The

2011 Rugby World Cup The 2011 Rugby World Cup was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Af ...

was an international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the two codes of rugby football, it is based on running with the ball in hand. In its m ...

tournament played in New Zealand from 9 September to 23 October 2011. Each of the 20 competing nations was required to confirm its 30-man squad by 23 August; only players in these squads were eligible to take part in the tournament. Players could be replaced for medical or compassionate reasons, but they would be unable to return to the squad. Any replacement players had an enforced stand-down period of 48 hours before they could take the field. Players marked (c) were the nominated

captains Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

for their teams. Number of caps and players' ages are indicated as of 9 September 2011, the tournament's opening day. The tournament was played during the Super Rugby off-season. Players who were released or changed clubs are out-of-contract with their clubs and finished with their 2011 clubs, and in-contract with their national unions and/or future clubs for the 2012 (2011–12 in the Northern Hemisphere) season. Players were listed with their current affiliations as of the opening day of the tournament on 9 September (with some on-going updates during the tournament). Three squads were made up entirely of players from home-based clubs. Two of these,

Australia Australia, officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a Sovereign state, sovereign country comprising the mainland of the Australia (continent), Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous List of islands of Australia, sma ...

and

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 smaller islands. It is the sixth-largest island count ...

, had players who signed with overseas clubs for the 2011–12 northern hemisphere season. However, all players on both squads played for clubs within their country, either in Super Rugby or New Zealand's domestic

ITM Cup ITM may stand for: Education * ITM Global School, an English medium co-educational day school in Gwalior, Madhya Pradesh, India * ITM Law School, one of the professional graduate schools of ITM University * ITM-IFM, Mumbai, India * Institut Tekn ...

, in the preceding 2011 season. In addition, these players remained under contract with their national unions until the end of the World Cup. The third such squad,

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of Overseas France, overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic, Pacific Ocean, Pac ...

, consists entirely of players under contract with French clubs in both 2010–11 and 2011–12.

Pool A

Canada

Canada's 30-man squad for the tournament was named on 8 July. Head coach:

Kieran Crowley Kieran James Crowley (born 31 August 1961) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, who is the head coach of Italy. He has also coached the New Zealand Under-19s in the 2007 World Championships as well as coaching provincial side T ...

France

Marc Lièvremont announced his 31-man France squad for the tournament on 21 August.

David Skrela David Skrela (born 2 March 1979) is a former French rugby union footballer. He most notably played for Stade Français and Toulouse in the Top 14 as well as the French national side as a fly-half or centre. He was renowned for his tackles and his ...

was injured and subsequently replaced by

Jean-Marc Doussain Jean-Marc Doussain (born 12 February 1991) is a French rugby union fly half. He plays club rugby for Stade Toulousain and has appeared for the French national U20 side. He made his debut for France with 5 minutes left of the 2011 Rugby World Cu ...

. Head coach:

Marc Lièvremont Marc Lièvremont (born 28 October 1968) is a former rugby union footballer and was the head coach of the French national rugby union team. He played as a back-row forward for France, gaining 25 caps from 1995 to 1999, and was selected in France's ...

Japan

Japan's 30-man squad for the tournament was named on 22 August. Justin Ives and Ryukoliniasi Holani were ruled out with injury, they were replaced by Yuji Kitagawa and Toetsu Taufa. Tomoki Yoshida and Yuta Imamura were ruled out with injury, they were replaced by Ippei Asada and Bryce Robins. Head coach: John Kirwan

New Zealand

New Zealand's 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup was announced on 23 August. On 1 October,

Dan Carter Daniel William Carter (born 5 March 1982) is a retired New Zealand rugby union player. Carter played for Crusaders (Super Rugby) in New Zealand and played for New Zealand's national team, the All Blacks. He is the highest point scorer in ...

sustained a tournament-ending groin injury and was replaced in the squad by Aaron Cruden. On 9 October,

Mils Muliaina Junior Malili "Mils" Muliaina (born 31 July 1980) is a former professional rugby union player who most recently played for San Francisco Rush in the US PRO Rugby competition. He played primarily as a fullback, though he has also played as a ...

sustained a shoulder fracture and

Colin Slade Colin Richard Slade (born 10 October 1987) is a retired New Zealand professional rugby union player. He played primarily at first five-eighth, as well as all other backline positions on occasions. He was first selected for the All Blacks in 200 ...

suffered a groin tear. Stephen Donald and Hosea Gear were called into the squad to replace them. Squad and caps are current as of 10 October 2011. Head coach:

Graham Henry Sir Graham William Henry (born 8 June 1946) is a New Zealand rugby union coach, and former head coach of the country's national team, the All Blacks. Nicknamed 'Ted', he led New Zealand to win the 2011 World Cup. Henry played rugby union for ...

Tonga

Tonga's 30-man RWC squad was announced on 23 August. Chairman Bob Tuckey allegedly resigned over the proposed selection of former captain

Nili Latu Nili Latu, playing name of Otenili Langilangi (born 19 February 1982) is a Tongan rugby union footballer. In 2018, Latu left Newcastle Falcons after helping Falcons achieve 4th in the Aviva Premiership, the highest finish in 20 years. He moved to J ...

. Head coach:

Isitolo Maka Isitolo Maka (born 25 May 1975) is a former rugby union footballer for the All Blacks playing as a number 8 and making four appearances, all in 1998. Maka was the coach of the Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, ...

Pool B

Argentina

Argentina named their squad for the tournament on 10 August 2011. Alvaro Galindo was ruled out with injury and replaced by Genaro Fessia. Gonzalo Tiesi was injured during the England game, he was replaced by Lucas Borges. Head coach:

Santiago Phelan Santiago Phelan (born March 31, 1974 in San Isidro, Buenos Aires) is a retired Argentine rugby union footballer. His usual position was flanker. Phelan played for Argentine club Club Atlético San Isidro and represented the Argentina national ...

England

Martin Johnson announced England's 30-man squad on 22 August. Andrew Sheridan was ruled out due to injury and was replaced by Thomas Waldrom on 25 September. Team manager: Martin Johnson

Georgia

Georgia named their 30-man squad on 22 August. Head coach:

Richie Dixon Richie Dixon (born c. 1947) is a former rugby union footballer, the former head coach of the Scotland national team, the Georgia national team and Glasgow Caledonians (now known as Glasgow Warriors). He was head of Physical Education at Currie ...

Romania

Romania's 30-man RWC squad.

Cătălin Fercu Cătălin Fercu (born 5 September 1986) is a Romanian rugby union player. He has played in 77 international matches for Romania scoring 28 tries and one penalty kick. Fercu plays at the fullback and wing positions. He previously played for RC T ...

was forced to withdraw after his

fear of flying Fear of flying is a fear of being on an airplane, or other flying vehicle, such as a helicopter, while in flight. It is also referred to as flying anxiety, flying phobia, flight phobia, aviophobia, aerophobia, or pteromechanophobia (although ae ...

prevented him from travelling to New Zealand; Adrian Apostol replaced him. Head coach: Romeo Gontineac

Scotland

Scotland's 30-man squad was announced on 22 August 2011. Head coach:

Andy Robinson Richard Andrew Robinson OBE (born 3 April 1964) is an English rugby union coach and retired player. He was the director of rugby at Bristol until November 2016. He is the former head coach of Scotland and England. From September 2019 to Decemb ...

Pool C

Australia

The 30-man squad for the RWC was announced on 18 August, with James Horwill replacing Rocky Elsom as the new captain. Wycliff Palu and Drew Mitchell were ruled out after the Russia test, Hodgson and Turner replaced them. Head coach:

Robbie Deans Robert Maxwell Deans (born 4 September 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player, currently the head coach of Japanese club Panasonic Wild Knights. He was head coach of the Australian national team between 2008 and 2013. Deans had ...

Ireland

Ireland's 30-man squad for the tournament was announced on 22 August 2011. Shane Jennings was called up to replace David Wallace after the latter suffered a knee injury in Ireland's final warm-up Test against England. On 14 September Damien Varley was called up to replace

Jerry Flannery Jeremiah Paul Flannery (born 17 October 1978) is a former Irish rugby union player and current coach. During his playing career, Flannery, a hooker, played for Munster and Ireland, before being forced to retire in March 2012 due to injury prob ...

after Flannery tore his left calf muscle during a training session. Head coach:

Declan Kidney Declan Kidney (born 20 October 1959) is an Irish rugby union coach. He was the head coach of the Ireland national rugby union team from 2008 to 2013, where he won the 2009 Six Nations with a Grand Slam, winning the 2009 IRB Coach of the Year aw ...

Italy

Nick Mallett announced his 30-man squad for the tournament on 22 July. Tommaso D'Apice returned to Italy after damaging ligaments in his left knee and was replaced by Franco Sbaraglini. Head coach:

Nick Mallett Nicholas Vivian Haward Mallett (born 30 October 1956) is a former South African rugby union player who played for the Springboks, South Africa's national rugby union team, in 1984. He also coached the Springboks between 1997 and 2000 and was the ...

Russia

Russia announced their 30-man squad for the tournament on 23 August. Igor Galinovskiy was ruled out with a broken leg, Sergey Trishin replaced him. Head coach:

Nikolay Nerush Nikolay Vladimirovich Nerush (russian: Николай Владимирович Неруш) (born Moscow, 24 July 1960) is a Russian rugby union coach and a former player. He played for VVA-Podmoskovye Monino. He was the head coach of Russia, from ...

United States

Eddie O'Sullivan announced his 30-man squad for the tournament on 22 August. Head coach:

Eddie O'Sullivan Eddie O'Sullivan (born 21 November 1958) is an Irish rugby union coach, player (wing & fly-half) and a former Gaelic footballer. He is a former head coach of the United States national rugby union team and of the Ireland national rugby union te ...

Pool D

Fiji

Fiji's 30-man World Cup squad. Head coach:

Sam Domoni Samuela Ravanua Domoni Junior (25 December 1968 – 24 July 2021) was a Fijian former rugby union footballer and the former national coach of the Fiji national rugby union team. He played as a lock or flanker. He was and during his playing day ...

Namibia

Namibia's 30-man Rugby World Cup squad. Head coach: Johan Diergaardt

Samoa

Coach Fuimaono Tafua's 30-man Samoa squad for the tournament was announced on 24 August. Head coach: Titimaea Tafua

South Africa

On 23 August, South Africa named a 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Zane Kirchner replaced the injured François Steyn on 2 October. Head coach:

Peter de Villiers Peter de Villiers (born 3 June 1957) is a South African professional rugby union coach and Good Party politician. He was coach of the South Africa national rugby union team from 2008 to 2011, after successes with the South African U19 and U21 ...

Wales

On 22 August, Wales named a 30-man squad for the 2011 Rugby World Cup in New Zealand. Head coach:

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is currently in his second spell as the head coach of the Wales national team. As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six N ...

Player statistics

Player representation by club

Player representation by league

Average age of squads

Taylor Paris of

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

was the youngest player named to a squad at 18, while

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a List of transcontinental countries, transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and North Asia, Northern Asia. It is the List of countries and dependencies by area, largest country in the ...

's Viacheslav Grachev, 38, was the oldest. However, Paris did not appear in any of Canada's matches, making Wales' 19-year-old

George North George Philip North (born 13 April 1992) is a Welsh professional rugby union player who plays for the Ospreys in the United Rugby Championship and the Wales national team. He has also represented the British & Irish Lions and currently has th ...

the youngest to actually appear in the World Cup.

Coaches representation by country

Squad caps

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring countri ...

had the most capped side in the World Cup with 1,224 caps. The most-capped player at the tournament was

Brian O'Driscoll Brian Gerard O'Driscoll (born 21 January 1979) is an Irish former professional rugby union player. He played at outside centre for the Irish provincial team Leinster and for Ireland. He captained Ireland from 2003 until 2012, and captained the ...

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

, who entered the event with 113 caps for Ireland (not counting his appearances with the

British and Irish Lions The British & Irish Lions is a rugby union team selected from players eligible for the national teams of England, Ireland, Scotland, and Wales. The Lions are a test side and most often select players who have already played for their national ...

). Second on this list was his teammate

Ronan O'Gara Ronan John Ross O'Gara ( ga, Rónán Ó Gadhra; born 7 March 1977) is an Irish former rugby union player and current coach. O'Gara played as a fly-half and is Ireland's second most-capped player and highest ever points scorer. He is currently ...

with 111.

Notes and references

{{DEFAULTSORT:2011 Rugby World Cup Squads

Squads In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army do ...

Rugby World Cup squads