The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The pre-event favorites were England, regarded by many at the time as the best team in the world after defeating all of the traditional southern hemisphere teams and also after winning the grand slam in the 2003 Six Nations Championship and New Zealand, with France, South Africa and defending champions Australia all expected to make strong showings.
The tournament began with host nation Australia defeating Argentina 24–8 at Telstra Stadium in Sydney. Australia went on to defeat New Zealand 22–10 in the semifinal, to play England in the final. Along with a try to Jason Robinson, Jonny Wilkinson kicked four penalties and then a drop-goal in extra time to win the game 20–17 for England, who became the first northern hemisphere team to win the Webb Ellis Cup and become world champions for the first time.
Read more about 2003 Rugby World Cup: Qualifying, Venues, Referees, Pools & Format, Knockout Stage
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The ancient world stands there behind him,
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