Young Blonde Girl With A Rugby Oval Ball

1987 - New Zealand Rugby Union defeats France 29–9 in the first Rugby Union World Cup, held in New Zealand and Australia.
1987 - A "free gangway" between the two codes of rugby at amateur level is introduced, but individual cases of discrimination continues.
1987 - The RFU introduces the Courage Leagues into Rugby Union—a league pyramid with roughly 1000 clubs playing in 108 leagues each with promotion and relegation.
1988 - Rugby League’s Wigan start their run of eight Challenge Cup final victories. The modern version of the Team of All the Talents, featuring players like Ellery Hanley, Andy Gregory, Jason Robinson and Shaun Edwards dominate for a decade, winning three World Cup titles in the process.