The dust has settled on the first two rounds of matches for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with some historic victories being run-out over the first two weekends. Ireland achieved their record win at the competition against Romania, as Andy Farrell’s side recorded an emphatic 82-8 victory.
After losing their first ever Rugby World Cup pool stage match against France, New Zealand performed as expected with a demolition job over Namibia. The All Blacks triumphed 71-3 against the Southern African nation, yet this is significantly less than New Zealand’s record winning margin.
The Springboks also racked up a monstrous win over Romania, as the Eastern Europeans have had a tough start to their Rugby World Cup campaign in the ‘Pool of Death’. South Africa opened the floodgates in a 76-0 landslide win, yet this doesn’t eclipse their record win at the competition, that stands at 87-0 over Namibia in 2011.
These have all been impressive margins of victory, however they don’t hold a candle to the biggest wins ever. Here are the top five biggest Rugby World Cup winning margins to date.
5. New Zealand 108 – 13 Portugal (95 Points): 2007 Rugby World Cup Pool C
September 15th 2007, Stade de Gerland, Lyon
The fifth highest win in the history of the Rugby World Cup goes to the All Blacks, and get ready to be reading that name a lot throughout this article. The first side to win three Rugby World Cups, New Zealand have long been a dominant force on the grandest stage of international rugby. New Zealand entered the 2007 Rugby World Cup as favourites, and ran roughshod on Pool C with wash-out victories over Scotland, Italy, Romania and Portugal.
The demolition of Portugal was the highest-scoring, in what was only the second ever Rugby World Cup match for ‘The Wolves’. Portugal are currently competing in their second tournament in France, with their maiden voyage being a baptism of fire at the hands of the All Blacks. New Zealand ran in 16 tries, with former Harlequin Nic Evans slotting an additional 14 conversions. The match was always going to be one way traffic, and the magnitude of the victory made New Zealand’s eventual quarter-final elimination to France all the more shocking.
TRIES: 16 (Joe Rokocoko (2), Isaia Toeava, Ali Williams, Aaron Mauger (2), Jerry Collins, Chris Masoe, Andrew Hore, Brendan Leonard, Nic Evans, Andrew Ellis, Leon MacDonald, Conrad Smith (2), Carl Hayman)
CONVERSIONS: 14 (Nic Evans, 14)