On the face of the trophy, the words International Rugby Football Board, and below that arch The Webb Ellis Cup are engraved.

One is a 1911 trophy made by Carrington and Co. of London, featuring a Victorian design of a 1740s cup by Paul de Lamerie, while the other is a 1986 replica.

[2] John Kendall-Carpenter, former England forward and the organiser of the first Rugby World Cup, and Bob Weighill, the secretary of the International Rugby Board and also a former England forward, visited Garrard & Co, the crown jeweller in Regent Street, London.

Ronnie Dawson of Ireland, Keith Rowlands of Wales, Bob Stuart and Dick Littlejohn of New Zealand and the Australians Nick Shehadie and Ross Turnbull approved the choice of the trophy.

The Webb Ellis Cup has been held by four nations: New Zealand, Australia, South Africa, and England.