Map of nations best results, excluding nations which unsuccessfully participated in qualifying tournaments
The Australia national rugby union team, known as the Wallabies, has played in all ten Rugby World Cup tournaments. They have won the World Cup on two occasions; only New Zealand and South Africa have won more. Australia has hosted or co-hosted the tournament twice – in 1987 and 2003, and is scheduled to host it in 2027.
Most of the pool games were in New Zealand, but the semi-finals, and one of the quarter-finals, were played in Australia.
2003
Australia won the right to host the World Cup in 2003 without the involvement of New Zealand after a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Football Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The overall stadium capacity was reduced from the 1999 Rugby World Cup in Wales.
The Adelaide Oval underwent a A$20 million redevelopment for the 2003 Rugby World Cup, financed entirely by the South Australian Cricket Association, with two new grandstands built adjacent to the Victor Richardson Gates. Lang Park in Brisbane was a new venue designed specifically for rugby, built at a cost of A$280 million, and was opened just before the start of the 2003 World Cup. The Central Coast Stadium was also a newly built venue, and opened in February 2000 at a cost of A$30 million.
The Sydney Football Stadium was one of two venues in Sydney that were used for football during the 2000 Olympic Games. The other venue in Sydney was the Stadium Australia which was the centrepiece of the 2000 Olympic Games. Also known as Stadium Australia, Telstra Stadium was built at a cost of over A$600 million and was the biggest stadium used in the 2003 World Cup. The only stadium with a retractable roof used was the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne.
Australia intended to bid for the 2015 and 2019 Rugby World Cups, but withdrew from the bidding. The bids were awarded to England and Japan respectively.