Rugby World Cup 2015: By the numbers

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The Rugby World Cup is almost upon us, with England facing Fiji at Twickenham in the opening match on Friday.

We take a look at some of the best Opta stats relating to the tournament.

 

- Of the seven Rugby World Cups to date, three have been won by the host or joint-host nation; New Zealand triumphed in 1987 and 2011, while South Africa lifted the Webb Ellis Cup on home soil in 1995.

- Australia took home the trophy on the two previous occasions that England joint-hosted the Rugby World Cup (1991 and 1999).

- Wales' George North holds the record of being the youngest try-scorer at a World Cup, having scored two off the bench against Namibia in 2011.

- Former England prop Jason Leonard has made the most World Cup appearances. His tally of 22 is two more than Australia's George Gregan.

- Jonny Wilkinson, whose injury-time drop goal won the 2003 tournament for England, is the top points-scorer in World Cup history with 277.

- New Zealand powerhouse Jonah Lomu is unsurprisingly the top try scorer in the tournament's history with 15.

- Australia recorded the biggest margin of victory in a 142-0 win over Namibia in 2003. The 22 tries scored in that game also represents a record.

- Twickenham is the home of English rugby and will host the final. However, of the other stadiums being used at the tournament, Wembley, boasts the highest capacity with 90,000.

- Two-time winners South Africa have the best overall win rate in World Cup history, winning 25 of their 29 matches (86.2 per cent).

- Japan are the only side to concede over 1,000 points (1,159) in the history of the tournament, an average of 48 points per game.

- New Zealand and France have each played 43 World Cup matches, more than any other teams.

- Ireland and Italy are the only tier-one nations to never have gone beyond the quarter-finals at a World Cup.

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