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119-474: When the system was introduced England were the top team and maintained that position following victory in the 2003 Rugby World Cup . New Zealand took the lead from 14 June 2004. After winning the 2007 Rugby World Cup final, South Africa became the third team to achieve first place. The first two fixtures of the 2008 Tri Nations resulted in the top two teams switching places: the All Blacks regained

238-447: A 57-15 victory at Twickenham before defeating Italy 37-0 at St James' Park . In the 2019 Rugby World Cup , England became the first team to qualify for the quarter-finals following a 39-10 win over Argentina in Chōfu . After their final match was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis , England topped Pool C and faced Australia in the quarter-finals. England won the quarter-final 40-16, recording

357-474: A 69-3 victory over Tonga, recorded their eighth successive victory against Australia and defeated world champions South Africa 27-26. England finished third in the 2022 Six Nations Championship after defeating Italy and Wales but losing to Ireland, France and Scotland. England ended fourth in the 2023 Six Nations Championship . England defeated Italy (31-14) and Wales (10-20) but was beaten by Scotland (23-29), France (10-53) and Ireland (29-16). Twickenham

476-577: A Saturday. Cumberland County Union also complained of another club using monetary incentives to lure players, leading to the IRFB conducting an enquiry. The IRFB was warned by all the chief clubs in Lancashire and Yorkshire that any punishment would lead to the clubs seceding from the union. The debate over broken time payments ultimately caused the 22 leading clubs in Yorkshire and Lancashire to form

595-503: A World Cup Match). [10] There is no transfer of points if a “Favourite” beats an “Outsider”. All new member nations start with 30.00 points, which is provisional until they have completed ten test matches . When countries merge, the new country inherits the higher rating of the two countries but when they split e.g., the 2010 breakup of the Arabian Gulf rugby union team into separate teams representing its current member countries,

714-419: A goal, a drop goal and two tries to Scotland's one drop goal. The early matches did not use a structured points system; this would not be introduced until after 1890 when a suitable format for the scoring system had been devised. Up until 1875, international rugby matches were decided by the number of goals scored (conversions and dropped goals), but from 1876 the number of tries scored could be used to decide

833-555: A historic match at Croke Park which England lost 43–13, their heaviest defeat against Ireland. At the 2007 World Cup , England were grouped in Pool A with Samoa, Tonga , South Africa, and the United States. They progressed to the knockout stage despite a heavy 36–0 loss to South Africa, and narrowly defeated Australia 12–10 in the quarter-finals. England then faced hosts France in the semi-finals and triumphed 14–9 to qualify for

952-439: A home ground for English Rugby. The land for the ground was purchased in 1907 for £ 5,572 12 s and 6 d , and construction began the following year. The first international match at Twickenham took place on 15 January 1910 between England and Wales. The home team ran out winners 11–6, beating Wales for the first time since 1898. The stadium was expanded in 1927 and again in 1932, but there were no further upgrades until 1981 when

1071-705: A match if the teams were level on goals. In 1875, England played their first game against Ireland at the Oval, winning by one goal, one drop goal and one try to nil; this was Ireland's first test match. England defeated Scotland in 1880 to become the first winners of the Calcutta Cup . Their first match against Wales was played on 19 February 1881 at Richardson's Field in Blackheath , where England recorded their largest victory, winning by seven goals, six tries, and one drop goal to nil, and scoring 13 tries in

1190-721: A member in 1978 and a further 80 members joined from 1987 to 1999. The body was renamed the International Rugby Board ( IRB ) in 1998, and took up its current name of World Rugby in November 2014. In 2009, the International Olympic Committee (IOC) voted to include rugby sevens in the 2016 Summer Olympics . World Rugby gained membership of the Association of Summer Olympic International Federations (ASOIF) in 2010. Until 1885

1309-517: A new South stand was built and the 1990s when new North, East and West stands were built; the South stand was replaced in 2005 and 2006 to make the stadium into a complete bowl. England played their first test match at the redeveloped Twickenham on 5 November 2006 against the All Blacks, who won the match 41–20, dominating the England team in front of a record crowd of 82,076. The pitch at Twickenham

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1428-525: A number of versions recorded and the version released did reach the top 40 in the UK Singles Chart during the competition. England rugby union players typically wear all-white jerseys and white shorts, with predominantly navy blue socks. The emblem on the jerseys is a red rose . As of July 2023, the strip is manufactured by Umbro and the shirt sponsor is O 2 . The away strip is usually red or dark grey (described as "anthracite"); prior to

1547-715: A seventh successive victory over Australia in the Wallabies' largest-ever Rugby World Cup defeat. England then defeated New Zealand in the semi-final, equalling their largest Rugby World Cup defeat with a 19-7 victory in which the All Blacks were kept scoreless for 57 minutes. On 2 November 2019, England were defeated 12-32 by South Africa in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final . In the 2020 Six Nations Championship , England were defeated 24-17 in their opening game against France in Paris before recording victories against Scotland at Murrayfield and Ireland and Wales at Twickenham. The tournament

1666-416: A single week in 2022. Otherwise the top step on the rankings has been divided between four teams. New Zealand have by far the longest total weeks and longest individual reign, with 743 weeks, the equivalent of nearly 14 years, at the top, the longest period of which was a near ten year period between November 2009 and September 2019, finally ended by Ireland's first short reign of two weeks. They have also led

1785-570: A skin-tight strip. This was intended to make it more difficult for the opposition to grasp the shirt when tackling. England competes annually in the Six Nations Championship , which is played against five other European nations: France , Ireland , Italy , Scotland , and Wales . The Six Nations started out as the Home Nations Championship in 1883 which England won with a Triple Crown . England have won

1904-581: A spirited challenge from Italy 46–15, and winning a tight contest against Wales 12–6 in the first two rounds of the Six Nations . However, it wasn't until June before England recorded another win, as the team lost their remaining games against Scotland (25–13), France (22–16) and eventual Grand Slam winners Ireland (24–15) at home at Twickenham. A non-test loss against the Barbarians (63–45) followed. On their summer tour of South Africa , England lost

2023-529: A streak in which they won 15 of 16 tests, including a Six Nations Grand Slam . Two weeks later New Zealand returned to the top of the summit following Ireland's victory over Wales in Cardiff in a World Cup 2019 warm-up test . However, on 7 September 2019, Ireland defeated Wales again, this time in Dublin , and they were installed as the number 1 team for the first time in their history, which they held entering

2142-612: A two-test series, this match was originally scheduled to be held in Argentina but moved by the Argentine Rugby Union for financial reasons. This was a Pool A match at the 2015 Rugby World Cup . England also played a Five Nations match against Wales at Wembley Stadium on 11 April 1999. Wales was the "home team" on this occasion because Wembley was being used as a temporary base while their new stadium in Cardiff

2261-429: A very highly ranked opponent is a considerably greater achievement than a win against a low-rated opponent, so the strength of the opposing team is a factor. Thus match results are more important than margins of victory in producing accurate rankings. This is because when a highly ranked team plays a lowly ranked team and manages to beat them by over 50 points, it does not necessarily indicate how either team will perform in

2380-625: A victory over the Springboks. In the lead up to the 1995 World Cup in South Africa, England completed another Grand Slam – their third in five years. In the World Cup, England defeated Argentina , Italy and Samoa in pool play and then defeated Australia 25–22 in their quarter-final. England's semi-final was dominated by the All Blacks and featured four tries, now worth five points each, by Jonah Lomu ; England lost 45–29. They then lost

2499-580: A weighting system, where the most significant matches are in the Rugby World Cup Finals. Points exchanges are doubled during the World Cup Finals to recognise the unique importance of this event. All other full international matches are treated the same, to be as fair as possible to countries playing a different mix of friendly and competitive matches. Matches that do not have full international status do not count. A win against

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2618-630: A white shirt with a rose embroidered on the chest, white shorts, and navy blue socks with a white trim. England's home ground is Twickenham Stadium where they first played in 1910. The team is administered by the Rugby Football Union (RFU). Four former players have been inducted into the International Rugby Hall of Fame ; one of these is also a member of the IRB Hall of Fame . Seven other former players are members of

2737-617: A win and a draw, or three draws). However, England retained the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland 38–18 at Twickenham. Lancaster took an experimental side on a summer tour of Argentina in 2013 ; after beating a South American select XV on 2 June, England achieved a 2–0 series victory over Argentina, their first away series win against the Pumas for 32 years. In 2015, England hosted the Rugby World Cup , but were eliminated in

2856-562: A year and manages and controls the affairs of World Rugby. The Council formulates and oversees the implementation of World Rugby's strategic plan and application of policy decisions, and selects the host nation(s) for the Rugby World Cup . The Council considers recommendations of the General Assembly. The Council may admit or expel member nations. The council is also the supreme legislative authority of World Rugby. Most Council decisions require approval of simple majority, but to amend

2975-444: Is a draw [**see note 9] ............... D x 0.1 capped at 1 ... Team Z wins by 15 or fewer points ............... (10+A-B) x 0.1 capped at 2 ... Team Z wins by 16 or more points ............... (10+A-B) x 0.15 capped at 3 [5] The team with the higher “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” may be termed the “Favourite”. [6] The team with the lower “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” may be termed

3094-1287: Is a four-step process: Regional Unions Six regional associations, which represent each continent, are affiliated with World Rugby and help to develop the fifteen-a-side game as well as Rugby sevens across the world. Not all members of the regional associations are members of World Rugby. Below is a list of member and associate unions and their regional associations with the year that they joined World Rugby. Associate unions are in italics . There are 21 World Rugby members and 6 World Rugby associates: Suspended unions: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 22 World Rugby members, and 6 World Rugby associates: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 38 World Rugby members, and 2 World Rugby associates: Suspended unions: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 12 World Rugby members, and 1 World Rugby associate: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 9 World Rugby members, and 2 World Rugby associates: Notes:   * Denotes associate membership date. There are 11 World Rugby members: World Rugby's largest members, ranked by number of participants in 2019, are: The World Rugby Council meets twice

3213-518: Is held over five- or six-legs. Both tournaments followed the same principle—points are awarded based on a teams position in each round of the series, and the team with the most points at the end of the Series is crowned champions. Following the inclusion of rugby sevens into the Olympics, beginning with the 2014–15 series, the series prior to an Olympic event (i.e. the series which ends in the year before

3332-492: Is representative of the teams' performance despite playing differing numbers of matches each year, and the differing strength of opposition that teams have to face. The factors taken into account are as follows: For each match played points exchanges are awarded for the following five outcomes and was developed using results of international matches from 1871 to the present day: Different matches have different importance to teams, and World Rugby has tried to reflect this by using

3451-504: Is the largest dedicated rugby stadium in the world. In the early years, the English rugby team used a number of venues in several different locations around England before settling at Twickenham Stadium in 1910. After sell-out matches at Crystal Palace against New Zealand in 1905 and South Africa in 1906, the Rugby Football Union (RFU) decided to invest in their own ground and arranged for sportsman and entrepreneur Billy Williams to find

3570-459: Is the “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” for Team Y. Call it “A”. [2] Take the pre-match Points Ranking Score of Team Z. If Z has home advantage, add 3 to its pre-match Points Ranking Score. This is the “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” for Team Z. Call it “B”. [3] Calculate the Difference between the two “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Scores”. Call it “D”. [4] Apply

3689-466: The 2004 Six Nations Championship after losing their matches to both France and Ireland. Clive Woodward resigned as head coach on 2 September and Andy Robinson was appointed to replace him. Robinson's first Six Nations campaign in 2005 resulted in fourth place for England, and although they defeated Australia 26–16 at Twickenham in the Autumn internationals , this was followed by a 23–19 loss to

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3808-410: The 2019 Rugby World Cup . The first round of matches in the 2019 Rugby World Cup saw a further change at the top, with New Zealand's pool stage victory over the Springboks seeing them regain the top spot. England's defeat of New Zealand in the 2019 World Cup semi-finals saw them return to the top spot for the first time since 2004. A week later, South Africa reclaimed top spot after defeating England in

3927-531: The Autumn International Test Series in November 2016 ended their record streak. Below is a list of the most and least accumulated rating points for each of the nations that have appeared in the Rugby World Cup since the ranking tables were first published on the 13 October 2003: Six teams have led the world rankings at one point, of which two had a single short stay at that position - Wales for two weeks in 2019, and France for

4046-669: The Grand Slam 14 times and the Triple Crown 26 times, making them the most successful outright winners in the tournament's history. They are currently the only team from the Northern Hemisphere to win the Rugby World Cup , having won the tournament in 2003 , and have been runners-up on three further occasions. The history of the team extends back to 1871 when the English rugby team played their first official test match , losing 1–0 to Scotland. England dominated

4165-750: The International Championship (known from then as the Five Nations) for the first time since 1892 . Although England did not retain the Five Nations title in 1911, they did share it (with Ireland) in 1912. England then achieved their first Five Nations Grand Slam in 1913, another in 1914, and a third in 1921 after the First World War. A further two consecutive Grand Slams followed for the England team in 1924 and 1925, this despite having started 1925 with an 17–11 loss to

4284-519: The Northern Rugby Football Union . The competing unions' laws of the game diverged almost immediately; the northern body's code eventually became known as rugby league football. England's seats on the IRFB were reduced from six to four in 1911. The Australian Rugby Union , New Zealand Rugby Football Union and South African Rugby Board joined the board with one seat each in 1948, with England's seats being reduced to two,

4403-719: The Pacific Nations Cup . World Rugby's headquarters are in Dublin , Ireland. Its membership now comprises 133 national unions. Each member country must also be a member of one of the six regional unions into which the world is divided: Africa, North America, Asia, Europe, South America, and Oceania. World Rugby was founded as the International Rugby Football Board ( IRFB ) in 1886 by Scotland , Wales and Ireland , with England joining in 1890. Australia , New Zealand and South Africa became full members in 1949. France became

4522-631: The Rugby Union of Russia was suspended from World Rugby. In the 1960s Australians Harold Tolhurst and Jock Kellaher suggested a World Rugby Championship be held in Australia but the IRFB refused. In 1983 and 1984 respectively, the Australian and New Zealand Rugby Football Unions each proposed hosting such a tournament. The following year the board committed to conduct a feasibility study. A year later another meeting took place in Paris, and

4641-483: The United States . England lost their first game 19–6 against Australia. They went on to defeat Japan and the United States, and met Wales in their quarter-final, losing the match 16–3. In 1989, England won matches against Romania and Fiji , followed by victories in their first three Five Nations games of 1990. They lost to Scotland in their last game however, giving Scotland a Grand Slam. England recovered in

4760-465: The World Rugby rankings website . England national rugby union team The England national rugby union team represents the Rugby Football Union in men's international rugby union . They compete in the annual Six Nations Championship with France , Ireland , Italy , Scotland and Wales . England have won the championship on 29 occasions (as well as sharing 10 victories), winning

4879-616: The " Invincibles " in front of 60,000 fans at Twickenham. After winning a sixth Grand Slam in 1928, England were subjected to a 7–0 defeat by the Springboks in front of 70,000 spectators at Twickenham in January 1932. Following the expulsion of France from the International Championship in 1931 due to professionalism, which reverted the Five Nations tournament back to the Home Nations, England proceeded to win

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4998-499: The 1934 and 1937 championships with a Triple Crown , and achieved their first victory over the All Blacks at Twickenham in January 1936. When the Five Nations resumed with the readmission of France in 1947 after the Second World War, England shared the championship with Wales. The early Five Nations competitions of the 1950s were unsuccessful for England, winning one match in the 1950 and 1951 championships. England won

5117-548: The 1953 Five Nations, and followed this up with a Grand Slam in 1957, and win in 1958. England broke France's four-championship streak by winning the 1963 Championship. After this victory, England played three Tests in the Southern Hemisphere and lost all three: 21–11 and 9–6 against the All Blacks, and 18–9 against Australia. England did not win a single match in 1966, and managed only a draw with Ireland. They did not win another Championship that decade. Don White

5236-645: The 1970s; with victories over South Africa in 1972, New Zealand in 1973 and Australia in 1973 and 1976. The 1972 Five Nations Championship was not completed due to the Troubles in Northern Ireland when Scotland and Wales refused to play their Five Nations away fixtures in Ireland. England played in Dublin in 1973 and were given a standing ovation lasting five minutes. After losing 18–9 at Lansdowne Road ,

5355-630: The 2024 Autumn internationals. England have been ranking leader three times, for 40 weeks in total, the bulk of that being in two stretches across 39 of the first 40 weeks of the rankings between September 2003 and June 2004. The fifteen year gap between topping the rankings in June 2004 and October 2019 remains the longest gap between reigns (not counting the single appearances of Wales and France). New Zealand twice (June 2004 to October 2007 and November 2009 to August 2019), South Africa (November 2019 to September 2021) and Ireland (July 2022 to October 2023) are

5474-479: The All Blacks. A 25–14 loss to South Africa in the 2006 Autumn internationals was England's eighth defeat in nine test matches, their worst losing streak. Andy Robinson resigned as head coach after this run, and attack coach Brian Ashton was appointed as his replacement in December. England started the 2007 Six Nations Championship with a Calcutta Cup victory over Scotland. That year's championship included

5593-858: The Chief Executive sit on the World Rugby Executive Committee. A General Assembly of the full membership is convened every two years. The General Assembly may make recommendations to the council, and may consider business that the council has referred to it, but the General Assembly has no legislative powers. The current Chair of World Rugby is Brett Robinson who was elected following the Executive Council vote on 14 November 2024. Previous chairmen include Bill Beaumont (2008 to 2024), Bernard Lapasset (2008 to 2016), Syd Millar (2002 to 2007) and Vernon Pugh , QC (1994 to 2002). In July 2012, Brett Gosper

5712-526: The England captain, John Pullin famously stated, "We might not be very good but at least we turned up." England started the following decade with a Grand Slam victory in the 1980 Five Nations – their first for 23 years. However in the 1983 Five Nations Championship , England failed to win a game and picked up the wooden spoon . In the first Rugby World Cup in New Zealand and Australia, England were grouped in pool A alongside Australia, Japan and

5831-594: The England team dominated the match and completely outplayed the All Blacks, who had been unbeaten in 20 matches. At the 2013 Six Nations Championship , England again finished in second place behind Wales, and were deprived of the opportunity to win the Grand Slam for the first time since 2003 when defeated by Wales in Cardiff 30–3. It was the first time since 1974 that every team in the Six Nations managed to win at least three competition points (the equivalent of

5950-568: The Grand Slam by losing 20–14 to Ireland in a postponed match at Lansdowne Road. Although France won the 2002 Six Nations Championship , England defeated the other Home Nations teams to win the Triple Crown. In 2002, England beat Argentina 26–18 in Buenos Aires, and in the Autumn internationals they defeated New Zealand 31–28, Australia 32–31, and South Africa 53–3 at Twickenham. At the 2003 Six Nations Championship , England won

6069-457: The Grand Slam for the first time since 1995, followed by wins over Australia and the All Blacks on their June summer tour . Going into the 2003 World Cup as one of the tournament favourites, England reached the final on 22 November 2003 against host Australia. The game went into extra time with the score tied at 14–14; after one penalty apiece and with just seconds to spare, a match-winning drop goal by fly-half Jonny Wilkinson brought

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6188-534: The Home Nations trophy with Scotland in 1890. England first played New Zealand (known as the "All Blacks") in 1905 at Crystal Palace in London. New Zealand scored five tries, worth three points at the time, to win 15–0. England played France for the first time in March 1906 in Paris, winning 35–8, and later that year they first faced South Africa (known as the "Springboks"), again at Crystal Palace. James Peters

6307-483: The IRB Hall – four solely for their accomplishments as players, two solely for their achievements in other roles in the sport, and one for achievements both as a player and administrator. The expansion of rugby in the first half of the 19th century was driven by former pupils from many of England's public schools , especially Rugby , who, upon finishing school, took the game with them to universities, to London, and to

6426-571: The RFU stated that they had requested approval from the New Zealand Union, which said "it has no qualms with England wearing the strip". The Rugby Football Union (RFU) had created the national side's emblem prior to an English team being sent to Edinburgh to play a Scottish side. A red rose was chosen to be the side's emblem. The white kit worn by the national team was taken from the kit used at Rugby School . Alfred Wright, an employee of

6545-484: The Rugby Championship , despite their ratings falling to 89.04. A week later, Wales increased their rating to 89.43 and claimed the top spot by beating England at Cardiff in a World Cup 2019 warm-up test . In contrast, some countries that have reached a rating of over 90 rating points, such as Australia (91.75) and Ireland (91.17), did not achieve the top spot, although Ireland would eventually reach

6664-536: The Rugby Football Union, is credited with the standardisation and new design of the rose, which up until 1920 had undergone many variations in its depiction. The Wright design is thought to have been used without minor alteration until the late 1990s. It was not until 1997 that the rose was modernised, when Nike became the official strip supplier (with the stem section of the rose being green rather than brown as previously). In 2003, England first used

6783-646: The Springboks during the 2007 tournament. World Rugby World Rugby is the governing body for the sport of rugby union . World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international competitions, such as the World Rugby Sevens Series , the Rugby World Cup Sevens , the World Under 20 Championship , and

6902-474: The USA were added to the voting Council with one vote each. Additionally, current Council members Argentina, Canada and Italy were granted a second representative and vote. The six regional associations represented on the council also received an additional vote. After the 2022 Russian invasion of Ukraine , World Rugby suspended Russia from international and European continental rugby union competition. In addition,

7021-499: The Union subsequently voted on the idea. The South African Rugby Board's vote that proved crucial in setting up a tied vote, as they voted in favour, even though they knew they would be excluded due to the sporting boycott because of their apartheid policies. English and Welsh votes then changed, and the vote was won 10 to 6. As at June 2024, World Rugby has 113 member unions and 17 associate member unions. Membership of World Rugby

7140-428: The World Cup have held the number 1 spot at the end of the tournament. New Zealand have been the most consistently ranked #1 team since the introduction of the world rankings in 2003, having held the #1 ranking for most of the time during this period. South Africa is second, with Ireland, England, Wales and France making up the remainder. To date, 2019 is the only calendar year in which more than three nations have held

7259-584: The World Rugby's by-laws, regulations, or the Laws of the Game requires approval of three quarters of the council. Prior to 2016, the council had 28 voting members from 12 national unions. In November 2015, World Rugby announced that they would add more unions to the voting council and give the six regional associations two votes each on the council. As of October 2023 , the council had 52 members including

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7378-558: The actual current strength and thus rank of the nations. The rankings are responsive to results and it is possible to climb to the top from the bottom (and vice versa) in fewer than 20 matches. As all matches are worth a net of 0 points for the two teams combined, there is no particular advantage to playing more matches. A rating stays the same until the team plays again. Although matches often result in points exchanges, 'predictable' results lead to very minor changes, and may result in no change to either side's rating. The system ensures that it

7497-410: The basis of the match result – whatever one side gains, the other loses. The exchanges are based on the match result, the ranking of each team, and the margin of victory, with an allowance for home advantage. As the system aims to depict current team strengths, past successes or losses will fade and be superseded by more recent results. Thus, it is thought that it will produce an accurate picture depicting

7616-432: The championship, Welsh centre Scott Gibbs sliced through six English tackles to score a try in the last minute, and the ensuing conversion by Neil Jenkins handed the final Five Nations title to Scotland. England commenced the new millennium by winning the inaugural Six Nations Championship , although they lost their last match to Scotland. They successfully defended their title the following year , but missed out on

7735-467: The counties. England's first international match was against Scotland on 27 March 1871; not only was this England's first match, but it is also noted as being the first rugby union international. Scotland won the match by one goal and a try to England's one unconverted try, in front of a crowd of 4,000 people at Raeburn Place , Edinburgh. A subsequent international took place at the Oval in London on 5 February 1872, when England defeated Scotland by

7854-479: The early Home Nations Championship (now the Six Nations ) which started in 1883. Following the schism of rugby football in 1895 into union and league, England did not win the Championship again until 1910. They first played against New Zealand in 1905, South Africa in 1906, and Australia in 1909. England was one of the teams invited to take part in the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987 and progressed to

7973-474: The effective management and operation of the World Rugby. The Committee formulates and monitors the implementation of the World Rugby's strategic plan, business plan, operational plan and budget. In 2016, as part of the reforms to the World Rugby Council, the executive committee was increased to 12 members. The Chairman, Vice-chairman, nine elected officials, including two independent members, and

8092-430: The final in the second tournament in 1991 , losing 12–6 to Australia. Following their Grand Slam in 2003 , England went on to win the 2003 Rugby World Cup , defeating Australia 20–17 in extra time. They contested the final again in 2007 in defence of their title, losing 15–6 to South Africa, and reached the final for the fourth time in 2019 , once again losing to South Africa, 32–12. England players traditionally wear

8211-415: The final match, winning 22-19 after extra time at Twickenham to secure the tournament. England finished fifth in the 2021 Six Nations Championship , beating France and Italy but losing to all three home nations for the first time since 1976 and conceding defeat to Scotland at Twickenham for the first time since 1983. In the 2021 autumn internationals England played three matches at Twickenham. They secured

8330-500: The final score to 20–17, making England rugby world champions for the first time. Not only was this England's first Rugby World Cup victory, but it was the nation's first world cup since the England national football team won the 1966 FIFA World Cup . On 8 December, the England team were greeted by 750,000 supporters on a victory parade through London before meeting Queen Elizabeth II at Buckingham Palace . England finished third in

8449-468: The final, beating Wales and France in the quarter- and semi-finals. With a drop goal in the last minute of extra time, England won the final 20–17 against Australia in Sydney on 22 November 2003. England made a poor start to their defence of the World Cup in 2007 , with a below par victory over the United States and a heavy 36–0 defeat to South Africa, leaving the title holders on the brink of elimination at

8568-614: The final, where they were subjected to a second defeat by the Springboks at this World Cup, losing the match 15–6. England followed up their World Cup disappointment with two consecutive second-place finishes in the Six Nations Championship, behind Wales ( 2008 ) and Ireland ( 2009 ). Former England team captain Martin Johnson took up the job of head coach in July 2008 but, unable to replicate his on-field success in

8687-435: The final. 2021 saw the ranking lead change several times with South Africa and New Zealand each holding the top spot at various points. In 2022, France replaced South Africa on top of the rankings following their victory over Japan in their summer tour and the Springboks' home defeat by a touring Wales team . A week later, Ireland claimed top spot following victory in their summer tour to New Zealand. Ireland would hold

8806-468: The first two matches 42–39 and 23–12, after leading both early in the first half, before winning the third test 25–10 against a mostly second-string Springbok side. That autumn, after adding former New Zealand and United States coach John Mitchell to the coaching setup, England won the return match against South Africa by a single point at 12–11, and lost an equally close contest with New Zealand 16–15, both in controversial circumstances. England rounded out

8925-496: The following year by winning their first Grand Slam since 1980. England hosted the 1991 World Cup and were in pool A, along with the All Blacks, Italy and the United States. Although they lost to the All Blacks in pool play, they qualified for a quarter-final going on to defeat France 19–10. England then defeated Scotland 9–6 to secure a place in the final against Australia which they lost 12–6. The next year, England completed another Grand Slam and did not lose that year, including

9044-746: The formula from the relevant item in this list: World Cup Matches ... Team Y wins by 16 or more points ............... (10+B-A) x 0.3 capped at 6 ... Team Y wins by 15 or fewer points ............... (10+B-A) x 0.2 capped at 4 ... The match is a draw [**see note 9] ............... D x 0.2 capped at 2 ... Team Z wins by 15 or fewer points ............... (10+A-B) x 0.2 capped at 4 ... Team Z wins by 16 or more points ............... (10+A-B) x 0.3 capped at 6 Other International ... Team Y wins by 16 or more points ............... (10+B-A) x 0.15 capped at 3 ... Team Y wins by 15 or fewer points ............... (10+B-A) x 0.1 capped at 2 ... The match

9163-549: The founding nations, including: England, France, Wales, Ireland, Scotland, South Africa, Australia, and New Zealand, with just 3% of viewers coming from all other countries. The most recent Rugby World Cup was held in France in 2023 . South Africa defeated New Zealand 12–11 in the Rugby World Cup final, winning a record fourth title. World Rugby also organises the women's Rugby World Cup , also held every four years. It

9282-410: The founding of the IRFB, stating that they should have greater representation, as they had more clubs. The England Union also refused to accept the IRFB as the recognised lawmaker of the game. This led to the IRFB taking the stance of member countries not playing England until they joined, and no games were played against England in 1888 and 1889. In 1890 England joined the IRFB, gaining six seats while

9401-520: The future. When calculating points exchanges, the home side is handicapped by treating them as though they are three rating points better than their current rating. This results in the home side gaining fewer points for winning and losing more points for losing. Because of this, ideally, any advantage that a side may have by playing in front of their home crowd is cancelled out. [1] Take the pre-match Points Ranking Score of Team Y. If Y has home advantage, add 3 to its pre-match Points Ranking Score. This

9520-479: The ground joined in. Since then "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" became a song to sing at England home games. In 1991, the RFU marketing director Mike Coley for the team to launch a song leading up to that year's Rugby World Cup. He had wanted to use " Jerusalem ", but it was used in the Rugby League Challenge Cup final that year, so the song was changed at short notice to "Swing Low". There were

9639-428: The introduction of the grey strip, red was the traditional change colour. Navy blue has also been used in the past and was reintroduced for the 2016–17 and 2020–21 seasons. Purple was used during the 2009 autumn internationals, reflecting the traditional colour of the original England tracksuits from the 1960s until the 1980s. The away strip was black for the first time during the 2011 Rugby World Cup . About that kit,

9758-487: The laws of rugby football were made by England as the founder nation. However, following a disputed try in an international between Scotland and England in 1884, letters were exchanged in which England claimed that they made the laws, and the try should stand. Scotland refused to play England in the 1885 Home Nations Championship . Following the dispute, the home unions of Scotland, Ireland and Wales decided to form an international union whose membership would agree on

9877-565: The lead in July 2009 after beating New Zealand in Bloemfontein and kept the lead until losing to France in November of that year, allowing the All Blacks to regain the top spot. A change at the top would not occur for a record period of 508 weeks (from 16 November 2009 to 19 August 2019), when Wales became the top ranked team for the first time after defeating England at Cardiff in a World Cup 2019 warm-up test in August, following on

9996-503: The management role, he resigned in November 2011 following a miserable Rugby World Cup which featured a series of on- and off-field controversies and ended in quarter-final defeat by France. In March 2012, the Rugby Football Union appointed Stuart Lancaster , the former Elite Rugby Director at Leeds Carnegie , as England's head coach. He had previously been employed in the position on a short-term basis, assisted by existing forwards coach Graham Rowntree , and Andy Farrell . Lancaster

10115-409: The new countries will inherit a rating at a fixed level below the rating of the original country. Before 1 December 2012 new member nations were given 40.00 points. Countries that have not played a test for a number of years are removed from the ranking system and the list. If they become active again, they resume their previous rating. ***For a full explanation of how rankings are calculated, see

10234-453: The next three years. The program was designed to increase the competitiveness of international rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup , the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition, which has been held every four years since 1987. Despite the profitability of the World Cup, the majority of its revenues and viewers come from a small number of countries. For the 2007 Rugby World Cup final , 97% of viewers came from

10353-548: The non-voting chairman, so there were 51 voting members from 17 national unions and 6 regional associations, allocated as follows: In total, Europe has 22 votes; Oceania 9 votes; South America 6 votes; Africa 5 votes; Asia 5 votes and North America 4 votes. A Chairman and Vice Chairman are elected from among the council members. These positions are held by Bill Beaumont of England and Bernard Laporte of France, respectively, elected as of April 2020 . The executive committee, in accordance with bye-laws 9.14–9.16, ensures

10472-493: The number 1 spot - with five nations holding that title at some point during the year. Below is a list of the best and worst ranking positions for nations that have appeared in the Rugby World Cup : According to World Rugby the "top side in the World will normally have a rating above 90", however, this is not always the case. New Zealand retained the number 1 position in August 2019 following defeat by Australia at Perth in

10591-402: The only sides to spend a year or more (effectively an entire season) continuously on top of the men's world rankings. Summary All World Rugby member countries have been given a rating that is in the range of 0 to 100 with the top side achieving a rating of about 90 points. The point system is calculated using a 'Points Exchange' system, in which sides receive points from each other on

10710-440: The only team to have won more than two successive grand slams, on more than one occasion, doing so in 1913–1914, 1923–1924 and 1991–1992; while Wales and France the only other teams to have done so twice, in 1908–1909 for Wales and 1997–1998 for France. England have previously played one or more series against these nations, but have never won an overall test series against them: England have contested every Rugby World Cup since

10829-483: The other unions had two each. The same year, the IRFB wrote the first international laws of rugby union. In 1893, the IRFB was faced with the divide between amateurism and professionalism , which was nicknamed the "Great Schism". Following the introduction of working-class men to the game in Northern England, clubs began paying "broken time" payments to players, due to the loss of earnings from playing on

10948-472: The pool stage. Despite this setback, and following the appointment of new head coach Eddie Jones , England won the Grand Slam in the 2016 Six Nations Championship , and remained unbeaten for the whole of 2016, including a series whitewash of Australia in Sydney. They went on to equal the world record of 18 consecutive test wins with an impressive 61–21 victory over Scotland in securing the 2017 Six Nations Championship . 2018 began well for England, seeing off

11067-414: The pool stage. Improved performances against Samoa and Tonga ensured that England again reached the knockout stage as pool runners-up, before a surprise 12–10 defeat of Australia in the quarter-finals followed by a narrow 14–9 victory over the host nation carried England to a second successive final appearance. In the final, held in Paris on 20 October, England lost 15–6 to South Africa, their second defeat by

11186-657: The process. The subsequent meeting the following year at St. Helen's in Swansea was a closer contest, with England defeating Wales by two goals and four tries to nil. Two years later, England emerged as the inaugural winners at the first Home Nations championship . In 1889, they played their first match against a non-home nations team when they defeated the New Zealand Natives at Rectory Field in Blackheath by one goal and four tries to nil. England shared

11305-425: The quarter-final stage before being beaten by the All Blacks in the semi-final. Their third-place play-off match against France was lost 19–9. In the 1999 tournament , England again finished second in their pool. Although they proceeded to win a play-off game against Fiji, they went out of the tournament in the quarter-finals, losing 44–21 to South Africa. England came top of their pool in 2003 and progressed to

11424-470: The record for the highest rating points amassed by any team, which currently stands at 96.57. England first held the record at 93.99 on the 24 November 2003, following their World Cup win in Australia; however, New Zealand surpassed this on 28 August 2006 with a rating of 94.62, following their Tri Nations victory over South Africa in Pretoria . The All Blacks would go on to push this record further over

11543-560: The same as the other home nations. The three Southern Hemisphere unions were given a second seat each in 1958. The French Rugby Federation was admitted in 1978, the Argentine Rugby Union , Italian Rugby Federation and USA Rugby Football Union in 1987, and the Canadian Rugby Union , and Japan Rugby Football Union were admitted in 1991. In 2016, the Georgia Rugby Union , Romanian Rugby Federation , and

11662-500: The same venue the week before and by New Zealand (25–8) in Manchester two weeks previously. In 1998, England toured Australia, New Zealand and South Africa ; many of the experienced players were unavailable for what was to become nicknamed the "Tour from Hell" during which England lost all of their matches including a punishing 76–0 defeat by the Wallabies. In the last Five Nations match on 11 April 1999, with England poised to win

11781-676: The standard rules of rugby football. The three nations met in Dublin in 1886, though no formal regulations were agreed upon. On 5 December 1887, committee members of the Irish Rugby Football Union , Scottish Rugby Union (named the Scottish Football Union at the time) and Welsh Rugby Union met in Manchester and wrote up the first four principles of the International Rugby Football Board. England refused to take part in

11900-628: The table on eight separate occasions, most recently in October 2021. South Africa have topped the rankings on six occasions for a combined total of 244 weeks as the highest ranked side in the world including 186 weeks since the end of 2019. In that later period their closest challenger has been Ireland , who only topped the rankings for the first time, briefly, in September 2019, but had racked up 70 weeks as world number one in three batches since that date, and were current world number one leading into

12019-416: The third-place play-off match against France. England won their 20th Triple Crown title in 1997, but came second in the championship after a narrow 23–20 defeat against France at Twickenham . Sir Clive Woodward replaced Jack Rowell as the England head coach later that year. On 6 December 1997, England drew 26–26 with New Zealand at Twickenham, after being heavily defeated (29–11) by South Africa at

12138-513: The title outright 29 times (a record for the tournament) and shared victory ten times. Their longest wait between championships was 18 years (1892–1910). During the Six Nations, England also contests the Calcutta Cup with Scotland (which England first won in 1880) and the Millennium Trophy with Ireland (which England first won in 1988). The matches between England and France are traditionally known as " Le Crunch ". Note: England are

12257-457: The top of the summit with a rating of 89.47 following their victory over Wales in a World Cup 2019 warm-up test in Dublin , while Australia still to date have never attained the number 1 ranked position. This is due to the success of New Zealand who had been rated above 90 rating points for a record of 509 weeks and 6 days (from 2 November 2009 to 11 August 2019), which ended following the aforementioned defeat to Australia. New Zealand also holds

12376-585: The top spot after defeating South Africa in the Tri-Nations opener on 5 July 2008 in Wellington ; a week later the Springboks returned the favour in Dunedin , scoring their first win over the All Blacks in New Zealand since 1998, reclaiming the top spot, only for the All Blacks to defeat both Australia and South Africa in August 2008 to regain the top spot by a considerable margin. South Africa regained

12495-425: The top spot until October 2023, when they lost to New Zealand in the quarter-final stage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup . South Africa regained the top spot after beating host nation France in the same stage of the world cup. However, South Africa would relinquish the top spot to Ireland following their away defeat to Argentina in the 2024 Rugby Championship . Since the rankings began, the winners of every edition of

12614-495: The tournament began in 1987, reaching the final four times and winning the title in 2003 . In the inaugural tournament , England finished second in their pool before losing to Wales in the quarter-finals. They again finished pool runners-up in 1991 but recovered to beat France in the quarter-finals, and then Scotland in the semi-finals, en route to a 12–6 final defeat to Australia at Twickenham on 2 November 1991. In 1995 , England topped their pool and defeated Australia 25–22 at

12733-517: The year with wins over Japan (35–15) and Australia (37–18). The win over Australia continued an unbroken run of victories over the Wallabies under former Australia coach Eddie Jones. England finished second in the 2019 Six Nations Championship having lost to Wales in Cardiff and drawn 38-38 with Scotland at Twickenham after leading 31-0. In the 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches they defeated Wales 33-19 at Twickenham before losing 13-6 in Cardiff. They then recorded their largest win over Ireland with

12852-546: The years, reaching 95.01 points on the 25 June 2007 after beating South Africa in Durban , 96.10 points after their 2015 World Cup win in England and 96.30 points on 22 August 2016, following their Rugby Championship victory over Australia in Sydney , to its current record of 96.57, which they attained on 10 October 2016 after defeating South Africa in Durban . New Zealand's defeat by Ireland at Soldier Field, Chicago as part of

12971-414: The “Underdog”. [7] A team whose “Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” is 10+ points lower than their opponents’ "Modified pre-match Points Ranking Score” may be termed the “Outsider”. [8] An "Underdog" stands to gain more from a victory than does a "Favourite". [9] In the case of a draw, the points are transferred from the “Favourite” to the “Underdog” or “Outsider”. The transfer is capped at 1 (2 in

13090-463: Was appointed as England's first coach in 1969. According to former Northampton player Bob Taylor , "Don was chosen because he was the most forward-thinking coach in England". His first match in charge was an 11–8 victory over South Africa at Twickenham in 1969. Of the eleven games England played with White in charge they won three, and drew one and lost seven. He resigned as England coach in 1971. England had wins against Southern Hemisphere teams in

13209-719: Was appointed as the new Chief Executive of what was then the IRB. He will leave this role at the end of 2020 to become head of the National Football League 's operations in Europe. In 2013 World Rugby released £18.6 million of funding over three years for developing rugby in Canada, the United States, Japan, Romania, Fiji, Samoa, and Tonga. Argentina also received additional support to enable it to retain its tier one status. The money, built up from successful World Cups,

13328-471: Was being constructed. Wales won the match 32–31. "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot" is commonly sung at England fixtures – especially at Twickenham. In the last match of the 1988 season, against Ireland, three of England's tries were scored by Chris Oti . A group of boys from the Benedictine school Douai , following a tradition at their school games, sang the song on his final try, and other spectators around

13447-410: Was considered a success in his first campaign as head coach: defending champions England took second place in the 2012 Six Nations Championship after losing 19–12 to Wales at Twickenham, but successfully defended the Calcutta Cup by defeating Scotland 13–6 at Murrayfield . England finished the year on a high when they beat World Cup holders New Zealand 38–21 at Twickenham in the Autumn internationals ;

13566-565: Was first held by the IRB in 1998, though tournaments in 1991 and 1994 were retrospectively recognised in 2009. The women's World Cup is contested by fewer teams than the men's Cup, with only the 1998 and 2002 editions featuring more than 12 teams (these competitions both had 16 teams, compared to the 20 teams in the men's Rugby World Cup). On 21 August 2019, World Rugby announced that all future men's and women's World Cups would officially be known as "Rugby World Cup", with no sex or gender designations. The first tournament to be affected by this policy

13685-454: Was released following a report commissioned by World Rugby highlighting the growing disparity between tier one and tier two nations. This is in addition to the £10–12 million it normally gives out grants and tournament costs. The emphasis is on three areas infrastructure, high performance units and cross border competitions. In April 2006, tier-3 rugby nations Georgia, Portugal, Tunisia and Russia were identified as key investment nations over

13804-689: Was replaced in June 2012 with a hybrid 'Desso' type, which uses artificial fibres entwined with real grass. This type of pitch surface is particularly hard wearing in wet conditions. Although England have played home matches almost exclusively at Twickenham since 1910, they have occasionally used alternative English venues. England home matches have been hosted at Leicester's Welford Road (1923), London's Wembley Stadium (1992), Old Trafford (1997 and 2009), Huddersfield's McAlpine Stadium (twice in 1998), Manchester's Etihad Stadium (2015), and St James' Park in Newcastle upon Tyne (2019). The first of

13923-402: Was the 2021 Rugby World Cup, for women's team in New Zealand. World Rugby organised three international sevens tournaments - two annual Sevens Series (one for men and one for women ) which are now defunct. The quadrennial Rugby World Cup Sevens is still active. The men's season-long annual Sevens Series took place over 10 legs, each held in a different country. The women's Sevens Series

14042-651: Was then halted due to the COVID-19 pandemic and resumed with the matches played in empty stadia in October. In the postponed matches, England recorded a bonus point win over Italy in Rome before France's defeat of Ireland by eight points meant that England won the championship on points difference. Due to the pandemic, the scheduled 2020 Autumn Internationals were replaced by the Autumn Nations Cup . England defeated Georgia , Wales and Ireland before facing France in

14161-563: Was withdrawn from the England squad when the South Africans refused to play against a black player; the match was drawn 3–3. England first played Australia (known as the "Wallabies") in January 1909 at Blackheath's Rectory Field, where they were defeated 9–3. The year 1909 saw the opening of Twickenham Stadium as the RFU's new home, heralding a golden era for English rugby union. England's first international at Twickenham in 1910 brought them victory over Wales on their way to winning

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