"Winless World Cups" - The 6 Sides To NEVER Win a Rugby World Cup Match

They say that no-one remembers the losers, well we think it's time to change that. Throughout the nine iterations of the Rugby World Cup, there have been six countries that have never been able to record a single victory.

Throughout the competition's history, 25 nations have been represented, with this set to grow to 26 when Chile make their Rugby World Cup debut this September. Los Condores will aim to record at least one victory against their Pool D opponents Argentina, Samoa, Japan and England, if they want to avoid being on future incarnations of this list.

Be it a one-sided landslide defeat or a closely contested nail-biter that just didn't go their way, these six teams have never come away with a 'W' at international rugby's pinnacle tournament. This countdown of the Rugby World Cup's 'biggest losers', will numerically ascend along as the losing streaks grow higher.

Here are the six teams to never record a win at the Rugby World Cup.

When Ivory Coast qualified for the 1995 Rugby World Cup, they became only the fourth African side to ever reach the tournament. 'les Elephants' followed in the footsteps of the 1995 winners South Africa, as well as previous contenders Zimbabwe and the ultimate underdogs Namibia (more on them later).

For the 1995 Rugby World Cup on their home continent, Ivory Coast were drawn into Pool D, alongside competition contenders France, as well as Scotland and Tonga. Cote d'Ivoire's historic opening match ended in a colossal defeat at the hands of Scotland. Richie Dixon instilled a ruthless fire into his side, knowing that points difference would be crucial to progress out of the Pool stages.

The Scots pulled no punches against their newcomer opponents, and ran out 89-0 winners in Rustenburg, South Africa. Their second pool stage fixture had some positive takeaways, as Les Elephants recorded their first points at the Rugby World Cup, through tries from winger Aboubacar Soulama and fly half Aboubacar Camara. However, this came in a 54-18 defeat to a weakened France team, with all eyes then turning to a first win in the dead-rubber contest against Tonga.

With Scotland and France already home and dry to the knock-out stages, Ivory Coast and Tonga battled relentlessly for their sole Rugby World Cup win. A match that is now infamously remembered for paralyzing Ivory Coast winger Max Brito, the Pacific Islanders were able to surpass their West African opponents. A closer contested 29-11 Tongan win handed Ivory Coast the wooden spoon, as the two sides were sent home.

2. Spain (3 Matches)

Spain may well have been removed from this list, if they hadn't breached World Rugby's eligibility laws on two occasions. Spain successfully secured qualification to the 2019 and 2023 Rugby World Cups, however, both times the Spaniards have since been disqualified after fielding illegal players during the competition's qualification stages.

The most recent case saw Romania replace Spain at this year's tournament, after 'The Lions' fielded South African-born prop Gavin Van Den Berg. Despite a lengthy appeal, and claims of Van Den Berg's sufficient 36-month residency, Spain will again miss out on the Rugby World Cup. So to date, Spain's only run at the Rugby World Cup came in 1999, where they lost three consecutive matches in a row.

Spain were slotted into Pool A, and missed out on a golden opportunity to record a historic Rugby World Cup win in their opening match against 'like-for-like' opponents Uruguay. Despite the best efforts of Spain’s Ukrainian-born fly half Andriy Kovalenco, who kicked five penalties for his side, Uruguay ran in four tries for a 27-15 win.

It was then a downward spiral for the Spaniards, as they had unfavourable matches booked in against South Africa and Scotland. Both the 'Boks and the Scots pumped more than 40 points out in Edinburgh, and sent Spain tumbling out of the Rugby World Cup. South Africa ran out comfortable victors in a 47-3 walkover, before Scotland did a little better, shutting out the demoralised Spanish with seven unanswered tries, for a 48-0 win.

Portugal have the opportunity to record their first Rugby World Cup victory this year, as they are set to make their return in Pool C at the 2023 competition. Having only previously competed at the 2007 tournament, Portugal are yet to record a win and took four straight losses in France. Things may be different the next time 'The Wolves' head to the home of Les Bleus some 16 years later.

Back in ’07, the Rugby World Cup had already been expanded to 20 teams, so despite only appearing at the one competition Portugal appear higher on this list. 'Os Lobos' lined up against the All Blacks, Scotland, Italy and Romania, with all eyes set on Romania to record their first Rugby World Cup victory.

As expected, Portugal were well-beaten by Scotland, who ran in a heavy 56-10 score-line. However, heading into the match with Italy there was excitable expectations as a strong performance could well ignite the conversation against the ring-fenced Six Nations. Italy's comfortable 31-5 win squashed the claims, with the 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. 16 All Blacks tries for a 108-13 final score saw this to not be the case, but the Portuguese dusted themselves off and prepared for the all-important battle against European Championship rivals Romania. The Romanians were able to come from behind to beat Portugal 14-10 in the final Pool Stage match, as Marius Tincu and Florin Corodeanu's tries secured Romania's victory.

The Southern African nation of Zimbabwe hold the honour of being the first team from the continent to take part in the Rugby World Cup. South Africa were banned from competition due to the country's ongoing Apartheid, with the Sables invited to the inaugural Rugby World Cup in 1987, and then to the subsequent tournament in 1991.

However, on both occasions, Zimbabwe were unable to record a single victory at the competition. In 1987, the Sables were drawn into Pool 4, and took on eventual finalists France, as well as Scotland (a re-occurring opponent on this list) and Romania. Zimbabwe's first match at the Rugby World Cup came against the Eastern Europeans, which ended in a well-battled 21-20 Romanian win in New Zealand.

This would by far be Zimbabwe's closest match at the 1987 Rugby World Cup, as their following Pool Stage fixtures ended in a landslide 11-try defeat to Scotland (60-21), and an even heavier 13-try loss to France (70-12). Four years later, Zimbabwe once again represented their home continent, as they ventured to the Northern Hemisphere for the first time.

Zimbabwe would not come close to victory, akin to their opening Rugby World Cup match against Romania. Their three matches in Pool 2 each saw them concede 50 points, as they took heavy defeats to Ireland (55-11), Japan (52-8), and a less than friendly re-union with the ever-present Scotland (51-12). Zimbabwe have not returned to the Rugby World Cup since 1991, with hopes of qualification growing for the 2027 competition.

A latecomer to the Rugby World Cup, Russia made their debut at the competition in 2011 and returned to the tournament in 2019. On both occasions, Russia failed to record a single Rugby World Cup victory, which makes them the second 'biggest loser' in the competition's history.

In 2011, Russia's first ever Rugby World Cup fixture came against their age old enemies the USA. This rugby match had the unavoidable undertones of decades of historical tension, yet the on-field performances presented a competitive a well-contested match-up. The USA would record a narrow 13-6 victory, in what was Russia's most winnable match of the 2011 competition.

Nicknamed 'Medvedi' which translates to 'Bears', Russia could not claw their way out of the Pool stages as the standard of opposition continued to steadily improve. They first took a 53-17 defeat to Italy, with legendary back-rower Sergio Parrise leading from the front with a try after just six minutes. Ireland then dismantled Russia, running in nine tries for an eventual 62-12 triumph before Australia put Russia to the sword, and ran roughshod with a 68-22 win.

Russia failed to qualify for the 2015 Rugby World Cup, yet made their return in the opening match of the 2019 competition. The Bears took on the hosts Japan, in what was an exhibition match to present the strengths of the Brave Blossoms. The 30-10 bonus point win did just that for Japan, who went on to top Pool A after a miraculous win over Ireland.

Less could be said about the Russians, who went on to take heavy defeats against Samoa (34-9) and Ireland (35-0), before Scotland once again emerged to send a winless side tumbling out of the Rugby World Cup. In a move of solidarity with Ukraine, in February 2022 World Rugby sanctioned a full and immediate banning of Russia and their ally Belarus from all international rugby competition, halting any hope of participating at the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

The 2023 Rugby World Cup marks Namibia seventh consecutive appearance at the competition, yet the Southern Africa side are yet to ever record a win. The 'Welwitschias' who take their nickname after a native Namib evergreen plant, have appeared in every Rugby World Cup since 1999. The closest that Namibia ever came to securing a victory, was the historic cancellation 0-0 draw against Canada.

These bizarre circumstances came about, when the 2019 Rugby World Cup was disrupted by Typhoon Hagibis. The natural disaster caused havoc across Japan, and cancelled numerous final Pool stage matches across the competition. Technically, Namibia have never played to anything other than an on-field defeat at the Rugby World Cup, with this draw against Canada coming with an enormous asterisk.

Aside from the draw, Namibia have taken 22-straight defeats at the Rugby World Cup, and in doing so have become fan favourites as the ultimate underdogs. Namibia have qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, with fans eager to see their monumental first-ever win take place. Uruguay is their most realistic Pool A victory, with the group including France, Italy and the All Blacks.

Namibia's 2019 encounter with New Zealand actually began with a 3-0 Namibian lead, as Damian Stevens slotted a penalty after three minutes. This short lived success last all of three minutes yet is fondly remembered, as the time Namibia were beating the All Blacks at the Rugby World Cup. This was a far cry away from the monstrous defeat they took at the hands of New Zealand in 2003, as the All Blacks ran in 22 tries for a 142-0 shut out.

Fiji 67 - 18 Namibia

France 47 - 13 Namibia

Canada 72 - 11 Namibia

Argentina 67 - 14 Namibia

Ireland 64 - 7 Namibia

New Zealand 142 - 0 Namibia

Romania 37 - 7 Namibia

Ireland 32 - 17 Namibia

France 87 - 10 Namibia

Argentina 63 - 3 Namibia

Georgia 30 - 0 Namibia

Fiji 49 - 25 Namibia

Samoa 49 - 12 Namibia

South Africa 87 - 0 Namibia

Wales 81 - 7 Namibia

New Zealand 58 - 14 Namibia

Tonga 35 - 21 Namibia

Georgia 17 - 16 Namibia

Argentina 64 - 19 Namibia

Italy 47 - 22 Namibia

South Africa 57 - 3 Namibia

New Zealand 71 - 9 Namibia

Canada 0 - 0 Namibia (Cancelled)

The Rugby World Cups a

Namibia, Zimbabwe, Russia, Spain, Portugal, Ivory Coast

Russia - Lost Eight Matches - 2011 and 2019 RWCs

Namibia - Lost 22 Games in a row - https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Namibia_at_the_Rugby_World_Cup

1999, 2003, 2007, 2011, 2015, 2019

Ivory Coast - Lost 4 Games in only Appearence

Spain - Lost 4 Games in only Appearence

Portugal - Lost Four Games in Only Appearence

Zimbabwe - Lost Six Games