"One Cup Wonders" - What Nations Have Only Played at ONE Rugby World Cup?

Within these 25 nations, 10 have never missed out on reaching the Rugby World Cup Finals. There have been numerous sides with fleeting appearances at the competition, and only three so far to have made a solo venture at international rugby's pinnacle showcase.

This list is soon set to add it's latest member, as Chile will soon embark on their maiden voyage at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Los Condores have successfully qualified for the tournament for the first time in their 87 year history, and take the seeding of 'Americas 2', following historic qualification victories over Canada and the USA.

Chile round-off the competitors within Pool D, and are set to leave it all on the line as they take on Japan, Samoa, Argentina and Steve Borthwick's England side. A relative unknown to the wider rugby world, Chile are an exciting addition into this year's competition, as they are led from the front by their captain, Doncaster Knights back-rower Martin Sigren.

Here are the three teams to have only competed in one Rugby World Cup so far, and a break-down of how each side performed at the competition.

One of the fastest rising teams when they were first founded, Ivory Coast established their national rugby union side in March 1990, and within the same month they had a place on the International Rugby Union Board. The West African side took on great strides in their early years, and secured their first and only spot at a Rugby World Cup in 1995.

Ivory Coast became only the fourth African side to ever reach the tournament, following in the footsteps of that year's winners South Africa, as well as Zimbabwe and Namibia. 'Les Elephants' were drawn into Pool D, alongside France, Scotland and Tonga, with the rugby world eager to witness their first test matches against tier one opposition.

Their historic opening match ended in a monumental defeat, as the Ivory Coast was shut out by a relentless Scotland side. The Scots pulled no punches against their newcomer opponents, and ran out 89-0 winners in Rustenburg, South Africa. Despite any potential boost from a home-continent fanbase, Ivory Coast buckled under the bright lights of their initial Rugby World Cup match.

Their second pool stage fixture had some positive takeaways, as Les Elephants recorded their first points at a major international competition. Winger Aboubacar Soulama and fly half Aboubacar Camara each scored tries against France, with fullback Victor Kouassi adding eight points from the boot. However, Les Bleus were not fazed by conceding these points, as France established a 54 point tally, with Ivory Coast taking another heavy defeat.

Ivory Coast and Tonga then met in their final pool stage match, with the fate of both sides already decided. The African and Pacific Island nations had both failed to qualify for the knock-out stages, with France and Scotland through to the next round. Ivory Coast put in an improved performance against the Tongans, with a respectable 29-11 defeat keeping the match competitive for the most part.

Spain were on track to make their second appearance at the Rugby World Cup this year, as they secured qualification yet were subsequently disqualified. Spain fielded an illegal player during their qualification matches, as South African-born prop Gavin Van Den Berg was retrospectively deemed ineligible by World Rugby, despite appeals following his 36-month residency in Spain.

Romania have since replaced Spain at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and bizarrely, this is not the only time that Spain have been disqualified from the competition after achieving qualification. The same circumstances happened ahead of the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with illegal players fielded during the 2018 Rugby Europe Championship, costing Spain their spot in Japan.

Romania were also removed under the same circumstances for the 2019 Rugby World Cup, with Russia taking their place. So far, Spain's one and only run at the Rugby World Cup came at the 1999 competition. Spain were seeded into Pool A, and faced tough opposition against the reigning world champions South Africa, as well as Scotland and Uruguay.

Despite the best efforts of Spain's Ukrainian-born fly half Andriy Kovalenco, he could only kick five penalties for his side, with Uruguay running in four tries for a 27-15 win. After defeat to the perceived 'beatable' Uruguayans, Spanish expectations were low for their forthcoming encounters with the 'Boks and Scotland. Both matches saw one way traffic run over Spain, and they were promptly dumped out of the Rugby World Cup for their efforts.

South Africa fielded a weakened side, yet were still more than comfortable victors with a 47-3 triumph in Murrayfield Stadium. Spain then returned to Edinburgh for a clash against their less than welcoming hosts, as Scotland put Spain to the sword with seven tries, for a 48-0 shut-out which delighted the 17,000 fans in attendance.

If there are no last-minute withdrawals akin to their Iberian Peninsula cousins, Portugal are set to be removed from future incarnations of this list. Portugal have qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and are set to soon make the short journey North of the border to France.

This upcoming competition will mark the second Rugby World Cup appearance for 'The Wolves', with their debut also seeing them make a short international trip to the home of Les Bleus. Portugal's first Rugby World Cup run-out came in the France-hosted 2007 tournament, with an unexpected lucky omen taking shape with their rugby neighbours.

Portugal have been drawn into Pool C for the 2023 competition, the same Pool in which they were seeded in for the 2007 tournament. This year, 'Os Lobos' are taking on Australia, Wales, Fiji and Georgia, none of which they met in their first competition run 16 years ago. Back in '07, Portugal lined up against the All Blacks, Scotland (another trend for RWC debutants), Italy and European Championship rivals Romania.

There was excitable expectations around Portugal's opening match, as they took on Italy. The Wolves entered the match with a point to prove, as a strong performance against the Azzurri could well ignite the conversation against the ring-fenced Six Nations. However, Italy recorded a comfortable 31-5 win, with the 'Seven Nations' discussion fizzling out until the international rise of Georgia.

Then came the feared run in against the All Blacks, with no expectations on Portugal besides keeping the score-line respectable. New Zealand had a point to prove, and took no Portuguese prisoners with an emphatic 108-13 win. Next came Portugal's most competitive fixture at the Rugby World Cup to date, as they took on their like-for-like opponents Romania.

This entertaining clash between European rugby's top 'championship' sides, was a deadlocked battle of attrition for the most part. However, the Romanians were able to come from behind to beat Portugal 14-10, and secure their own first win at the Rugby World Cup. Portugal's fate was long decided before their final encounter with Scotland, which rounded off Pool C.

The 56-10 Scottish victory proved crucial, as the Scots surpassed Italy in the Pool standings and earned themselves a spot in the knock-out stages. Portugal have the opportunity to record their first ever Rugby World Cup victory this coming September, with an enticing clash against Georgia set to decided Rugby Europe Championship bragging rights.