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Description
Raising the roof
In 1999 Wales hosted the first professional Rugby World Cup. The newly built Millennium Stadium was a magnificent setting for the opening ceremony, followed by a Wales win over the
‘Pumas’ of Argentina. The competition was a commercial success but the rugby did not inspire until the semi-finals.
Throughout the early stages it looked as if a strong New Zealand team would recapture the trophy that had eluded them since 1987. Along with the other southern hemisphere behemoths, Australia and South Africa, they reached the semi-finals with
ease. France were the sole European representative.
The semi-finals – played on successive days at Twickenham – lit up the tournament. Australia inflicted South Africa’s first defeat in the Rugby World Cup thanks to a 45-metre drop goal by
Stephen Larkham in extra time. The following day France completed a remarkable comeback to beat the All Blacks. After being well behind at half time, les Bleus scored a magical 26 points in 13 minutes in the second half to secure an improbable victory.
In the Final at the Millennium Stadium Australia, led by the great John Eales and inspired by the mercurial Tim Horan, were too strong for their Gallic foes. The tournament’s top try scorer was
New Zealand’s Jonah Lomu and a total of 1.75 million fans attended 41 matches.
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