1991

England arrived at the 1991 tournament captained by Will Carling and managed by Geoff Cooke. Expectations were high, despite an opening game defeat against New Zealand at Twickenham, and they subsequently moved into the quarter-finals.

The pool stage though was notable for a shambolic Welsh squad's demise. Stunned 16-13 by Western Samoa at Cardiff Arms Park before losing 38-3 to Australia, they failed to reach the last eight.

Samoan interest ended at the quarter-final stage, where Gavin Hastings continued his rich vein of form by starring in Scotland's 28-6 triumph at Murrayfield. England rocked France 19-10 in Paris, while Michael Lynagh's late try broke Irish hearts at Lansdowne Road and New Zealand sank Canada amid the torrential rain of Lille.

England's mighty victory over France saw them travel confidently to Edinburgh, but it took a Rob Andrew drop-goal in fading light to edge them home 9-6, with the tournament's dominant figure - Wallabies wing David Campese - scoring a try during Australia's 16-6 defeat of New Zealand.

More than 60,000 packed Twickenham for the final, but England's switch of tactics from a proven match-winning forward game to a more expansive style proved costly, with prop Tony Daly scoring the game's solitary try as Australia were crowned world champions.

Competing countries: New Zealand, England, USA, Italy, Scotland, Ireland, Japan, Zimbabwe, Wales, Australia, Western Samoa, Argentina, France, Romania, Canada, Fiji.

Winners - Australia, 2nd - England, 3rd - New Zealand, 4th - Scotland.

Follow the progress of all 20 teams with our printable wallchart of fixtures and groups.

• Bordeaux
• Cardiff
• Edinburgh
• Lens
• Lyon
• Marseilles
• Montpellier
• Nantes
• Paris
• Saint-Denis
• Saint-Etienne
• Toulouse