Gloucester Players in Rugby World Cups

1987 – in New Zealand

No Gloucester players

1991 – in UK

Two warm-up matches were played at Kingsholm:

– Gloucester 4 England 34, when Will Carling accorded the honour of leading England out to Mike Teague

– Gloucester 14 Ireland 13, with the visitors masquerading as the Irish President’s XV

There was one RWC pool match at Kingsholm – New Zealand 46 USA 6, but the All Blacks only ran away with it in the last quarter, and Kevin Swords, the US Eagles captain, was the man of the match. The Eagles revelled in the support of the 12,000 capacity crowd, one of their centres admitting that it was about 11,995 more than they were used to at their matches; indeed it was comfortably the biggest crowd ever for a watch the US ruby team

The only Gloucester player to appear in this RWC was Mike Teague at No 8 for England; he played in 5 matches against New Zealand, Italy, France, Scotland and in the final at Twickenham against Australia

1995 – in South Africa

The Gloucester players were:

– Richard West, who played in the second row for England against Western Samoa; this proved to be his only international cap

– Ian Smith, who played as a flanker for Scotland against the Ivory Coast

1999 – in UK

The Gloucester players were:

– Phil Vickery, who played at prop for England in 4 matches against Italy, New Zealand, Tonga and South Africa

– Neil McCarthy, selected as a hooker in the England squad, but did not get to play a game

– Terry Fanolua, who played at centre for Samoa in 2 matches against Wales and Scotland

2003 – in Australia

The Gloucester players were:

– Phil Vickery, playing in his second RWC at prop for England, who played in 7 matches against Georgia, South Africa, Samoa, Uruguay (captain), Wales, France and in the final against Australia

– Trevor Woodman, who played at prop for England in 5 matches against Georgia, South Africa, Wales, France, and in the final against Australia

– Andy Gomersall, who played at scrum half for England in 2 matches against Uruguay and Georgia

– Thinus Delport, who played at full back for South Africa in 4 matches against Uruguay, England, Samoa, and New Zealand

– Terry Fanolua, playing in his second RWC at centre for Samoa, who played in 3 matches against Uruguay, Georgia and England

– Rodrigo Roncero, who played at prop for Argentina in 2 matches against Romania and Namibia

Vickery, Woodman and Gomersall are the only Gloucester players to have become RWC winners

2007 – in France

The Gloucester players were:

– Marco Bortolami, who played in the second row for Italy in 3 matches against New Zealand, Romania and Portugal

– Rory Lawson, who played at scrum half for Scotland in 2 matches against Portugal and New Zealand

– Will James, who played in the second row second row for Wales against Japan

2011 – in New Zealand

The Gloucester players were:

– Mike Tindall, who played in the centre for England in 3 matches against Argentina, Romania and Scotland

– Alasdair Strokosh, who played in the back row for Scotland in 3 matches against Georgia, Argentina and England

– Jim Hamilton, who played in the second row for Scotland in 2 matches against Georgia and Argentina

– Rory Lawson, playing in his second RWC at scrum half for Scotland in 2 matches against Georgia and Argentina

– Scott Lawson, who played at hooker for Scotland against Romania

– Akapusi Qera, who played in the back row for Fiji in 4 matches against Namibia, South Africa, Samoa and Wales

– Eliota Fuimaono-Sapolo, who played in the centre for Samoa in 4 matches against Namibia, Wales, Fiji and South Africa

2015 – in England

Gloucester players to look out for are:

– Jonny May on the wing for England

– Ben Morgan at No 8 for England

– Greig Laidlaw as captain and scrum half for Scotland

– Mariano Galarza in the second row for Argentina

– David Halaifonua on the wing for Tonga

– Sione Kalamafoni in the back row for Tonga

– Aleki Lutui at hooker for Tonga

– Sila Puafisi at prop for Tonga (although he has now been released by Gloucester)

All are likely to play in matches at Kingsholm except for the England duo

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