See main article: 1987 Rugby World Cup. This article lists the official squads for the 1987 Rugby World Cup that took place in New Zealand and Australia from 22 May until 20 June 1987. The 1987 Rugby World Cup was the inaugural Rugby World Cup; the world championship for rugby union. Sixteen nations were invited to partake in the tournament, with the notable exception of South Africa; who were excluded from the tournament due to issues surrounding Apartheid.
Players marked (c) were named as captain for their national squad. All details, such as number of international caps and player age, are current as of the opening day of the tournament on 22 May 1987.
Below is a table listing all the head coaches and captains for each nation.
| Team | Coach | Captain | |
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Head coach: Alan Jones
Head coach: George Hook / Ron Mayes
Head coach: Martin Green
Head coach: Katsumi Miyaji
Head coach: Tony Gray
Head coach: Gary Johnston
Head coaches: Mick Doyle (replaced by Syd Millar) / Jim Davidson
Head coach: Mailefihi Tuku'aho
Head coaches: Brian Lochore
Head coaches: 
Josateki Sovau and George Simpkin
Head coach: Marco Bollesan
Head coaches: Héctor Silva / Ángel Guastella
Before the match against New Zealand, Martín Yangüela withdrew due to an injury and was replaced by Marcelo Faggi.
Head coach: Jacques Fouroux
Head Coach: Derrick Grant
Head coach: Mihai Naca
Head coach: Brian Murphy