All Black Power - 1987 World Cup Results New Zealand crushed allcomers on home soil to win the first ever Rugby World Cup in 1987. A nation divided over sporting links with the banned Springboks was united by the awesome skill of their All Black heroes, with decisive victories in the final stages over Scotland, Wales and then France 29-9 in the final to take the Webb Ellis Cup. Co-hosts Australia were bitterly disappointed to be beaten by France in an epic semi-final and then to lose narrowly to Wales in the play-off for third place. But the Rugby World Cup had helped raise the profile of the union game in a country where it was the poor relation to rugby league and Australian rules football. It was a learning experience for the Home Nations, who may well have underestimated the demands of the new tournament, and found themselves confronted by the might of opponents who were professional in all but name. Even so, the French did well to reach the final, and Wales may have been flattered by third place. Despite some initial apathy, the sixteen-nation tournament began to capture the public imagination as it progressed. It also gave the likes of Argentina, Fiji, Japan and Romania the chance to prove they were more than mere cannon fodder. But it showed in stark focus the widening gulf between the Northern and Southern Hemispheres which would soon herald the end of the amateur game.