Rugby World Cup in 2007
| Coupe du Monde – France 2007 | |
|---|---|
 |
|
| Tournament details | |
| Host nation |
 France
|
| Dates | 7 September – 20 October |
| No. of nations | 20 (91 qualifying) |
| Final positions | |
Champions 
|
 South Africa
|
Runner-up 
|
 England
|
Third-place 
|
 Argentina
|
| Tournament statistics | |
| Matches played | 48 |
| Attendance | 2,263,223 (47,150 per match) |
| Top scorer(s) |
Percy Montgomery (105) |
| Most tries |
Bryan Habana (8) |
|
← 2003
2011 →
|
|
| Qualified for the quarter-finals |
| Eliminated, automatic qualification for RWC 2011 |
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003, beating a bid from England. The competition consisted of 48 matches over 44 days; 42 matches were played in ten cities throughout France, as well as four in Cardiff, Wales, and two in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The eight quarter-finalists from 2003 were granted automatic qualification, while 12 other nations gained entry through the regional qualifying competitions that began in 2004 – of them, Portugal was the only World Cup debutant. The top three nations from each pool at the end of the pool stage qualified automatically for the 2011 World Cup.
The competition opened with a match between hosts France and Argentina on 7 September at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, outside Paris. The stadium was also the venue of the final, played between England and South Africa on 20 October, which South Africa won 15–6 to win their second World Cup title.
Both England and France bid to host the tournament. The tender document for the 2007 bidding process was due out on 31 October 2001. Both England and France were invited to re-submit their plans. The International Rugby Board (IRB) stated that both countries must comply with tender document terms in one bid, but in their second option, could propose alternative ideas. The IRB said "England's original proposal contained three plans for hosting the tournament with a traditional, new and hybrid format all on offer... The French bid, while complying with the tender document in all other respects, fell outside one of the `windows` in which the IRB wanted to stage an event". England's bids included a two-tier tournament and altering the structure of the qualifying tournament and France had a bid in September/October.
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