the traditional 15 a side rugby union game held its first world cup in 1987 ,164 years after the birth of rugby, 33 years after rugby league had its first world cup which is interesting as you would think the older rugby game would be the most popular or have the biggest fan base but this is not the case as the rugby union world cup is the third most watched sporting event. New Zealand and Australia agreed to co host the tournament. New Zealand won the world cup for the first time beating France 29-9 in the final.at this time south Africa decided to boycott the tournament due to apartheid. The Ussr were to be invited but they refused the invitation on political grounds, allegedly due to the continued IRFB membership of South Africa.