World map showing the final winner, runner-up, 3rd and 4th position countries in the Rugby World Cup 1999
The fourth Rugby World Cup was hosted by Wales in 1999. The co-hosts of the 1999 Rugby World Cup were England, Scotland, Ireland and France.
The event started with a shock top the rugby fans, as the top eight teams of the world could not qualify directly for the competition. Only the winner, runner-up and third place winning teams and the host nation could reach the final stage of the competition.
In the 1999 Rugby World Cup , twenty teams were selected for the final stage of the competition through qualifying matches. The top eight teams failing to clear the qualification round added a new dimension to the 1999 Rugby World Cup . For the first time in the history of Rugby World Cup, the Repechage system was introduced, in which the runner-ups finishing with a very close margin from each qualifying zone were given a chance to play in the final stage of the competition. The final stage of the 1999 Rugby World Cup was started on 1 st October. The competition ended on the 6 th of November.