2007 Rugby World Cup

2007 Rugby World Cup
French: Coupe du monde de rugby 2007
Tournament details
Host nation France
Dates7 September – 20 October (44 days)
No. of nations20 (91 qualifying)
Final positions
Champions  South Africa (2nd title)
Runner-up  England
Third place  Argentina
Tournament statistics
Matches played48
Attendance2,263,223 (47,150 per match)
Top scorer(s)South Africa Percy Montgomery (105)
Most triesSouth Africa Bryan Habana (8)
2003
2011

The 2007 Rugby World Cup (French: Coupe du monde de rugby 2007) was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003, beating a bid from England. The competition consisted of 48 matches over 44 days; 42 matches were played in 10 cities throughout France, as well as four in Cardiff, Wales, and two in Edinburgh, Scotland.

The eight quarter-finalists from 2003 were granted automatic qualification, while 12 other nations gained entry through the regional qualifying competitions that began in 2004 – of them, Portugal was the only World Cup debutant. The top three nations from each pool at the end of the pool stage qualified automatically for the 2011 World Cup.

The competition opened with a match between hosts France and Argentina on 7 September at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. The stadium was also the venue of the final, played between England and South Africa on 20 October, which South Africa won 15–6 to win their second World Cup title.

The opening ceremony of the 2007 Rugby World Cup