australian victory remains logical. One thing is certain, this semi-final suffered historically from the comparison with that between France and New Zealand which would be held the next day at the same place, at Twickenham. To the point of falling into a form of oblivion despite the intensity of the debates.
42. France – England
Score : 19-12
Round: Quarter-final
Lieu : Eden Park (Auckland)
Date: October 8, 2011
After the shame and dismay, revolt. After two defeats in the semi-finals against the English in 2003 and 2007, the Blues once again found their neighbor and enemy in a decisive match in 2011, in the quarter this time. Is Marc Lièvremont’s team still really his? The first round, marked by defeats against the Blacks and especially against Tonga, plunged the group into doubt and distanced the coach from his players.
They take charge, make tactics, minimize game launches. But it’s all a question of desire and honor. France delivers its best half in ages and leads 16-0 at the break. The English reaction, inevitable, makes the rest more complex but the Blues cling to this success which changes their destiny in this 2011 World Cup. They are always capable of the best. Especially when you expect the worst…
41. Australia – France 1999
Score : 35-12
Round: Final
Lieu : Millennium Stadium (Cardiff)
Dates: November 6, 1999
Grand finals, thrilling and exciting, are rare. This was no exception to the rule. But it has historic significance since, at the time, it was the first time that a nation had won a second star. Paradoxically often forgotten, Australia 1999 is perhaps the best team to have lifted the William Webb Ellis Trophy. Led by their captain John Eales, alias “Nobody” because “Nobody’s perfect”, the Wallabies have no flaws, from the Larkham-Gregan hinge to their phenomenal third line like number 8 Kefu.
And what defense! Only one try conceded throughout the tournament. The Blues, exhausted by their heroic victory against the Blacks in the half, will in turn break their noses on the yellow and green wall. However, at the hour mark, the dream remains accessible (18-12). Then the French XV ends up physically exploding and the two Australian tries give an almost unfair magnitude to the score. But the best team won, no doubt about it.
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