Winning the Rugby World Cup is one of the greatest achievements for any rugby player. So winning the competition twice is something that we very rarely see. So how many players have won the Rugby World Cup twice?
How many people have won two Rugby World Cups? 21 rugby players have won the Rugby World Cup twice. That is prior to the 2023 Rugby World Cup, where that number could increase. The first players to win their second Rugby World cup were part of the 1999 Australian side who repeated the feat of winning the competition in 1991.
In the history of the Rugby World Cup, three different teams have won the Rugby World Cup more than once. This has meant that quite a few different players have had the opportunity to win multiple World Cups. The first five players to win the Rugby World Cup twice were from the 1991 and 1999 Australian World Cup winning teams.
John Eales and Tim Horan were the two who started in both Rugby World Cup finals at the time. Springbok forward Os du Randt was the only member of the 1995 South African squad that won their first Rugby World Cup to also be in the 2007 squad. He actually started in both of those finals despite the 12 year gap.
| List of players to win 2 Rugby World Cups | ||||
| Name | Country | First Win | Second Win | |
| 1 | Dan Crowley | Australia | 1991 | 1999 |
| 2 | John Eales | Australia | 1991 | 1999 |
| 3 | Tim Horan | Australia | 1991 | 1999 |
| 4 | Phil Kearns | Australia | 1991 | 1999 |
| 5 | Jason Little | Australia | 1991 | 1999 |
| 6 | Os du Randt | South Africa | 1995 | 2007 |
| 7 | Dan Carter | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 8 | Ben Franks | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 9 | Owen Franks | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 10 | Jerome Kaino | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 11 | Richie McCaw | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 12 | Keven Mealamu | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 13 | Ma’a Nonu | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 14 | Kieran Read | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 15 | Colin Slade | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 16 | Conrad Smith | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 17 | Victor Vito | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 18 | Sam Whitelock | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 19 | Sonny Bill Williams | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 20 | Tony Woodcock | New Zealand | 2011 | 2015 |
| 21 | François Steyn | South Africa | 2007 | 2019 |
The All Blacks were the dominant team of the 2010s and it meant a huge amount of the squad which won the 2011 Rugby World Cup also won the 2015 tournament. In fact, 14 of the squad that won the 2011 Rugby World Cup also received a medal for their involvement in defending that title four years later.
That list of All Blacks to win two world cups include legends like Dan Carter, Richie McCaw, Ma’a Nonu and Jerome Kaino. This took the list of players to win multiple Rugby World Cup’s to 20. There was just one person to add his name to the list at the end of the 2019 Rugby World Cup.
Francois Steyn was the 21st person to add his name to the list. He started at Inside Centre in the 2007 final, slotting home a penalty in the 62nd minute to extend the Springboks lead. He was once again in the squad for the Rugby World Cup in the 2019 tournament. It looked unlikely that he would play a major part in the tournament.
But Steyn came on with 13 minutes left of the 2019 Final and helped South Africa to once again cruise past England, this time to their third Rugby World Cup title.
| List of Rugby World Cup Champions | |
| Year | Winners |
| 1987 | New Zealand |
| 1991 | Australia |
| 1995 | South Africa |
| 1999 | Australia |
| 2003 | England |
| 2007 | South Africa |
| 2011 | New Zealand |
| 2015 | New Zealand |
| 2019 | South Africa |
The Rugby World Cup was only established in 1987 and takes place every 4 years, meaning there have only been 9 Nations crowned Champions. Of these England (2003) have only won the tournament once, Australia (1991,1999) have won it twice and South Africa (1995,2007,2019) and New Zealand (1987, 2011,2015) have won it 3 times. The domination of Rugby’s big 4 has been total and unbreakable. Only France from outside the big 4 have even managed to make the Final (1987,1999,2011) losing on each occasion.
How many players have won the Rugby World Cup twice as captain?
There has only been one rugby player in the history of the sport to have won the Rugby World Cup trophy twice as captain. Of the 21 player’s to have won the tournament twice, only one person has been the captain for both of their World Cup victories.
Richie McCaw is the only player who has won the Rugby World Cup as a captain twice. He first captained his country in 2004 and was the captain heading into the 2011 final. McCaw played a huge part in New Zealand reaching the final, able to get turnovers throughout the competition.
His great work around the field helped New Zealand scrape past France in one of the closest World Cup final’s in the sports history. It was clear that the 2015 tournament was going to be McCaw’s last in international rugby. He looked to go out on a high, hoping to win back to back trophies.
The tournament went pretty much perfectly for New Zealand and McCaw. They were able to cruise through the tournament without any major concerns. They beat South Africa in the semi-final in an incredibly close affair, before beating Australia comfortably in the final.
It meant that Richie McCaw lifted the Rugby World Cup trophy for the second time as captain, breaking a rugby record that looks unlikely to be broken anytime soon. In the past, no one has really come massively close to beating that record.
Who was the first rugby player to win two world cups
There were five Australian player’s who all became the first rugby player’s to win two World Cup’s at the same time. Five of the Australian squad which won the 1999 Rugby World Cup had also been involved in the team’s victorious 1991 Rugby World Cup campaign.
The five players to achieve this first were Dan Crowley, John Eales, Tim Horan, Phil Kearns and Jason Little. Of those five, only two of them actually started in both of the successful World Cup finals. John Eales and Tim Horan were the two player’s who started in both finals.
However, all five featured for Australia at some point during both tournaments which is what makes them Rugby World Cup winners. No one can take that record away from them, it is an incredibly impressive achievement.
Which player has won the most Rugby World Cups?
There is not one rugby player who has won the most Rugby World Cups. There are 21 player’s who are tied for the most Rugby World cup titles with two. There is no player who has been able to win three Rugby World Cups.
There have been a few players who have come close. Kieran Read and Sam Whitelock hoped to become the first player’s to win three Rugby World Cup’s at the 2019 tournament, however with New Zealand’s loss to England at the semi-final stage, this was not possible.
Whitelock does have another opportunity to become the first rugby player to win three Rugby World Cup titles later this year at the 2023 tournament. South African Francois Steyn is hoping to be part of the squad for the 2023 tournament, which would also give him the chance to beat the record.
Seeing as South Africa and New Zealand both have massive gaps between winning their first and third Rugby World Cup titles, it was always unlikely that there was going to be one player who had won three Rugby World Cup trophies.
So at the moment, there is still a tie between 21 different players who have won the most Rugby World Cup trophies.