Results of the 1999 Rugby World Cup
The fourth Rugby World Cup broke new ground as for the first time the big eight nations did not qualify automatically. Only the champions, the runners-up, the third place play-off winners from 1995 and the host nation was afforded that luxury.
This meant that South Africa, New Zealand, France and Wales were assured of their places in the expanded 20-team tournament with 65 nations taking part in the qualification process for the other 16 places.
Another innovation for the 1999 tournament, which also featured matches in England, France, Scotland and Ireland, was the introduction of a repechage, a second chance for teams that had finished runners-up in each qualifying zone.
Uruguay and Tonga were the first nations to profit from the Repechage and took their places alongside fellow qualifiers Australia, England, Ireland, Scotland, Wales, Italy, Argentina, Fiji, Romania, Canada, Namibia, Japan, Spain and the United States.
These 20 nations were split into five pools of four, a scenario that necessitated a quarter-final play-off round involving the five runners-up and best third placed team to decide who would join the Pool winners in the last eight.
The Millennium Stadium then saw Australia take on the French in an eagerly anticipated final. France had of course reached the inaugural final in 1987 but, just as on that occasion, they simply had nothing left as Australia became the first nation to win the World Cup twice with a 35-12 triumph.
Final
Saturday, November 6 1999
- Cardiff, Wales: Australia 35 - France 12
Third Place
Thursday, November 4 1999
- Cardiff, Wales: South Africa 22 - New Zealand 18
Semifinals
Saturday, October 30 1999
- Twickenham, England: South Africa 21 - Australia 27
Sunday, October 31 1999
- Twickenham, England: New Zealand 31 - France 43
Quarterfinals
Saturday, October 23 1999
- Quarterfinal M, Cardiff, Wales: Wales 9 - Australia 24
Sunday, October 24 1999
- Quarterfinal J, Paris: South Africa 44 - England 21
- Quarterfinal L, Dublin, Ireland: France 47 - Argentina 26
- Quarterfinal K, Edinburgh, Scotland: New Zealand 30 - Scotland 18
Second Round
Wednesday, October 20 1999
- Playoff H, Twickenham, England: England 45 - Fiji 24
- Playoff G, Murrayfield, Scotland: Scotland 35 - Western Samoa 20
- Playoff F, Lens, France: Ireland 24 - Argentina 28
First Round
Friday, October 1 1999
- Cardiff, Wales: Wales 23 - Argentina 18
- Beziers, France: Fiji 67 - Namibia 18
Saturday, October 2 1999
- Beziers, France: France 33 - Canada 20
- Galashiels, Scotland: Uruguay 27 - Spain 15
- Twickenham, England: England 67 - Italy 7
- Dublin, Ireland: Ireland 53 - United States 8
Sunday, October 3 1999
- Wrexham, Wales: Western Samoa 43 - Japan 9
- Bristol, England: New Zealand 45 - Tonga 9
- Murrayfield, Scotland: South Africa 46 - Scotland 29
- Belfast, Northern Ireland: Australia 57 - Romania 9
Friday, October 8 1999
- Murrayfield, Scotland: Scotland 43 - Uruguay 12
- Bordeaux, France: France 47 - Namibia 13
Saturday, October 9 1999
- Bordeaux, France: Fiji 38 - Canada 22
- Cardiff, Wales: Wales 64 - Japan 15
- Twickenham, England: England 16 - New Zealand 30
- Dublin, Ireland: United States 25 - Romania 27
Sunday, October 10 1999
- Llanelli, Wales: Argentina 32 - Western Samoa 16
- Dublin, Ireland: Ireland 3 - Australia 23
- Murrayfield, Scotland: South Africa 47 - Spain 3
- Leicester, England: Italy 25 - Tonga 28
Thursday, October 14 1999
- Huddersfield, England: New Zealand 101 - Italy 3
- Cardiff, Wales: Wales 31 - Western Samoa 38
- Limerick, Ireland: Australia 55 - United States 19
- Toulouse, France: Canada 72 - Namibia 11
Friday, October 15 1999
- Twickenham, England: England 101 - Tonga 10
- Glasgow, Scotland: South Africa 44 - Uruguay 14
- Dublin, Ireland: Ireland 44 - Romania 14
Saturday, October 16 1999
- Toulouse, France: France 28 - Fiji 19
- Murrayfield, Scotland: Scotland 48 - Spain 0
- Cardiff, Wales: Argentina 33 - Japan 12