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60 free Rugby World Cup trivia questions with answers — sports quiz, new questions added Aug 2026.
The Rugby World Cup has only been going since 1987, but ten tournaments have packed in more drama than most competitions manage in a century. This quiz walks through all of them: the All Blacks' first title at Eden Park, the Wallabies' wins in 1991 and 1999, Nelson Mandela in a Springbok jersey at Ellis Park, Jonny Wilkinson's drop goal in Sydney, the Springboks' triumphs in Paris, Yokohama and Paris again, and the one-point knockout wins that carried them to a record fourth title in 2023. Along the way it covers the people and numbers that make the tournament: the Webb Ellis Cup and why Australians call it Bill, Grant Fox's 126 points, Simon Culhane's 45 on debut, the 142-0 rout of Namibia, Japan's upset of the Springboks in 2015, Typhoon Hagibis, the first red card in a final, the Black Ferns' six women's titles and the expansion to 24 teams for Australia 2027. If you want the wider game, our general rugby quiz covers the laws, the Six Nations and the clubs. Roughly a third of the questions are easy for anyone who watches every four years, a third are medium and the rest are for people who remember who refereed which final. Every answer is checked against the tournament and match reference pages, and each question carries its source.
30 of 60 questions with answers and explanations. Play the quiz
Q 01Which two nations co-hosted the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987?
New Zealand and Australia
New Zealand staged 21 of the 32 matches, including the final; there was no qualifying and 16 teams were simply invited.
Q 02What is the trophy awarded to the men's world champions called?
The Webb Ellis Cup
It is named after the schoolboy who, according to legend, invented rugby by picking up the ball at Rugby School.
Q 03Australians nickname the trophy 'Bill'. Who is that a reference to?
William Webb Ellis
The nickname was coined by the 1991 Wallabies, who were the first team to take it home twice.
Q 04The trophy's two cast handles are decorated with which pair of heads?
A satyr and a nymph
It stands 38 centimetres tall, weighs 4.5 kilograms and is silver gilded in gold.
Q 05How many times had the Springboks won the tournament after their 2023 victory?
Four
They won in 1995, 2007, 2019 and 2023, and were the first nation to reach four titles.
Q 06What was the score when the All Blacks beat France in the first final in 1987?
29-9
Wales finished third and Australia fourth after conceding late tries in both the semi-final and the play-off.
Q 07Which stadium hosted both the 1987 and 2011 finals?
Eden Park
Both finals were between the same two teams, and the hosts won both.
Q 08Who captained the All Blacks to the first title in 1987?
David Kirk
The scrum-half later became a Rhodes Scholar and a company chief executive; his team was never seriously troubled.
Q 09Which All Black set the record for most points in a single tournament, 126, in 1987?
Grant Fox
He also kicked a record 30 conversions that year; his son Ryan became a professional golfer.
Q 10The 1985 vote by the international board that finally approved a World Cup passed by what margin?
10-6
Ireland and Scotland voted against, and the English and Welsh delegations were split down the middle.
Q 11Which debutants beat Wales 16-13 in the 1991 pool stage, sending the hosts of that pool out early?
Western Samoa
Wales thus became the first host nation to go out at the pool stage; Canada reached the quarter-finals that year, still their best finish.
Q 12Which scrum-half captained the Wallabies to their first title in 1991?
Nick Farr-Jones
In the quarter-final his side turned down a kickable last-minute penalty against Ireland and Michael Lynagh scored the winning try instead.
Q 13Which stadium hosted the finals of both 1991 and 2015?
Twickenham
England lost the first of them 12-6 to a Tony Daly try, and did not even reach the knockout stage of the second.
Q 21The 2009 film Invictus, about the 1995 tournament, was directed by whom?
Clint Eastwood
Morgan Freeman and Matt Damon were both Oscar-nominated; the title comes from a William Ernest Henley poem.
Q 22The 1999 tournament was the first with how many teams?
20
The 16-team format lasted from 1987 to 1995; 20 teams stayed until 2023 and 24 arrive in 2027.
Q 23The Millennium Stadium, purpose-built for the 1999 tournament, stands in which city?
Cardiff
It cost £126 million and rose on the site of the old National Stadium at the Arms Park.
France reached the 1999 final by overturning a 24-10 deficit against which team in the semi-final?
Q 14The 1995 tournament was the first held entirely in one country. Which?
South Africa
It was also the last major event of the amateur era; the sport went professional two months later.
Q 15Who presented the trophy in 1995 wearing a Springbok jersey and cap?
Nelson Mandela
The moment is the climax of John Carlin's book Playing the Enemy and its film adaptation.
Q 16Who captained the Springboks to the 1995 title?
Francois Pienaar
All 29 of his caps were as captain; he was dropped in 1996 and finished his career at Saracens.
Q 17Whose extra-time drop goal won the 1995 final?
Joel Stransky
It was the first final to need extra time, and every point was scored by one player per side: 15 by him, 12 by Mehrtens.
Q 18Which All Black wing scored four tries against England in the 1995 semi-final?
Jonah Lomu
He was the youngest player ever to appear in a final that year, aged 20 years and 43 days.
Q 19Which All Black scored 45 points on his test debut against Japan in 1995?
Simon Culhane
He landed 20 of 21 conversions in a 145-17 win, then lost his place to Andrew Mehrtens for the next match.
Q 20Who scored a record six tries in one World Cup match, against Japan in 1995?
Marc Ellis
That 145-17 result is still the highest score in the tournament's history.
New Zealand
The 43-31 win at Twickenham is regarded as one of the tournament's all-time classics; France then lost 35-12 in the final.
Q 25Who presented the trophy to Wallaby captain John Eales in 1999?
Queen Elizabeth II
The Wallabies remain the only team to have won after having to come through qualifying.
Q 26Which is the only team to have won the World Cup after having to qualify for it, in 1999?
Australia
Only the top three from 1995 plus hosts Wales were exempt; a record 63 nations entered qualifying.
Q 27Which Springbok kicked a record five drop goals in a single match against England in 1999?
Jannie de Beer
It remains the individual record for one World Cup match; England went out in that quarter-final.
Q 28The Wallabies inflicted the Rugby World Cup's biggest margin, 142-0 in 2003, on which team?
Namibia
Chris Latham scored five of the 22 tries and Mat Rogers kicked 16 conversions at Adelaide Oval.
Q 29Who scored the fastest try in World Cup history, after 18 seconds against Romania in 2003?
Elton Flatley
The same player kicked the two late penalties in the final that dragged the match into extra time.
Q 30Whose right-footed drop goal with 28 seconds of extra time left won the 2003 final?
Jonny Wilkinson
He finished his career with 277 World Cup points, still the all-time record.