11/ The first Rugby World Cup was contested in 1987 between 16 invited nations. The complete finalists of the tournaments is as follows:

1987 - New Zealand (29) v France (9)
1991 - Australia (12) v England (6)
1995 - South Africa (15) v New Zealand (12)
1999 - Australia (35) v France (12)
2003 - England (20) v Australia (17)

12/ How England have done in the Rugby World Cup down the years:

1987 – Quarter Finals ( Lost 16 – 13 Against Wales)
1991 – Losing Finalists
1995 – Semi-Finals ( Lost 45 – 29 Against New Zealand)
1999 – Quarter Finals ( Lost 44 – 21 Against New Zealand)
2003 – WINNERS!

13/ In this years Rugby World Cup England scored 307 points and conceded 71 to get to the final (98 of the points scored by England or almost a third were scored by Jonny Wilkinson) Australia scored 328 points and conceded 58 to get to this years final.

14/ Rugby League has 13 players, Rugby Union has 15. Most of the laws are similar or identical, but there are bigger differences. Union puts a lot of emphasis on scrums and line-outs (when the ball goes out of play). League has both but they are really incidental to the game. On the other hand a League team has 6 tackles to score a try before it goes to the opposition. These difference make them essentially different games with some common skill elements. They actually split in 1895 over the issue of paying players. With league going professional, and union staying as an 'amateur' sport (to say it was amateur is really apocryphal with all the training that was expected - 'not paid' is a more accurate description) until the last few years when it has also gone professional.

15/ Western Samoa's first international was against Fiji in 1924. The game kicked off at 7am so the Samoans could go to work afterwards and the match was quite unusual in that it was played in a local park, and there was a tree in the centre of the pitch!

16/ For 60 years from 1896 until 1956 the Springboks (South Africa) never lost a test series. The period covers ten tours to South Africa by the British Lions, All Blacks, Wallabies and France and six South African tours overseas. During this time the Springboks played 54 tests, winning 38, drawing 5 and losing only eleven.

17/ Common Player Positions (15s Rugby)

Players 1-8 are forwards (often referred to as the pack); players 1-5 are sometimes called the tight-five, or front-five, (players 1-3 are the front-row) and players 6-8 are the loose forwards (or loosies), or backrow. Players 9-15 are backs.