The 1987 Rugby World Cup Final was the final match in the

1987 Rugby World Cup The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the first Rugby World Cup. It was co-hosted by New Zealand and Australia – New Zealand hosted 21 matches (17 pool stage matches, two quarter-finals, the third-place play-off and the final) while Australia hosted 11 ...

, the first

Rugby World Cup The Rugby World Cup is a men's rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams. The tournament is administered by World Rugby, the sport's international governing body. The winners are awarded the Webb E ...

played. It was played at

Eden Park Eden Park is New Zealand's largest sports stadium, with a capacity of 50,000. Located in central Auckland, New Zealand's largest city, it is three kilometres southwest of the CBD, on the boundary between the suburbs of Mount Eden and King ...

Auckland Auckland (pronounced ) ( mi, Tāmaki Makaurau) is a large metropolitan city in the North Island of New Zealand. The List of New Zealand urban areas by population, most populous urban area in the country and the List of cities in Oceania by po ...

, New Zealand on 20 June 1987 between the hosts

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

and

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

. The referee of the match was the Australian Kerry Fitzgerald and the touch judges were Jim Fleming and Brian Anderson, both from Scotland. New Zealand won the match 29–9 with three tries, one conversion, four penalties and a drop goal, becoming the first winners of the Rugby World Cup. This same matchup would be contested again at the 2011 final, with New Zealand again becoming the world champions.

Match summary

First half

In front of a capacity crowd at

, hosts New Zealand met France in the inaugural Rugby World Cup Final. France seemed lacklustre following their amazing win over Australia in the semi-final. New Zealand played a mainly kicking game in the first half with

Grant Fox Grant James Fox (born 16 June 1962) is a former rugby union player from New Zealand. He was a member of the All Blacks team that won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. He is also the father of professional golfer, Ryan Fox. Playing career ...

kicking for territory and position. A Fox drop goal after 14 minutes settled home nerves. A try by the World Cup's star performer Michael Jones, followed just 3 minutes later. Jones' try was converted by Fox, a tense final was finely balanced at half time with New Zealand leading France 9–0 .

Second half

France came out with renewed vigour after the break and a

Didier Camberabero Didier Camberabero (born 9 January 1961), is a former French international rugby union player. He played as fly half. Biography Camberabero is a son of the former international, Guy Camberabero, and the nephew of Lilian Camberabero, two brothe ...

penalty four minutes into the half finally put France on the scoreboard. The France fightback was, however, short-lived and New Zealand forward power in the setpiece and open play was to the fore. Tries by

David Kirk David Edward Kirk (born 5 October 1960) is a former New Zealand rugby union player. He is best known for having been the captain of the All Blacks when they won the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987. Early years Kirk was born in Wellington an ...

and John Kirwan together with the relentlessly accurate goal kicking of Fox meant that going into the final moments New Zealand led 29–3 . A final surge near the whistle led to a France try through

Pierre Berbizier Pierre Berbizier (born 17 June 1958) is a French former rugby union footballer and a current coach. His usual position was at scrum-half. He played 56 times for France. Biography Berbizier was born in Saint-Gaudens. He made his international deb ...

. The try was converted as the last kick of the game by

. The final had hardly lived up to its billing, probably due to the exertions by France in their semi-final win. It was however fitting that tries from three stars of the tournament, Jones, Kirk and Kirwan, won the contest and gave New Zealand the Webb Ellis Cup.

Match Details

References

External links

Match Report at ESPNMatch Report at Allblacks.comMatch Report at RugbyRefs.com
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup

1987 File:1987 Events Collage.png, From top left, clockwise: The MS Herald of Free Enterprise capsizes after leaving the Port of Zeebrugge in Belgium, killing 193; Northwest Airlines Flight 255 crashes after takeoff from Detroit Metropolitan Airport, k ...

1987 in New Zealand rugby union 1986–87 in French rugby union France national rugby union team matches New Zealand national rugby union team matches History of rugby union matches between France and New Zealand