The knockout stage of the 2019 Rugby World Cup began on 19 October and concluded on 2 November with the

final Final, Finals or The Final may refer to: *Final (competition), the last or championship round of a sporting competition, match, game, or other contest which decides a winner for an event ** Another term for playoffs, describing a sequence of cont ...

at the

International Stadium Yokohama , also known as , is a multi-purpose stadium in Yokohama, Kanagawa Prefecture, Japan, which opened in March 1998. It is the home stadium of Yokohama F. Marinos of the J1 League. International Stadium Yokohama had the highest seating capac ...

Yokohama is the second-largest city in Japan by population and the most populous municipality of Japan. It is the capital city and the most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a 2020 population of 3.8 million. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of To ...

, Japan.

Qualified teams

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 qualify for the knock-out stage of the World Cup, with a game in hand, after winning their opening three games of the pool stage.

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 ...

became the second team to qualify for the last eight to complete the two teams that advanced out of

Pool C Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky po ...

. South Africa secured their spot in the quarter-finals after their final pool match victory over Canada. After the match cancellations, New Zealand confirmed their place in the quarter-finals as pool winners. Wales confirmed their place in the quarter-finals with a game in hand after their win over Fiji; that result also confirmed Australia's advancement to the knock-out stage. Ireland secured their progression to the quarter-finals following their victory over Samoa in their final match. In the last pool stage match, home team Japan secured their top place in

Pool A Pool may refer to: Water pool * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a rocky pool ...

by beating Scotland and advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time in World Cup history.

Bracket

Quarter-finals

England vs Australia

Notes: *

Jonny May Jonathan James May (born 1 April 1990) is a professional rugby union player for Gloucester in Premiership Rugby and for the national team. He plays as a winger and is known for his speed and try scoring. He began his senior career at Glouces ...

(England) earned his 50th test cap. *This was Australia's largest Rugby World Cup defeat, surpassing the 17-point loss against New Zealand in the 2015 final, as well as the most points they had conceded in a World Cup match, and the highest scoring match between these teams in a World Cup.

New Zealand vs Ireland

Notes: *This was Ireland's largest defeat in a World Cup match surpassing their 43–19 defeat to New Zealand in

1995 File:1995 Events Collage V2.png, From left, clockwise: O.J. Simpson is O. J. Simpson murder case, acquitted of the murders of Nicole Brown Simpson and Ronald Goldman from the 1994, year prior in "The Trial of the Century" in the United States; The ...

Wales vs France

Notes: * Jonathan Davies was due to start in this game, but withdrew ahead of kick-off due to injury. Owen Watkin replaced Davies in the starting XV with

Leigh Halfpenny Stephen Leigh Halfpenny (born 22 December 1988) is a Welsh rugby union player who plays as a fullback or wing for the Scarlets, Wales and the British & Irish Lions. Halfpenny is the third highest points scorer for Wales after Neil Jenkins and ...

taking Watkin's place on the bench.

Japan vs South Africa

Semi-finals

England vs New Zealand

Notes: *

Billy Vunipola Billy Vunipola (born 3 November 1992) is a professional rugby union player who plays at Number 8 for Saracens in the Gallagher Premiership and for the England national team. Born in Australia to Tongan parents, he qualified for England throu ...

(England) and

Codie Taylor Codie Joshua Dane Taylor (born 31 March 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union footballer who plays as a hooker for Crusaders in Super Rugby, Canterbury in the ITM Cup, and New Zealand internationally. Having grown up in Feilding and Levin before ...

(New Zealand) earned their 50th test caps. *This was New Zealand's first Rugby World Cup loss since losing to France 20–18 in the 2007 Rugby World Cup quarter-final. *This was England's first win over New Zealand in a Rugby World Cup match, their first win since defeating them 38–21 in 2012, and their first win away from Twickenham since a 15−13 win in Wellington in 2003. *New Zealand failed to score in the first half of a World Cup match for the first time since their 16–6 defeat to Australia in the 1991 World Cup semi-final, and for the first time in any match since England beat them 38–21 in December 2012. *Measured by points deficit, this result equaled New Zealand's biggest ever World Cup defeat, matching the 12-point losses to France in the 1999 World Cup semi-final (43-31) and to Australia in the 2003 World Cup semi-final (22-10). *This victory meant England climbed to the top of the World Rugby rankings for the first time since 2004. It also meant New Zealand dropped to third, equalling their lowest position since the rankings were introduced.

Wales vs South Africa

Notes: * Gareth Davies (Wales) earned his 50th test cap.

Bronze final: New Zealand vs Wales

Final: England vs South Africa

Notes: *

Siya Kolisi Siyamthanda Kolisi (born 16 June 1991) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently captains the South Africa national team and also the Cell C Sharks. He plays club rugby for the in the Currie Cup. He generally plays as a ...

(South Africa) earned his 50th test cap. *

François Steyn François Philippus Lodewyk Steyn (born 14 May 1987) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and Cheetahs (rugby union) in Pro 14. He usually plays at inside centre, fullback ...

(South Africa) became the second Springbok player to win two World Cups. *

Jérôme Garcès Jérôme Garcès (born 24 October 1973, in Pau) is a French rugby union referee who regularly officiates high-profile club matches in tournaments such as Pro14, Top 14 and the Heineken Cup. He made his first full international appearance in 20 ...

became the first French referee to take charge of a Rugby World Cup final. *South Africa became the first Southern Hemisphere team to win

The Rugby Championship The Rugby Championship is an international rugby union competition contested annually by Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa. These are the four highest ranked national teams in the Southern Hemisphere; the Six Nations is a s ...

(previously the Tri Nations) and the Rugby World Cup in the same year. *South Africa became the first team to win the Rugby World Cup having lost a match during the pool stage. *This was the first final in which South Africa scored a try, and the one in which they scored the most points, more than they had in their previous two finals combined. It was also the most points England had scored in a final when finishing on the losing side. *England and South Africa became the third pair of nations to face each other on two separate occasions in a World Cup final (previously having contested the 2007 final) after England and Australia (1991 and 2003) and France and New Zealand (1987 and 2011). *South Africa came into the match as the only nation to have contested at least one World Cup final to have never lost in the final - this remains the case.

References

External links

World Rugby official site
{{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup

knockout stage A single-elimination, knockout, or sudden death tournament is a type of elimination tournament where the loser of each match-up is immediately eliminated from the tournament. Each winner will play another in the next round, until the final matc ...

2019–20 in Japanese rugby union

World Cup A world cup is a global sporting competition in which the participant entities – usually international teams or individuals representing their countries – compete for the title of world champion. The event most associated with the concept i ...