The Rugby World Cup (RWC) is the greatest prize in rugby and one of the world’s most admired competitions having established itself as one of the most important sporting events behind the Olympics and the FIFA World Cup.
The RWC is controlled by World Rugby and is contested every four years, with the first RWC being held in Australia and New Zealand in 1987. From its 1987 debut as a competition for 16 invited teams, the RWC has increasingly grown in size, stature and prominence to 20 teams.
The winner of the RWC receives the Webb Ellis Cup, named in honour of the sport’s folkloric founder, English schoolboy William Webb Ellis.
