The 2019 Rugby World Cup is drawing to a conclusion, with the semifinals of the tournament being played this week.
There have been international rugby tournaments since the late 1800s, but none have been nearly as popular or successful as the RWC.
Japan is hosting this years’ event for the first time in their history. Not only is the island nation embracing the tournament with open arms, but they are playing at an unprecedented level. They won four matches in the 2019 tournament, which is as many as they had in their entire history to this point.
What is the RWC, and what do you need to know about it?
History
The first international rugby tournament was the Home Nations Championship, which started in 1883 as a tournament between England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. France and Italy have since joined, and the tournament is now known as the Six Nations Championship.
Rugby eventually travelled beyond Europe, and was an Olympic event from 1900-1924. The United States are still the reigning champions, having won the gold medal in 1920 and 1924.
Global rugby took a 60-year hiatus, until the Rugby World Cup was finally created in 1985. The first tournament was held in 1987, and co-host New Zealand won the inaugural championship.
New Zealand has been the most dominant nation to play in the tournament, winning three of the eight championships, and since they have made it to the semifinals in 2019 it’s entirely possible they could win a fourth. New Zealand has seven top four finishes, and has made it to at least the quarterfinals in every tournament, which is an honor they only share with Australia.
After co-hosting the tournament with Australia in 1987, New Zealand took on the full share of host duties in 2011, and they won their second title. The All Blacks repeated in England in 2015, making them the both reigning Champions in 2019’s tournament, and the team with the most titles.
Other teams who have won the Webb Ellis Cup are Australia (2), South Africa (2), and England (1).
Popularity
After expanding from 16 teams to 20 in 2003, the popularity of the RWC has exploded.
The average attendance grew from 20,156 per match in 1987 to 51,621 in 2015. That figure is the highest in the tournament’s history, which is aided by the record seating capacity of 2,600,741. England reached 95% of its seating capacity in 2015, which is also the highest percentage in the RWC ever.
Obviously, the numbers for the 2019 tournament are still being determined, but this years’ RWC is destroying local TV ratings records. If TV has any correlation to attendance, then England’s highs in 2015 won’t stand after all is said and done in Japan.
In terms of worldwide audience, the RWC is one of the most viewed sporting events in the world, trailing the likes of the FIFA World Cup, the UEFA Champions League, and the Summer Olympics.
2019 Results and Predictions
The 2019 RWC was not kind to the Eastern Hemisphere, as the USA, Canada, and Uruguay only secured one win and one draw between the three of them. Argentina went 2-4, which was good enough for third in their pool, but was not enough to advance them to the knockout stage.
The elimination stage was composed of the usual group of contenders: England, Wales, Ireland, France, South Africa, New Zealand, and Australia. Of the eight teams to advance, one dark horse did make an interesting and unexpected run.
The hosts made it to elimination play for their first time in their history, and the home crowd backed Japan to undefeated pool play, ensuring a quarterfinal against two-time champion South Africa. Japan had only played the Springboks once before in RWC play, toppling South Africa in 2015, which was one of the biggest upsets in RWC history. Unfortunately for Japan, they were unable to repeat and they were eliminated after their greatest run in their teams’ history.
South Africa will go on to play Wales in the semifinals, and England will face New Zealand. If Wales were to win their first tournament final, they would be the fifth nation to do so.
New Zealand have the most favorable odds by most bettors, followed by South Africa, England, and then Wales.
The final will be played in Yokohama on November 2nd, and the ninth RWC winner will be crowned.