The 1999 Rugby World Cup Final was the final match in the 1999 Rugby World Cup. It was played at the Millennium Stadium in

Cardiff Cardiff (; cy, Caerdydd ) is the capital and largest city of Wales. It forms a principal area, officially known as the City and County of Cardiff ( cy, Dinas a Sir Caerdydd, links=no), and the city is the eleventh-largest in the United Kingd ...

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the Bristol Channel to the south. It had a population in ...

on 6 November 1999, between and with 72,500 in attendance. Australia won the game by 35 points to 12, and with it, their second World Cup, having also won the 1991 tournament in England.

Match summary

First half

In front of a capacity crowd of 72,500 at the recently completed Millennium Stadium, Australia met France in the fourth Rugby World Cup Final. For both teams it was their second Final. Australia were resilient in defence throughout the tournament while France promised an attacking back line full of talent. In damp and cold conditions France took an early lead with a Christophe Lamaison penalty after just two minutes. Penalty kicking would be the story of the day and Matt Burke equalled the scores after four minutes with a successful kick. The Australian forwards dominated in the loose and their tactic of continually kicking for territory and position proved effective. Lamaison offered some respite by slotting a 12th-minute penalty to give France a 6–3 lead. Injury and the subsequent substitution of Olivier Magne disrupted the France back row line-up after 20 minutes. Matt Burke, however, showed imperious accuracy as time and again French exuberance in the loose was penalised. By half-time the Australians led 12–6 with all points from the two talented goal kickers.

Second half

As with the first half Burke and Lamaison traded penalty goals. After an hour the contest was still in the balance with the score at 18–12 to Australia. France continued to look lacklustre as the Wallabies began to mount a series of attacks. A Burke penalty after 64 minutes put Australia more than one score in front, and theoretically clear. With only 15 minutes remaining

Ben Tune Ben Tune (born 28 December 1976) is a former Australian rugby union player. He played most of his rugby career on the wing but later switched to outside centre. Early career Tune was born in Brisbane and educated at St Paul's School, Bald Hill ...

crashed over for the first try of the contest with Burke again adding the conversion points. The last action of the final was a rolling forward surge and try for Australian second-half substitute

Owen Finegan Owen Finegan (born 22 April 1972, in Sydney) is an Australian former rugby union player who played as a flanker or lock, for the Australian national team. Finegan is currently the CEO of The Kids' Cancer Project Australia. He was a key perfor ...

. Inevitably Matt Burke slotted the conversion. Referee

André Watson André Jacobus Watson (born 24 April 1958) is a South African former rugby union referee. He officiated a record number of finals in the Rugby World Cup (two), the Currie Cup (seven) and Super Rugby (five). Biography Watson was born in Germisto ...

called time on the contest with Australia emphatic winners 35–12. Again the final was hardly a classic match, though the modern approach of effective defensive lines and an outstanding goal kicking display proved to be rewarded. Australia were rewarded for their efforts with a second World Cup win and captain

John Eales John Eales AM (born 27 June 1970) is an Australian former rugby union player and the most successful captain in the history of Australian rugby. In 1999, he became one of the first players to win multiple Rugby World Cups. Early life Eales ...

accepted the Webb Ellis Cup from Queen Elizabeth.

Match details

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup

Final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: * Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of con ...

1999 File:1999 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: The funeral procession of King Hussein of Jordan in Amman; the 1999 İzmit earthquake kills over 17,000 people in Turkey; the Columbine High School massacre, one of the first major school shoot ...

Sports competitions in Cardiff 1999 in Australian rugby union 1999–2000 in French rugby union 1990s in Cardiff Australia national rugby union team matches France national rugby union team matches History of rugby union matches between Australia and France November 1999 sports events in the United Kingdom