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Scotland
Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...
have played in every 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 ...
since the inaugural tournament in 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 ...
.
Their best finish was fourth in 1991
File:1991 Events Collage.png, From left, clockwise: Boris Yeltsin, elected as Russia's first president, waves the new flag of Russia after the 1991 Soviet coup d'état attempt, orchestrated by Soviet hardliners; Mount Pinatubo erupts in the Phil ...
. In their semi-final on October 26, 1991, Scotland lost 6–9 to England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...
at Murrayfield after Gavin Hastings missed a penalty almost in front of and a short distance from the posts. On October 30 Scotland lost the third-place play-off to New Zealand in Cardiff 13–6.
Since then they have qualified for the quarter-finals in every tournament except in 2011, 2019 and 2023, but have not qualified for the semi-finals.
In 2015 Scotland were defeated in the quarter-final match versus Australia
Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...
following a number of refereeing decisions that provoked controversy.
In 2019, they were defeated in the pool stages by Ireland and hosts Japan, becoming the first Tier 1 team since Wales in 2007 to not qualify for the quarter-finals from a pool that only contained two Tier 1 teams.
By position
1987 New Zealand & Australia
;Group matches ;Quarter final1991 UK, Ireland & France
;Group matches ;Quarter final ;Semi final ;Third-place play-off1995 South Africa
;Group matches ;Quarter final1999 Wales
;Group matches ;Quarter-final play-offs ;Quarter final2003 Australia
;Group matches ;Quarter final2007 France
;Group matches ;Quarter final2011 New Zealand
;Group matches2015 England
;Group matches ;Quarter final2019 Japan
;Group matches2023 France
Individual Records
Gavin Hastings is by far the most successful Scottish world cup player, and has gained a number of records.Points
:Key: App = Appearances. Con = conversions. Pen = penalties. Drop = drop goals.Conversions
Most overall conversions in final stages * Gavin Hastings 39 (1987–1995)Penalty goals
Most penalties in a match * Gavin Hastings 8 (v Tonga, 1995)Overall record
RWC qualifying countries which Scotland has not played at the tournament include Canada, Wales and Namibia.Miscellaneous
Draws
* 20–20 (1987)Nil points
* 89–0 (1995) * 48–0 (1999) * 42–0 (2007) * 0–40 (2007) * 34–0 (2019) * 61–0 (2019) * 84–0 (2023)Hosting
Scotland has never been the main host of the World Cup, but a number of Rugby World Cup games have been played in Scotland over the years.1991 World Cup: Britain/Ireland/France
The 1991 Rugby World Cup final was played in England, pool and finals games were played all over the main five European nations. Pool B games, which involved European nations, Scotland and Ireland, had all their games in either Dublin or Edinburgh with one game being played in Ulster.1999 World Cup: Wales
The 1999 World Cup was hosted by Wales with some games spread across Scotland, England, Ireland and France. All Pool A games were held in Scotland. Second round play-offs and the quarter-finals were held at a variety of European venues.2007 World Cup: France
The 2007 competition was held in France, with some games played in Wales and Scotland. Two Pool C matches were held at Edinburgh's Murrayfield.See also
*History of the Rugby World Cup
The first Rugby Union World Cup was held in 1987, hosted by Australia and New Zealand who pushed for the tournament to be approved. Since the first tournament, 8 others have been held at four-year intervals.
International competition prior to ...
* National team appearances in the Rugby World Cup
This article presents the national team appearances in the Rugby World Cup. The article tracks the appearances, results, and debuts for all national teams that have participated in at least one Rugby World Cup.
Number of appearances
Tournament app ...
References
* Davies, Gerald (2004) ''The History of the Rugby World Cup'' (Sanctuary Publishing Ltd, () * Farr-Jones, Nick, (2003). ''Story of the Rugby World Cup'', Australian Post Corporation, ()