Once upon a time... anthology tournaments (1987-1999)

At the launch of the Rugby World Cup on September 8 in France, dive into the small and big stories of this "gentlemen's" sport. Are you ready? So kick off! Today, why not brush up your "classics"? Part 1: tournaments held between 1987 and 1999.

1987: a long time coming

The Rugby World Cup took at least 40 years to take shape. Back in 1947, inspired by the success of the football world cup, the French were already looking into the possibility of organising a global rugby tournament. The British, however, categorically refused this idea, as they were intent on keeping this sport amateur. Led by France, Australia and New Zealand, the idea was debated numerous times until finally, at the Paris meeting of 1985, England and Wales backed down and voted in favour of making the sport professional. The first Rugby World Cup was thus held in Australia and New Zealand in 1987 – without South Africa, who were excluded because of apartheid. The event was won by the All Blacks, who beat Serge Blanco's French team in the final.

1991: the French shoot themselves in the foot

Four years later, the tournament was hosted by all the Five Nations countries (England, Scotland, Ireland, Wales and France). France were one of the favourites, but had a nightmarish tournament. There was already a poisonous atmosphere behind the scenes, with the battle to succeed Albert Ferrasse at the helm of the French Rugby Federation raging and nobody properly focusing on the team's World Cup preparations. Not only that, but the two French coaches, Daniel Dubroca and Jean Trillo, didn't get on and fought over which players to pick, with the former notably removing the Bègles players (Simon, Moscato, Gimbert) from the squad without informing the latter! The team sailed though the pool stage, but Les Bleus then lost to England in the quarter-finals at a packed Parc des Princes, after yet more trouble behind the scenes: on the eve of the match, the players were threatening to strike because of disagreements over bonuses, but were curtly reprimanded by FFR President Ferrasse. On the field, England's aggressive plan to stop Serge Blanco worked perfectly, and the French were unable to find any solutions, and got irritated instead of focusing on the match. A fortnight later, the Australians beat England in the final at Twickenham.

1995: a historic moment

The third World Cup was about so much more than just rugby. The tournament was held in South Africa, no longer ostracised following the end of apartheid in 1991. President Nelson Mandela quickly understood that he needed to use this event to unite the country behind the Springboks and show the rest of the world that his rainbow nation dream could become a reality. He insisted on there being a black player in the team (Chester Williams) and put his full support behind François Pienaar's men. The rest is history: the Boks beat France in the semi-final in Durban in torrential rain and then won the final against the All Blacks – half of whose players mysteriously got food poisoning on the eve of the match.

1999: a Twickenham masterstroke

For France, it was perhaps the greatest World Cup match ever. On 31 October, 1999, France faced the invincible All Blacks at Twickenham in the semi-final. Nobody gave the French a chance, and everything appeared to be going as expected following two tries by Jonah Lomu, the first global rugby star, who simply pushed his way through the French defence. 17-10 to New Zealand at half-time and 24-10 shortly after. But the French kept going, remained focused on their game plan and began an amazing comeback led by players at the very top of their game (Galthié, Lamaison, Magne, Ibanez, Dominici, N'Tamack, etc.). Les Bleus scored 33 points without reply in half an hour, leaving the All Blacks stunned, unable to cope with the French energy and enthusiasm. This was undoubtedly one of France's greatest sporting achievements, winning the game 43-31, their biggest win against New Zealand. Unfortunately that game seemed to take it out of the players, who were soundly beaten by Australia in the final.

Source: Archives Societe Generale