New Zealand won the competition by defeating Australia in the final 34-20 in one of the greatest upsets in rugby history. The competition included the top 10 teams from across the world, who were divided into three groups. Eighteen matches were played at twelve different locations across four Australian states. The tournament was decided in dramatic fashion with New Zealand winning all six of their matches by seven points or less to claim their second World Cup victory and qualify for the 2009 Rugby League World Cup.
The Kiwis started strongly and held first place throughout the group stage before finishing second behind Australia in their group. New Zealand beat England, Lebanon and Papua New Guinea before losing to Australia. In the other group, France finished ahead of Great Britain and Samoa on goal difference. France then defeated GB and Samoa to set up a final between New Zealand and Australia.
The Final was played at Melbourne's Olympic Park on 21 November 2008. New Zealand won its third World Cup in four years after scoring four tries and shutting out Australia during the match. Captain Michael Jones said it was "a dream come true" for his team to win the Cup. New Zealand sports minister Stephen Joyce called the victory "the biggest sporting upset of all time".
Australia will play New Zealand in the 2009 World Cup in France. The two countries have never met in an official international match. They did however face off in a series of Test matches between 1908 and 1910.
Australia won the Champions Trophy for the first time. They were the only team in the competition to only lose one match, while all other teams lost at least two. The West Indies defeated Australia in the group stage, but were bowled out for 138 in the final and lost by eight wickets using the Duckworth-Lewis system. This is their second consecutive win after they also beat India 4-1 in 2008.
In fact, this was the first time that Australia had ever won a major international tournament. Previously, they were always runners-up at the Cricket World Cup or the ICC World Twenty20. However, due to the limited-overs format, the Champions Trophy is not considered as important as the other two events.
Australia started their campaign against South Africa in Bengaluru. Their opening game ended in a tie with both sides scoring 200 runs. In the second game, Australia dominated home team India with scores of 350/5 and 130/10 to win the match by 170 runs. This was the highest individual score batting at number three position in ODI history. After this win, Australia went on to defeat England by seven wickets in the third and final match of the group stage. This is how they finished the group stage with three wins and zero losses - the best record among all the participating teams.
In the quarterfinals, Australia took on India again.
It was held in New Delhi, India, from February 28 to March 13, 2010. Australia won the tournament by defeating Germany in the final 2-1, claiming their second World Cup championship after winning it in 1986. The Netherlands defeated England 4-3 in the third-place match. Canadian player Patrick Kane and American player Zach Parise were named the most valuable players of the tournament.
The world cup is played every four years and is organized by the International Ice Hockey Federation (IIHF). A total of ten countries have been awarded spots at the 2010 World Championship, which will be held in Denmark from May 30 to June 9, 2010. Canada, the host country, is guaranteed a spot in the top three nations that qualify. The other spots will be divided among the remaining countries based on their performance in the previous world cup cycle. For example, since Russia won the 2008 Olympic gold medal, they have been given the opportunity to compete for one of the remaining spots.
There are two ways to qualify for the world cup: through your national team and as a separate entity called a "host nation". Since Canada has been granted automatic entry as the host country, the only way for another country to participate would be if they could secure one of the remaining spots.
Countries can also qualify by finishing in the top three at the Olympic tournament.
Australia went on to overcome New Zealand 22-10 in the semi-finals, setting up a final clash with England. Along with a try by Jason Robinson, Jonny Wilkinson converted four penalties and a drop-goal in extra time to help England win the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time. The match was decided by a field goal from Johnathan Thurston missed by Wilkinson.
England had been beaten by Australia in the opening game of the tournament, but came back to beat them 24-18 in the quarter-final stage. They then overcame France 30-3 in their last group game to guarantee their place in the next round.
The key moment in the victory against Australia came when Martin Johnson sent off eight players including captain Stephen Jones after they refused to come off during a brawl at a breakdown. This meant that England had only one substitute left and they went on to win through a late try from Jonathan Arrell and a penalty from Wilkinson.
In the quarter-final against France, two early penalties from Wilkinson gave England an early lead they never looked like losing. Then, in the 57th minute, Richard Hill crossed the English line after good work by Thomas Castaignède to make it 17-3 to England. But France fought back through a penalty from Michel Garcon and a long range attempt by Frederic Michalak that went just wide of the post.
Australia defeated England 33-13 in London's Twickenham Stadium. It was the first time that the urn had been passed between nations.
The win also marked Australia's sixth World Cup victory, their most of any country. England lost for the first time since their opening game against Japan.
Here are the details of how each team performed...
The most successful nations are New Zealand and South Africa, each of which has won the trophy three times. Australia has won it twice, while England is the only country from the northern hemisphere to have won it once, in 2003. We've provided a brief history of each tournament below.
Since the tournament's inception in 1987, the England national team has competed in every Rugby World Cup. They have won 36 of 51 matches in nine events, for a winning percentage of 70.59 percent. Their highest ever finish was first in 2003, and they also competed in the 2019 final, the 2007 final, and the 1991 competition final.
If no side is able to break the tie after extra time, a penalty shootout is used to determine the winner. Two of the eight finals have gone to extra time: South Africa's win over New Zealand in the 1995 final and England's win over Australia in the 2003 final.
England had a 14-5 lead. Australia leveled the game twice more, once at 80 minutes with a last-gasp penalty from Elton Flatley, and again at 97 minutes when the two teams were 17-17, again because to Flatley's efforts, forcing the game into extra time.
The most successful nations are New Zealand and South Africa, each of which has won the trophy three times. Australia has won it twice, while England is the only country from the northern hemisphere to have won it once, in 2003. We've provided a brief history of each tournament below.
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