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1999 History

A hugely disappointing campaign for Ireland saw them knocked out before the quarter-finals, a defeat at the hands of Argentina in Lens proving a bitter pill to swallow. France reached their second final, stunning the All Blacks in the semi-finals in a match remembered as one of the best in World Cup history. But they failed to carry that form through to the decider, and Australia, led by John Eales, became the only two-time winners of the title.

In all honesty, the 1999 tournament was not the most exciting in the event's brief history, but that is not to say it didn't enjoy its thrills and spills. Unfortunately, the biggest spill from an Irish point of view saw Warren Gatland's side dumped out by Argentina before even reaching the quarter-finals, a result that still rankles in rugby circles.

The first tournament to be held in the professional era got under way at a magnificent new Millennium Stadium in Cardiff, where hosts Wales (although matches were also played in Ireland, France, Scotland and England) narrowly beat the Pumas.

Ireland were beaten by Australia in the group stage, but with comfortable wins over Romania and the USA under their belts they had been expected to overcome the Pumas in the new repechage system that would determine the quarter finalists.

On a desperately disappointing night, Argentina shaded a dire, penalty-strewn affair to leave Irish fans, thousands of whom had bought tickets for the semi-final showdown with France, down and out.

South Africa, New Zealand, France and Australia enjoyed relatively trouble-free passages to the last eight, while the repechage games also saw England and Scotland progress.

France were the only northern hemisphere side to prevail in the last eight, but few gave them a prayer against the All Blacks in the semi-finals. When a Lomu-inspired New Zealand stormed into a 24-10 lead, France stared into the abyss but, playing pure fantasy rugby, they scored 26 points in a devastating 13-minute spell to turn the contest on its head.

The final - in which Australia beat France 35-12 - was an anti-climax. The Wallabies though, were crowned world champions for a second time.

Final
Australia
35 - 12
France
Semi Finals
South Africa
21 - 27
Australia
New Zealand
31 - 43
France
Quarter Final Play-Off
England
45 - 24
Fiji
Scotland
35 - 20
Samoa
Ireland
24 - 28
Argentina
Quarter Finals
Wales
9 - 24
Australia
England
21 - 44
South Africa
France
47 - 26
Argentina
Scotland
18 - 30
New Zealand
3rd Place Play-Off
New Zealand
18 - 22
South Africa
Pool A
Spain
15 - 27
Uruguay
Scotland
29 - 46
South Africa
Scotland
43 - 12
Uruguay
South Africa
47 - 3
Spain
South Africa
39 - 3
Uruguay
Scotland
48 - 0
Spain
Pool B
England
67 - 7
Italy
New Zealand
45 - 9
Tonga
England
16 - 30
New Zealand
Italy
25 - 28
Tonga
New Zealand
101 - 3
Italy
England
101 - 10
Tonga
Pool C
Fiji
67 - 18
Namibia
France
33 - 20
Canada
France
47 - 13
Namibia
Fiji
38 - 22
Canada
Canada
72 - 11
Namibia
France
28 - 19
Fiji
Pool D
Wales
23 - 18
Argentina
Samoa
43 - 9
Japan
Wales
64 - 15
Japan
Argentina
32 - 16
Samoa
Wales
31 - 38
Samoa
Argentina
33 - 12
Japan
Pool E
Ireland
53 - 8
USA
Australia
57 - 9
Romania
USA
25 - 27
Romania
Ireland
3 - 23
Australia
Australia
55 - 19
USA
Ireland
44 - 14
Romania
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Winner:
Robert Roughan, Dublin

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Tournament tables
P W D L Pts
South Africa 4 4 0 0 19
England 4 3 0 1 14
Tonga 4 2 0 2 9
Samoa 4 1 0 3 5
USA 4 0 0 4 1
P W D L Pts
Australia 4 4 0 0 20
Fiji 4 3 0 1 15
Wales 4 2 0 2 12
Japan 4 0 1 3 3
Canada 4 0 1 3 2
P W D L Pts
New Zealand 4 4 0 0 20
Scotland 4 3 0 1 14
Italy 4 2 0 2 9
Romania 4 1 0 3 5
Portugal 4 0 0 4 1
P W D L Pts
Argentina 4 4 0 0 18
France 4 3 0 1 15
Ireland 4 2 0 2 9
Georgia 4 1 0 3 5
Namibia 4 0 0 4 0
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