About this chart race
South Africa's fourth title in 2023 made them the first team to reach four Rugby World Cups, edging past New Zealand's three (1987, 2011, 2015). It was also South Africa's second STRAIGHT title, after 2019 — only the second team ever to defend the trophy.
New Zealand won the very first World Cup in 1987 and led alone or in a tie for most of the tournament's history, only to be overtaken in the final two editions.
Australia and South Africa were tied on two titles each from 2007 to 2010, before South Africa pulled clear with back-to-back wins in 2019 and 2023.
England remains the only team to win the trophy exactly once, in 2003 — the sole northern-hemisphere champion in ten editions dominated by New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
This animated ranking shows how cumulative world cup titles changed across 4 series between 1987 and 2023. The bars re-order themselves as the years advance, so overtakes are visible as they happen rather than hidden inside a table. Use the list on the left to choose exactly who competes, drag the slider to jump to any year, or open the table view to read the underlying numbers.
As of 2023, South Africa leads with 4.
Included in this race
South Africa, New Zealand, Australia, England.
Source
Data from Wikipedia — Rugby World Cup. Every figure shown comes from this source — nothing is estimated or generated.
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