The

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

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 which was held in Japan from 20 September until 2 November 2019. Twenty national teams competed, and each brought a 31-man squad containing no regulated number of players per-position to the tournament. The tournament was administered by

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

, to whom each team submitted their finalised squad by 8 September 2019. A player may be replaced for medical or compassionate reasons, but would be unable to return to the squad. Any replacement player has an enforced stand-down period of 48 hours before they can take the field. Players marked (c) were named as

captain 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 national squad. The age listed for each player is on 20 September 2019, the first day of the tournament. The numbers of caps for each player do not include any matches played after the start of tournament.

Overview

Below is a table listing all the head coaches and captains for each nation.

Pool A

Ireland

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 ...

announced a 31-man squad for the tournament on 2 September 2019. ¹ On 29 September,

Jordi Murphy Jordi Murphy (born 22 April 1991) is an Irish international rugby player. He plays for provincial and United Rugby Championship side Ulster as a loose forward, and also plays for the Ireland national rugby union team. Early life Murphy was b ...

replaced Jack Conan, who suffered a foot injury in training. ² On 16 October,

Rob Herring Rob Herring is an English former professional motocross racer and current film industry stuntman. Herring began his racing career in South Africa after his father emigrated there from the United Kingdom. He returned to the U.K. at the age of 17 a ...

replaced

Seán Cronin Seán Cronin (29 August 1922 – 9 March 2011) was a journalist and former Irish Army officer and twice Irish Republican Army chief of staff.Brian Hanley and Scott Millar, ''The Lost Revolution: The Story of the Official IRA and the Workers Pa ...

following an injury. Head coach: Joe Schmidt

Japan

Japan Japan ( ja, 日本, or , and formally , ''Nihonkoku'') is an island country in East Asia. It is situated in the northwest Pacific Ocean, and is bordered on the west by the Sea of Japan, while extending from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north ...

named a 41-man training squad for the tournament on 15 August 2019, before confirming their final 31-man squad on 29 August. Head coach:

Jamie Joseph James Whitinui Joseph (born 21 November 1969) is a New Zealand-born Japanese former rugby union player and current rugby union coach. A flanker, Joseph represented Otago at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, ...

Russia

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 ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 1 September. Head coach:

Lyn Jones Lyn Jones (born 1964) is a former Wales international rugby union player, and now works as a coach. A flanker, Jones has experience at various different levels of the game, both as a player and a coach. Jones played most of his playing career for ...

Samoa

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

named a 34-man training squad for the tournament on 23 August 2019, before reducing it to a final 31 on 31 August. ¹ On 9 September, Pele Cowley replaced Scott Malolua, who suffered a knee injury in Samoa's final warm-up match. ² On 26 September, Alamanda Motuga joined the squad in Japan after Afa Amosa sustained an injury in Samoa's opening match. Head coach: Steve Jackson

Scotland

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to the ...

named an initial 42-man training squad on 7 May 2019. The final 31-man squad for the tournament was confirmed on 3 September. ¹ On 23 September,

Magnus Bradbury Magnus Donald Blackburn Bradbury (born 23 August 1995) is a Scotland international rugby union player who plays for Bristol Bears in the Gallagher Premiership. Rugby Union career Amateur career Bradbury started playing rugby with Oban Lorn ...

replaced Hamish Watson, after he suffered a knee injury in the team's opening match against Ireland. ² On 24 September,

Henry Pyrgos Henry Benjamin Pyrgos (born 9 July 1989) is a Scottish rugby union player who currently plays for Edinburgh Rugby in the United Rugby Championship. Rugby Union career Amateur career Pyrgos was drafted to Stirling County in the Scottish Pr ...

replaced

Ali Price Alistair William Price (born 12 May 1993) is a Scotland international rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Glasgow Warriors. Early life and education Price was born on 12 May 1993 in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. He was educated ...

, after he suffered a foot injury in the team's opening match against Ireland. Head coach:

Gregor Townsend Gregor Peter John Townsend, (born 26 April 1973) is a Scottish rugby union coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Scotland national team having previously been an assistant coach from 2009 to 2012. As a player, he won ...

Pool B

Canada

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 ...

named a 42-man training squad for the tournament on 20 August 2019. The final 31-man squad was named on 3 September 2019. ¹ On 10 September, Justin Blanchet was replaced by Josh Larsen in the World Cup squad following an injury sustained in Canada's final warm-up match. ² On 27 September, injured centres

Nick Blevins Nickalas Leslie Blevins (born 11 November 1988 in Edmonton, Alberta) is a rugby union centre who plays for Prairie Wolf Pack and Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atl ...

and

Ben LeSage Benjamin LeSage (born 24 November 1995) is a Canadian rugby union player who plays as a centre for the LA Giltinis in Major League Rugby (MLR) and for Canada internationally. He previously played for the Toronto Arrows. He is the son of Margare ...

were replaced in the squad by

Giuseppe du Toit Giuseppe du Toit (born 29 July 1995) is a Canadian rugby union player who generally plays as a centre for the Toronto Arrows in Major League Rugby (MLR). He also represents Canada internationally. On 27 September 2019, he was included in the ...

and

Theo Sauder Theo Sauder (born 2 April 1996) is a Canadian rugby union player that plays fullback and fly-half. He currently plays for the Toronto Arrows in Major League Rugby as well as the Canada national rugby sevens team. Early life Sauder was born in ...

. ³ On 3 October,

Kainoa Lloyd Kainoa Lloyd (born 21 May 1994) is a Canadian rugby union player who plays as a winger for the Houston SaberCats in Major League Rugby (MLR). He also plays for the Ontario Blues in the Canadian Rugby Championship and Canada internationally. He ...

joined the squad as an injury replacement for

Taylor Paris Taylor Flavio Paris (born 6 October 1992 in Barrie, Ontario) is a Canadian rugby union player. He is currently signed with the Castres Olympique and also regularly plays for the Canadian Men's 15's and 7's teams. Previously Paris had played with ...

. Head coach: Kingsley Jones

Italy

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 18 August 2019. ¹ On 8 October, Giosuè Zilocchi and

Danilo Fischetti Danilo Fischetti (born 26 January 1998) is an Italian professional rugby union player who primarily plays Prop (rugby union), prop for Zebre Parma in United Rugby Championship. Professional career Under contract with Rugby Calvisano, Calvisan ...

joined the Italian squad following injuries to Simone Ferrari and

Marco Riccioni Marco Riccioni (born 19 October 1997) is an Italian rugby union prop who currently plays for Saracens and Italy. Riccioni played with Italian Pro14 team Benetton from 2017 to 2021. He joined Saracens ahead of the 2021–22 season. He helped Sa ...

. Head coach:

Conor O'Shea Conor O'Shea ( ga, Conchúir Ó Sé) (born 21 October 1970) is an Irish rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the Italy national team from 2016 to 2019. He played as a full back and occasionally at out-half and centre ...

Namibia

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and ea ...

named a 31-man squad for the tournament on 2 September. Head coach: Phil Davies

New Zealand

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 ...

named their 31-man squad on 28 August 2019. ¹ On 13 September 2019, Shannon Frizell was named as replacement for

Luke Jacobson Luke Brittain Jacobson (born 20 April 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays for the in the Super Rugby competition, and for the All Blacks. His plays in the forward pack. Jacobson made the New Zealand Schools team in 2014. He ...

, who was ruled out of the competition due to delayed onset of concussion. Head coach:

Steve Hansen Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief Of Vaiala, (born 7 May 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen. He was the head coach of the New Zealand nati ...

South Africa

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 ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 26 August 2019. ¹ On 23 September,

Thomas du Toit Thomas Joubert du Toit (born 5 May 1995) is a South African rugby union player for the South Africa national rugby union team, South Africa national team and the in the United Rugby Championship. His regular position is prop. His nickname is Th ...

replaced Trevor Nyakane, after he injured his calf in the team's opening match against New Zealand. ² On 1 October,

Damian Willemse Damian Willemse (born 7 May 1998) is a South African rugby union player for the South Africa national team and the in the United Rugby Championship and in the Currie Cup. His regular position is fullback, but he can also play as a fly-half, ...

replaced

Jesse Kriel Jesse André Kriel (born 15 February 1994) is a South African professional rugby union player for the South Africa national team and Canon Eagles in the Japanese Top League. His regular playing position is as a utility back but can also play ...

, after he was injured the team's opening match against New Zealand. Head coach:

Rassie Erasmus Johan "Rassie" Erasmus (born 5 November 1972) is a South African rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the South African national team from 2018 to the end of their 2019 World Cup campaign, doubling up on his duties as ...

Pool C

Argentina

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, th ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 19 August 2019. ¹ On 6 October, Gonzalo Bertranou replaced

Tomás Cubelli Tomás Maria Cubelli (born 12 June 1989) is an Argentine professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Pro D2 club Biarritz and the Argentina national team. Club career Cubelli began his career with Belgrano Athletic Club, ...

after he was injured in Argentina's game against England. Head coach:

Mario Ledesma Mario Ledesma Arocena (born 17 May 1973 in Buenos Aires) is an Argentine rugby union coach and a former international rugby player. He played in Argentina's successful 2007 Rugby World Cup campaign and had a professional playing career in France s ...

England

On 12 August,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe b ...

became the first team to announce their 31-man squad for the tournament. ¹ Ben Spencer was called up on 27 October as an injury replacement for Willi Heinz. Head coach: Eddie Jones

France

On 18 June 2019, head coach Jacques Brunel named a 37-man squad for the

2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches Nineteen or 19 may refer to: * 19 (number), the natural number following 18 and preceding 20 * one of the years 19 BC, AD 19, 1919, 2019 Films * ''19'' (film), a 2001 Japanese film * ''Nineteen'' (film), a 1987 science fiction film Mus ...

. On 10 July 2019, Paul Willemse had to withdraw from the team due to injury; he was replaced by Romain Taofifénua. On 20 July 2019, Cyril Baille was called up to replaced the injured Étienne Falgoux.

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 ...

named their final 31-man squad for the tournament on 2 September 2019. ¹ On 22 September, Wesley Fofana withdrew from the squad due to injury, and was replaced by Pierre-Louis Barassi. ² On 29 September, Cedate Gomes Sa was called up to replace the injured

Demba Bamba Demba Bamba (born 17 March 1998) is a French rugby union player. His position is prop and he currently plays for Lyon in the Top 14. Early life and education Demba's parents originate from Mauritania and he grew up in the Saint-Denis area o ...

. ³ On 4 October,

Christopher Tolofua Christopher Tolofua (born 31 December 1993) is a French rugby union player who currently plays for Toulon. His regular playing position is Hooker. Club career Tolofua made his debut for Toulouse against Connacht in Hcup. He was called as a cover ...

was called up to replace the injured Peato Mauvaka. ⁴ On 4 October,

Vincent Rattez Vincent Rattez (born 24 March 1992) is a French rugby union player who plays the regular position of wing and he currently plays for Montpellier and the France national team. International career Rattez was part of the French squad for the 2017 ...

was called up to replace the injured Thomas Ramos. Head coach: Jacques Brunel

Tonga

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

announced their 31-man squad for the tournament on 1 September 2019. ¹ On 24 September,

Kurt Morath Kurt Morath (born 13 November 1984) is a New Zealand-born Tongan rugby union player who plays at fly-half. He currently plays for the Austin Gilgronis in Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for Doncaster Knights in RFU Championship ...

and

Nafi Tuitavake Nafi Tuitavake (born 21 January 1989) is a New Zealand Rugby union player who plays for the Vodacom Blue Bulls in the Super rugby competition. He is the younger brother of former New Zealand national rugby union team, All Black winger Anthony Tu ...

were ruled out for the remainder of the tournament following injuries sustained in Tonga's opening match against England. Latiume Fosita and Fetuli Paea replaced them. Head coach:

Toutai Kefu Toutai Kefu (born 8 April 1974) is a Tonga-born rugby coach, who earned 60 caps playing at number eight for the Australian national team (the Wallabies). Kefu is currently the head coach of the Tongan national team having previously coached th ...

United States

On 13 June, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territorie ...

named a 50-man extended training squad ahead of the

2019 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup The 2019 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup was the 14th Pacific Nations Cup, an annual international rugby union competition contested by the men's national teams of the Tier 2 rugby nations located around the Pacific: Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, To ...

in preparation for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. On 19 June,

Samu Manoa Samu Manoa (born March 5, 1985) is an American rugby union player who plays for the Seattle Seawolves in Major League Rugby (MLR). Manoa was described in 2014 by ESPNscrum.com as "perhaps the finest No. 8 playing the game in the northern hemisph ...

retired from international rugby and withdrew from the squad. On 8 September, USA were the last side to name their 31-man squad. ¹ On 1 October, David Ainu'u was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament following an injury sustained in the United States' opening match against England, Chance Wenglewski replaced him. Head coach:

Gary Gold Gary Gold (born 6 July 1967) is a South African rugby union coach who has coached at various levels of the game in England, Japan and South Africa. He was until December 2022 the head coach of the United States. Coaching career London Irish G ...

Pool D

Australia

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 ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 23 August 2019. Head coach:

Michael Cheika Michael Cheika (born 4 March 1967) is an Australian rugby union and rugby league coach, and former rugby union player. He is currently head coach of Argentina in rugby union and Lebanon in rugby league. Cheika was the coach of the Australia r ...

Fiji

Fiji Fiji ( , ,; fj, Viti, ; Fiji Hindi: फ़िजी, ''Fijī''), officially the Republic of Fiji, is an island country in Melanesia, part of Oceania in the South Pacific Ocean. It lies about north-northeast of New Zealand. Fiji consists ...

named an initial 32-man squad for the tournament on 16 August 2019, before reducing it to the final 31 on 3 September. ¹ On 5 September, prop Lee Roy Atalifo replaced

Kalivati Tawake Kalivati Tawake (born 16 November 1988) is a Fijian people, Fijian rugby union player who played for the in the Super Rugby competition. His position of choice is Rugby union positions, prop. He currently (2021) plays for Biarritz Olympique ...

, who suffered a knee injury. Head coach: John McKee

Georgia

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to the ...

announced their 31-man squad for the tournament on 2 September 2019. Head coach: Milton Haig

Uruguay

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 30 August 2019. Head coach: Esteban Meneses

Wales

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

announced their 31-man squad for the tournament on 1 September 2019. ¹ On 24 September 2019 Cory Hill withdrew from the squad having failed to recover from injury and he was replaced by

Bradley Davies Bradley Davies (born 9 January 1987) is a Welsh international rugby union player for the Ospreys in the Pro14. His is the son of the former lock for Pontypridd; Bleddyn Davies. Career Bradley's first position as a youngster was outside half ...

. ² On 22 October 2019

Josh Navidi Josh Navidi (born 30 December 1990) is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays for the Cardiff Rugby, Wales and British and Irish Lions. He has previously captained Wales U20. Personal life Navidi's father is Iranian and his mother ...

withdrew from the squad having failed to recover from injury and he was replaced by Owen Lane. 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 ...

Statistics

All statistics relate to the initial 31-man squads named prior to the start of the tournament on 20 September 2019 and do not include players who joined a squad during the tournament. *Five squads included no players based outside their home country: England, France, Ireland, Japan, and New Zealand. *The squads with the fewest players playing domestically are Tonga (zero) and Samoa (one).

Player representation by club

The 620 participating players, 20 players unattached, represent 144 different club sides, the club sides with the most players selected are below:

Players representation by league

* Namibia's

Welwitschias The Welwitschias, currently known as the Windhoek Draught Welwitschias due to sponsorship by Namibia Breweries Limited, are a Namibian rugby union team that often participates in South African domestic competitions. As of 2021, they are regu ...

most recently played in

's 2019 Rugby Challenge but do not appear in a regular league as such.

Player representation by nation

Average age of squads

Squad caps

Previous World Cup experience

By matches

By tournaments

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2019 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