Pool B of the 2019 Rugby World Cup began on 21 September 2019. The pool included title holders

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 ...

and third-placed team from 2015

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 ...

, while

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 ...

also joined the pool after finishing third in their pool in 2015. They were joined by the African qualifier,

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 ...

, and the repechage winner,

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 ...

. Neither of the final two matches in the pool were played due to the effects of

Typhoon Hagibis Typhoon Hagibis, known in Japan as Typhoon No.19 or , was a large and costly tropical cyclone that caused widespread destruction in Japan. The thirty-eighth depression, ninth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 2019 Pacific typhoon season, ...

; New Zealand were a point behind South Africa, who had played all four of their matches, going into the final game against Italy, so the two points awarded for the cancelled match saw New Zealand take top spot in the pool, while Italy finished third behind South Africa. Neither Namibia nor Canada managed a win in their first three matches, and the cancellation of their final match meant they finished level on points, with Namibia finishing higher on points difference.

Overview

Pool B started with

beating

23–13. New Zealand opened their scoring with two tries in four minutes from

George Bridge George Crispin Bridge (born 1 April 1995) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as an outside back for in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup and for the in the international Super Rugby competition. Bridge made his inte ...

and Scott Barrett giving New Zealand a 17–3 lead at half-time. Pieter-Steph du Toit scored a converted try to bring the score back to 17–10 but two penalties from

Richie Mo'unga Richard Fou'a Mo'unga (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a first five-eighth for in the Bunnings NPC, the in Super Rugby, and the New Zealand national team, the All Blacks. Early life Mo'unga was bo ...

and

Beauden Barrett Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player. He plays as a Fly-half (rugby union), First five-eighth (fly-half) and Fullback (rugby union), fullback for Taranaki Rugby Football Union, Taranaki in the Mitre 10 Cu ...

sealed the result. In

Higashiōsaka is a city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 489,077 in 233,124 households and a population density of 7900 persons per km². The total area of the city is . The city is known as one of the industrial ci ...

conceded an early try against

before running away with a bonus-point victory by 25 points. Italy earned a second bonus-point victory in Fukuoka, scoring seven tries in a 48–7 demolition of

. Over in Toyota, South Africa defeated Namibia by 54 points, scoring nine tries while Namibia could manage only a

Cliven Loubser Cliven Sven James Loubser (born 24 February 1997) is a Namibian rugby union player for the n national team and for in the Varsity Cup. His regular position is fly-half. He also plays for the Utah Warriors of Major League Rugby Major Lea ...

penalty in the 23rd minute. New Zealand recorded their second victory of the World Cup with a 63–0 victory over Canada at

Ōita Stadium is a retractable roof, multi-purpose stadium in the city of Ōita in Ōita Prefecture on Kyushu Island in Japan. The stadium will be called from 1 January 2023 as an abbreviated form, by naming rights. It was formerly called as , due to spon ...

. For New Zealand,

Brad Weber Brad McCormick Weber (born 17 January 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a halfback for in the National Provincial Championship and the in Super Rugby. Early life Brother of Napier Marist rugby player Sam Webe ...

scored his first two tries in international rugby with the Barrett brothers (

Jordie Barrett Jordan Matthew Barrett (born 17 February 1997) is a New Zealand rugby union player who currently plays as a utility back internationally for New Zealand's All Blacks, and for the Hurricanes in the Super Rugby competition. Having previously been ...

and Scott Barrett) each scoring a try as they became first trio of brothers to start for New Zealand. New Zealand would continue their demolition of their opponents with a 62-point win over Namibia in

Chōfu is a city in the western side of Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 238,087, and a population density of 11,000 per km². the total area of the city is . Geography Chōfu is approximately in the south-center of ...

, with the floodgates opening in the second half after Namibia restricted the All Blacks to 24 points in the first half.

Sevu Reece Sevuloni Lasei Reece (born 13 February 1997) is a rugby union player who currently plays as a wing for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and in the Bunnings NPC. Born in Fiji, he moved to New Zealand in 2014. He made his debut for the New Zealand na ...

, Ben Smith and

Anton Lienert-Brown Anton Russell Lienert-Brown (born 15 April 1995) is a New Zealand Rugby Union, rugby union player who currently plays as a Centre (rugby union), second five-eighth or Centre (rugby union), Centre for the in Super Rugby, and in the Mitre 10 Cu ...

scoring two tries in the match. Between the two New Zealand games, South Africa romped over Italy with

Cheslin Kolbe Cheslin Kolbe (born 28 October 1993) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for the South Africa national team and for in the Top 14 in France. His regular position is Wing (rugby union), wing, but he also plays ...

scoring two tries as the South Africans won 49–3 in

Fukuroi 270px, Shizuoka Stadium is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 88,395 in 34,842 households, and a population density of 820 persons per km². The total area of the city was . Fukuroi is a me ...

. This was followed by a 66–7 victory over Canada with

Cobus Reinach Jacobus Meyer Reinach (born 7 February 1990) is a South African professional rugby union player who plays for the Top 14 side Montpellier and South Africa. His playing position is scrum-half and he is the son of former Springbok winger Ja ...

scoring the fastest hat-trick in World Cup history, with his three tries being scored in a space of 11 minutes. The final two matches of the group would not be played as

would see the cancellation of the New Zealand–Italy and Namibia–Canada matches. At the end of the pool stage, New Zealand finished on top of the table with South Africa finishing second.

Standings

''All times are local

Japan Standard Time , or , is the standard time zone in Japan, 9 hours ahead of UTC ( UTC+09:00). Japan does not observe daylight saving time, though its introduction has been debated on several occasions. During World War II, the time zone was often referred to a ...

(

UTC+09 UTC+09:00 is an identifier for a time offset from UTC of +09:00. During the Japanese occupations of British Borneo, Burma, Hong Kong, Dutch East Indies, Malaya, Philippines, Singapore, and French Indochina, it was used as a common time wit ...

)''

New Zealand vs South Africa

Notes: * Duane Vermeulen (South Africa) earned his 50th test cap.

Italy vs Namibia

Notes: * PJ Walters (Namibia) made his international debut. * Darryl de la Harpe (Namibia) earned his 50th test cap.

Italy vs Canada

Notes: *

Djustice Sears-Duru Djustice Sears-Duru (born 24 May 1994) is a Canada international rugby union prop who plays for Ealing Trailfinders and the San Diego Legion in Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for the Seattle Seawolves and the LA Giltinis in t ...

(Canada) earned his 50th test cap. *This was Italy's biggest winning margin at a Rugby World Cup.

South Africa vs Namibia

New Zealand vs Canada

Notes: *

and Scott Barrett became the first trio of brothers to start for New Zealand in a World Cup match, and the first to all start in a World Cup match since Elisi Vunipola, Manu Vunipola, and Fe'ao Vunipola all played for Tonga in 1995. The Barrett brothers also became the first trio of brothers to all score a try in the same match. *

's eight successful conversion attempts is the most without missing in a Rugby World Cup match.

South Africa vs Italy

Notes: *

Sergio Parisse Sergio Francesco Parisse (; born 12 September 1983) is an Italian rugby union player. He currently plays for French club Toulon and played for the Italy national team from 2002 until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Parisse is Italy's most-capped player ...

played in his 15th World Cup match, an Italian record. *

Andrea Lovotti Andrea Lovotti (born 28 July 1989) is an Italian rugby union player who plays as a Prop. He currently plays for Colorno in Top10. He grew up in the youth sporting team of Piacenza Gossolengo, in 2008-09 season he passed to Rugby Calvisano. Aft ...

became the fourth player to receive a red during the 2019 World Cup, matching a tournament high set 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 ...

and 1999. *With injuries to both the starting tighthead and reserve tighthead for Italy, scrums went uncontested from the 18th minute. *No replacement was issued for Cheslin Kolbe.

New Zealand vs Namibia

South Africa vs Canada

Notes: *

(South Africa) scored the fastest hat-trick in a World Cup match, with just 11 minutes between his first and third tries.

New Zealand vs Italy

Notes: *As a result of inclement weather caused by

this match was cancelled and awarded as a 0–0 draw.

Namibia vs Canada

Notes: *Despite both teams naming their sides, this match was cancelled following an evacuation order in Kamaishi during

and awarded as a 0–0 draw.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup

Pool B 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 ...

2019–20 in Italian rugby union 2019 in South African rugby union 2019 in New Zealand rugby union