The 2023 Rugby World Cup in France is well underway, and with England already securing 2 wins from 2, we thought we’d delve into the history books and take a look at England’s all-time greatest Rugby World Cup moments. Let’s get straight into it.
2003 – England defeat Uruguay 111-13 in Australia
This historic result took place during the 2003 Rugby World Cup in Australia. Finding themselves up 42-6 at half-time, the tries continued to flow into the second half. This big win secured a quarter final place against Wales and their Rugby World Cup squad featured some of rugby’s all-time greats including Martin Johnson, Jonny Wilkinson, Mike Tindall, Lewis Moody and Will Greenwood. The win was also the biggest winning margin for England at a Rugby World Cup, however, the record remains with Australia who thrashed Namibia in their 2003 match, winning 142-0 on home turf, which included a massive 22 tries.
2003 – THAT drop goalie the Rugby World Cup Final
Need we say too much about this momentous occasion? Possibly one of the most prominent memories and best moments in the game for every England Rugby fan. The 2003 Rugby World Cup final in Australia was against Clive Woodward’s England and Australia, who on their home turf would have only been dreaming of the win. The Wallabies performed well and the match was incredibly close, it was 17-17 on the scoreboard with 26 seconds remaining in Sydney… It was at this moment, during extra time, Jonny Wilkinson dropped a goal that would bring elation and relief to every England fan and member of the squad – the Webb Ellis Cup was secured and England won the World Cup by a marginal three points, 20-17, becoming the first team from the northern hemisphere to win the coveted trophy!
2014 – Red Roses winning the Rugby, World Cup in France
In 2014, the former champions England faced first-time finalists Canada in the Rugby World Cup final. The final was the first occasion in which both finalists were drawn in the same pool. The squad included Red Roses legends Rachael Burford, Danielle Waterman and Emily Scarratt - who received player of the match, helping the Red Roses to win 21-9. England’s captain Katy McLean and vice-captain Sarah Hunter received MBEs at the 2014 New Year Honours for their fantastic performance in driving the country to victory.
2019 – England v New Zealand Japan, World Cup Semi-Finals
England made their first Rugby World Cup final for 12 years when they defeated New Zealand in the semi-finals in Japan. The then reigning Rugby World Cup champions, the All Blacks, had not lost a Rugby World Cup game for 12 years and had won 15 out of 16 of the past games against England. With bursting energy, ferociousness and quality performance, England found themselves 10-0 up at half-time, the first time the All Blacks had not scored a point in the first half of a Rugby World Cup game in 28 years.
The Red and Whites stole the glory and dethroned the champions 19-7 to secure their place in the final against South Africa.
2023 - George Ford’s Magic Foot in France
The Sale Sharks player earned Player of the Match after England’s 27-10 win against Argentina in their opening 2023 Rugby World Cup match in France. Ford’s terrific goal scoring wowed England fans and gave them the perfect start to their Rugby World Cup campaign ready to face Japan the following week. His magic foot was quickly hailed by England’s supporters and the No.10 was suddenly given idol status by fans!
The 2023 Rugby World Cup is yet to bring even more excitement and world-class talent as the nation’s battle it out for the Webb Ellis Cup, and we hope England will produce more history-making moments that will go down in the books. Stay tuned and read our guide to the 2023 Rugby World Cup here and Stuart Barnes' World Cup preview.
Witness England make more history making moments on their home turf at Twickenham Stadium and explore our hospitality experiences here.
