RWC 2023: The teams which not once won a Rugby World Cup game
They say that no one think of the losers, well we think it’s time to change that. Throughout the nine iterations of the RWC, there have been six nations that have never been able to record a single victory. Throughout the competition’s past, 25 nations have been signified, with this set to grow to 26 when Chile make their Rugby World Cup debut this September.
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Los Condores will aim to record at least one victory against their Pool D rivals Argentina, Samoa, Japan and England if they want to avoid being on future avatars of this list. Be it a one-sided landslide defeat or a closely contested nail-biter that just didn’t go their way, these six teams have never come away with a ‘W’ at global rugby’s pinnacle competition.
Here are the few teams to never note a win at the RWC
Ivory Coast played three Rugby World Cup games
When Ivory Coast fit for the 1995 RWC, they became only the fourth African side to ever reach the contest. ‘Les Elephants’ followed in the footsteps of the 1995 winners South Africa, as well as previous candidates Zimbabwe and the final underdogs Namibia more on them later. For the 1995 World Cup in their homeland, Ivory Coast was drawn into Pool D, alongside competition contenders France, as well as Scotland and Tonga.
Cote d’Ivoire’s historic opening game ended in a colossal defeat at the hands of Scotland. Richie Dixon taught a ruthless fire into his side, knowing that points difference would be vital to progress out of the Pool stages. The Scots pulled no punches against their newcomer opponents and ran out 89-0 winners in Rustenburg, South Africa.
Their second pool stage game had some positive takeaways, as Les Elephants recorded their first points at the Rugby World Cup, through tries from winger Aboubacar Soulama and fly half Aboubacar Camara. However, this came in a 54-18 defeat to a faded France team, with all eyes then turning to a first win in the dead-rubber match against Tonga.
With Scotland and France already home and dry to the knock-out stages, Ivory Coast and Tonga Rugby World Cup battled persistently for their sole World Cup win. In a game that is now infamously remembered for paralyzing Ivory Coast winger Max Brito, the Pacific Islanders were able to exceed their West African rivals. A closer challenged 29-11 Tongan win handed Ivory Coast the wooden spoon, as the two sides were sent home.
Spain’s rugby team played three RWC matches
Spain may well have been detached from this list if they hadn’t broken World Rugby’s suitability laws two times. Spain effectively secured qualification to the 2019 and France Rugby World Cup 2023 however, both times the Spaniards have since been banned after fielding illegal players during the competition’s qualification stages. The newest case saw Romania swap Spain at this year’s contest, after ‘The Lions’ fielded South African-born prop Gavin Van Den Berg.
Despite a long appeal, and claims of Van Den Berg’s enough 36-month residency, Spain will again miss out on the RWC 2023. So, to date, Spain’s only run at the World Cup came in 1999, when they lost three successive matches in a row. Spain was slotted into Pool A and missed out on a golden chance to record a historic global win in their opening game against the Uruguay rugby team.
Despite the best exertions of Spain’s Ukrainian-born fly half Andriy Kovalenco, who kicked five drawbacks for his side, Uruguay ran in four tries for a 27-15 win. It was then a descending spiral for the Spaniards, as they had adverse games booked in against South Africa and Scotland. Both the ‘Boks and the Scots pumped more than 40 points out in Edinburgh and sent Spain tumbling out of the RWC.
Portugal Rugby World Cup team played a total of four games
Portugal has the chance to record their first Rugby World Cup win this year, as they are set to make their return in Pool C at the 2023 contest. Having only formerly competed at the 2007 competition, Portugal is yet to record a win and took four straight losses in France. Things may be different the next time ‘The Wolves’ heads to the home of Les Bleus some 16 years later. Rugby fans can book RWC Tickets on our website at exclusively discounted prices.
Back in ’07, the World Cup had already been extended to 20 teams, so despite only appearing at one competition Portugal appears higher on this list. Os Lobos lined up against the All Blacks, Scotland, Italy and Romania, with all eyes set on Romania to record their first RWC victory. As likely, Portugal was well-beaten by Scotland, who ran a heavy 56-10 score-line.
However, heading into the game with Italy there were emotional expectations as a strong act could well ignite the chat against the ring-fenced Six Nations. Italy’s relaxed 31-5 win squashed the claims, with the debate fizzling out until the global rise of Georgia. Then came the feared run-in against the All Blacks, with no expectations on Portugal besides keeping the score-line reputable.
16 All Blacks tries for a 108-13 ultimate score saw this to not be the case, but the Portuguese dusted themselves off and were ready for the all-important battle against European Championship rivals Romania. The Romanians were able to come from behind to beat Portugal 14-10 in the RWC Pool Stage game, as Marius Tincu and Florin Corodeanu’s tries secured Romania’s victory.
Zimbabwe played six Rugby World Cup games
The Southern African nation of Zimbabwe holds the respect of being the first team from the continent to take part in the Rugby World Cup. South Africa was banned from competition due to the country’s ongoing Apartheid, with the Sables requested to the inaugural World Cup in 1987, and then to the subsequent tournament in 1991. However, on both occasions, Zimbabwe were unable to record a single triumph at the competition.
In 1987, the Sables were drawn into Pool D, and took on ultimate finalists France, as well as Scotland a re-occurring enemy on this list and Romania. Zimbabwe’s first game at the RWC came against the Eastern Europeans, which finished in a well-battled 21-20 Romanian win in New Zealand. This would by far be Zimbabwe’s closest game at the 1987 World Cup, as their following Pool Stage fixtures ended in a landslide 11-try defeat to Scotland 60-21, and an even heavier 13-try loss to France by 70-12.
Four years later, Zimbabwe once again signified their homeland, as they offered to the Northern Hemisphere for the first time. Zimbabwe would not come close to winning, akin to their opening Rugby World Cup game against Romania. Their three games in Pool B, each saw them concede 50 points, as they took heavy downfalls to Ireland by 55-11, Japan by 52-8, and a less-than-friendly reunion with ever-present Scotland by 51-12.
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