The knockout stage of the 2015 Rugby World Cup began on 17 October with two quarter-finals and concluded on 31 October with the final at Twickenham Stadium in London with all matches played over the course of three consecutive weekends.[1][2][3]
Qualified teams
editAustralia went unbeaten to finish in first place in Pool A, with Wales in second place. In Pool B, South Africa finished top despite losing their opening match against Japan,[4] ahead of Scotland in second place. New Zealand also went unbeaten as winners of Pool C, with Argentina in second. Pool D was topped by Northern Hemisphere teams, with Ireland coming first and France in second.[5][6]
Pool | Winners | Runners-up |
---|---|---|
A | Australia | Wales |
B | South Africa | Scotland |
C | New Zealand | Argentina |
D | Ireland | France |
Bracket
editQuarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
17 October – Twickenham Stadium | ||||||||||
South Africa | 23 | |||||||||
24 October – Twickenham Stadium | ||||||||||
Wales | 19 | |||||||||
South Africa | 18 | |||||||||
17 October – Millennium Stadium | ||||||||||
New Zealand | 20 | |||||||||
New Zealand | 62 | |||||||||
31 October – Twickenham Stadium | ||||||||||
France | 13 | |||||||||
New Zealand | 34 | |||||||||
18 October – Millennium Stadium | ||||||||||
Australia | 17 | |||||||||
Ireland | 20 | |||||||||
25 October – Twickenham Stadium | ||||||||||
Argentina | 43 | |||||||||
Argentina | 15 | |||||||||
18 October – Twickenham Stadium | ||||||||||
Australia | 29 | Third place | ||||||||
Australia | 35 | |||||||||
30 October – Olympic Stadium | ||||||||||
Scotland | 34 | |||||||||
South Africa | 24 | |||||||||
Argentina | 13 | |||||||||
Quarter-finals
editSouth Africa vs Wales
edit17 October 2015 16:00 BST (UTC+01) |
South Africa | 23–19 | Wales |
Try: Du Preez 75' m Pen: Pollard (5/7) 9', 13', 17', 21', 62' Drop: Pollard 52' | Report | Try: G. Davies 18' c Con: Biggar (1/1) 19' Pen: Biggar (3/4) 15', 47', 64' Drop: Biggar 40' |
Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 79,572 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) |
South Africa
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Wales
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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New Zealand vs France
edit17 October 2015 20:00 BST (UTC+01) |
New Zealand | 62–13 | France |
Try: Retallick 11' c Milner-Skudder 23' c Savea (3) 29' c, 38' m, 59' c Kaino 50' m Read 64' c Kerr-Barlow (2) 68' c, 71' c Con: Carter (7/9) 12', 25', 31', 60', 65', 68', 72' Pen: Carter (1/1) 7' | Report | Try: Picamoles 36' c Con: Parra (1/1) 37' Pen: Spedding (1/1) 9' Parra (1/2) 15' |
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 71,619 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) |
New Zealand
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France
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- This was the largest winning margin in a Rugby World Cup knockout stage match, surpassing the 43-point winning margin New Zealand set against Wales in 1987.[7]
- The nine tries scored by New Zealand is the most scored by one team in a Rugby World Cup knockout stage match.[citation needed]
- With his hat-trick of tries in this match, Julian Savea equalled Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana's single-tournament record of eight tries.[8]
Ireland vs Argentina
edit18 October 2015 13:00 BST (UTC+01) |
Ireland | 20–43 | Argentina |
Try: Fitzgerald 26' c Murphy 44' c Con: Madigan (2/2) 27', 45' Pen: Madigan (2/4) 20', 53' | Report | Try: Moroni 3' c Imhoff (2) 10' c, 73' c Tuculet 69' c Con: Sánchez (4/4) 5', 10', 70', 74' Pen: Sánchez (5/6) 13', 22', 51', 64', 77' |
Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 72,316 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France) |
Ireland
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Argentina
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- This was Argentina's first victory over Ireland since their 30–15 victory in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.[9]
- This was Argentina's largest winning margin over Ireland, surpassing the 16-point margin recorded in June 2007.[10]
Australia vs Scotland
edit18 October 2015 16:00 BST (UTC+01) |
Australia | 35–34 | Scotland |
Try: Ashley-Cooper 9' m Mitchell (2) 30' m, 43' c Hooper 40' m Kuridrani 64' c Con: Foley (2/5) 44', 65' Pen: Foley (2/2) 54', 80' | Report | Try: Horne 18' c Seymour 59' m Bennett 74' c Con: Laidlaw (2/3) 19', 75' Pen: Laidlaw (5/5) 14', 21', 34', 47', 69' |
Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 77,110 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa) |
Australia
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Scotland
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Fraser Brown and Tim Swinson were named to start, but after Ross Ford and Jonny Gray's three-match bans were overturned, they were named in the team minutes before kick off.[11]
- Matt Giteau and Stephen Moore became the seventh and eighth Australian players to earn 100 test caps.
- The 34 points scored by Scotland were the most they had ever scored against Australia.[12]
- After the match, World Rugby issued a statement over referee Craig Joubert's controversial decision to award a late penalty to Australia. The report concluded that while Joubert could not have consulted TMO at the time, his decision was in fact wrong, as the replay showed that Australia's Nick Phipps had played the ball before Scotland's Jon Welsh received it. The correct call should have been a scrum awarded to Australia for the original knock-on.[13]
Semi-finals
editThis was the first Rugby World Cup where no Northern Hemisphere team reached the semi-finals.[14] The semi-final line-up consisted of the four Rugby Championship teams: New Zealand, South Africa, Argentina and Australia. Both matches were played at Twickenham which was also used for the same stage back in the 1999 Rugby World Cup.
South Africa vs New Zealand
edit24 October 2015 16:00 BST (UTC+01) |
South Africa | 18–20 | New Zealand |
Pen: Pollard (5/5) 3', 11', 21', 39', 58' Lambie (1/1) 69' | Report | Try: Kaino 6' c Barrett 52' c Con: Carter (2/2) 9', 53' Pen: Carter (1/2) 60' Drop: Carter 46' |
Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 80,090 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France) |
South Africa
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New Zealand
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- New Zealand became the first team to reach four Rugby World Cup finals, having previously played in the 1987, 1995, and 2011 finals.[15]
- New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams, Jerome Kaino and Sam Whitelock played in a record 13 consecutive World Cup wins.[16]
Argentina vs Australia
edit25 October 2015 16:00 GMT (UTC+00) |
Argentina | 15–29 | Australia |
Pen: Sánchez (5/5) 7', 24', 36', 45', 55' | Report | Try: Simmons 2' c Ashley-Cooper (3) 10' c, 32' m, 72' c Con: Foley (3/4) 3', 11', 73' Pen: Foley (1/2) 48' |
Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 80,025 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) |
Argentina
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Australia
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Michael Hooper, just 3 years and 140 days since his debut, became the fastest player ever to earn his 50th test cap, surpassing Australia's Al Baxter's record of 4 years and 44 days, and became the youngest Australian to achieve the 50-test landmark.[17]
- James Slipper became Australia's most capped prop, surpassing both Ben Alexander's and Benn Robinson's record of 72 caps.
- Australia became the second team, after New Zealand, to reach four Rugby World Cup finals, having previously played in the 1991, 1999, and 2003 finals.[18]
Bronze final: South Africa vs Argentina
edit30 October 2015 20:00 GMT (UTC+00) |
South Africa | 24–13 | Argentina |
Try: Pietersen 6' c Etzebeth 43' m Con: Pollard (1/2) 7' Pen: Pollard (4/5) 14', 33', 40', 48' | Report | Try: Orlandi 80' c Con: Sánchez (1/1) 80' Pen: Sánchez (1/1) 52' Drop: Sánchez 42' |
Olympic Stadium, London Attendance: 55,925 Referee: John Lacey (Ireland) |
South Africa
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Argentina
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- Pat Lambie earned his 50th test cap for South Africa.[19]
Final: New Zealand vs Australia
edit31 October 2015 16:00 GMT (UTC+00) |
New Zealand | 34–17 | Australia |
Try: Milner-Skudder 39' c Nonu 42' m Barrett 79' c Con: Carter (2/3) 40', 80' Pen: Carter (4/4) 8', 27', 36', 75' Drop: Carter 70' | Report | Try: Pocock 53' c Kuridrani 64' c Con: Foley (2/2) 54', 65' Pen: Foley (1/1) 14' |
Twickenham Stadium, London Attendance: 80,125 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) |
New Zealand
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Australia
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Man of the Match:
Touch judges:
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Notes:
- New Zealand became the first team to retain the Rugby World Cup title, and win a third World Cup title.[20]
- This was the first time New Zealand won the World Cup on foreign soil.[21]
- The aggregate 51 points scored was the most ever in a Rugby World Cup final.
- Ben Smith became the first player to receive a yellow card in a Rugby World Cup final.
- New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams, Jerome Kaino and Sam Whitelock played in a record 14th consecutive World Cup wins.[16]
- Fourteen New Zealand players joined five Australians and one South African as winners of multiple Rugby World Cups. McCaw became the first player to captain two World Cup winners.
References
edit- ^ "World Cup 2015 schedule". BBC Sport. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
- ^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Our experts predict their winners and reflect on tournament so far". Daily Telegraph. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ "As the pool stages end, our writers rate the Rugby World Cup so far". The Guardian. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
- ^ Kitson, Robert (19 September 2015). "Japan beat South Africa in greatest Rugby World Cup shock ever". The Observer. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- ^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Quarter-finals - The stats you need to know". New Zealand Herald. 16 October 2015. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
- ^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: fixtures, results and standings". BBC Sport. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
- ^ "Rugby World Cup: New Zealand beat France 62-13 to reach semis". BBC Sport. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "Savea plays down Lomu comparison". Sporting Life. 18 October 2015. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Ireland 20-43 Argentina". BBC Sport. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ "Ireland 20-43 Argentina: how World Cup quarter-final was won and lost". Guardian. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Ross Ford and Jonny Gray back in Scotland starting team". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Australia 35 Scotland 34". Guardian. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
- ^ rugbybworldcup.com. "World Rugby Statement: Match officials' performance review (Australia v Scotland)". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
- ^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Rugby Championship downs Six Nations". New Zealand Herald. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
- ^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: South Africa 18-20 New Zealand". BBC Sport. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ a b "Rugby: All Blacks unchanged for final". Otago Daily Times. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
- ^ "Wallabies flanker Michael Hooper brings up his 50th Test against Argentina". Fox Sports Australia. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
- ^ "Rugby World Cup: Australia beat Argentina to reach final". BBC Sport. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
- ^ Lambley, Garrin (31 October 2015). "Habana praises 50-Test cap Lambie". sport24. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
- ^ "It's official - this New Zealand side are the greatest rugby union team ever". Daily Telegraph. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
- ^ "New Zealand retain Rugby World Cup with ruthless display against Australia". the Guardian. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2021.