 The inaugural tournament , jointly hosted by Australia and New Zealand , was held in May and June 1987 , with sixteen nations taking part . New Zealand became the first ever champions , defeating France 29 – 9 in the final . The subsequent 1991 tournament was hosted by England , with matches played throughout Britain , Ireland and France . This tournament saw the introduction of a qualifying tournament ; eight places were allocated to the quarter @-@ finalists from 1987 , and the remaining eight decided by a thirty @-@ five nation qualifying tournament . Australia won the second tournament , defeating England 12 – 6 in the final . 
