| Welsh: Cwpan Rygbi'r Byd 1999 | |
|---|---|
 | |
| Tournament details | |
| Host nation |  Wales |
| Dates | 1 October – 6 November 1999 |
| No. of nations | 20 |
| Final positions | |
Champions  |  Australia (2nd title) |
Runner-up  |  France |
Third place  |  South Africa |
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 41 |
| Attendance | 1,562,427 (38,108 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |  Gonzalo Quesada (102) |
| Most tries |  Jonah Lomu (8) |
← 1995 2003 → | |
The 1999 Rugby World Cup (Welsh: Cwpan Rygbi'r Byd 1999), was the fourth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial international rugby union championship, the first World Cup to be held in the sport's professional era.[1]
Four automatic qualification places were available for the 1999 tournament; Wales qualified automatically as hosts, and the other three places went to the top three teams from the previous World Cup in 1995: champions South Africa, runners-up New Zealand and third-placed France. 63 nations took part in the qualification process, with 14 nations progressing directly to the tournament. the remaining two qualifiers were determined by a repechage, introduced for the first time in the tournaments history. This was also the first World Cup to feature 20 teams (expanded from 16).
The 20 teams were divided into five pools of four. The winner of each pool progressed to the last eight automatically, with the remaining quarter-finalists determined by three play-off matches, played between the runners-up from each pool and the best third-placed team. The tournament began with the opening ceremony in the newly constructed Millennium Stadium, with Wales beating Argentina 23–18, and Colin Charvis scoring the first try of the tournament. Australia won the tournament, becoming the first nation to do so twice and also to date the only team ever to win after having to qualify for the tournament, with a 35–12 triumph over France, who were unable to repeat their semi-final victory over pre-tournament favourites New Zealand.[2][3] The overall attendance for the tournament was 1.75 million.[4]
- ^ The International Rugby Board opened the sport to professionals in August 1995, after the 1995 tournament had been completed.
- ^ "1999: France 43–31 N Zealand – BBC Sport". BBC News. 24 September 2003. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ "1999: Aussies rule world again". BBC News. 24 September 2003. Retrieved 18 June 2013.
- ^ "New Zealand Wins 2011 Rugby World Cup – Background and History". Goaustralia.about.com. 16 May 2013. Archived from the original on 4 May 2013. Retrieved 18 June 2013.