2015 Rugby World Cup knockout stage

Main article: 2015 Rugby World Cup

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.

Qualified teams

Australia 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, 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.

Pool	Winners	Runners-up
A	Australia	Wales
B	South Africa	Scotland
C	New Zealand	Argentina
D	Ireland	France

Bracket

	Quarter-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

South Africa vs Wales

17 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

Wales

FB 15 Willie le Roux RW 14 JP Pietersen OC 13 Jesse Kriel  68' IC 12 Damian de Allende LW 11 Bryan Habana FH 10 Handré Pollard  77' SH 9 Fourie du Preez (c) N8 8 Duane Vermeulen OF 7 Schalk Burger BF 6 Francois Louw  68' RL 5 Lood de Jager LL 4 Eben Etzebeth  68' TP 3 Frans Malherbe  61' HK 2 Bismarck du Plessis 12' to 24'  56' LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira  57' Replacements: HK 16 Adriaan Strauss  12'  24'  56' PR 17 Trevor Nyakane  57' PR 18 Jannie du Plessis  61' LK 19 Pieter-Steph du Toit  68' FL 20 Willem Alberts  68' SH 21 Ruan Pienaar FH 22 Pat Lambie  77' CE 23 Jan Serfontein  68' Coach: Heyneke Meyer

FB 15 Gareth Anscombe RW 14 Alex Cuthbert OC 13 Tyler Morgan  68' IC 12 Jamie Roberts LW 11 George North FH 10 Dan Biggar  74' SH 9 Gareth Davies  71' N8 8 Taulupe Faletau OF 7 Sam Warburton (c) BF 6 Dan Lydiate  68' RL 5 Alun Wyn Jones LL 4 Luke Charteris  64' TP 3 Samson Lee  56' HK 2 Scott Baldwin  57' LP 1 Gethin Jenkins  56' Replacements: HK 16 Ken Owens  57' PR 17 Paul James  56' PR 18 Tomas Francis  56' LK 19 Bradley Davies  64' FL 20 Justin Tipuric  68' SH 21 Lloyd Williams  71' FH 22 Rhys Priestland  74' CE 23 James Hook  68' Coach: Warren Gatland

Man of the Match: Schalk Burger (South Africa) Touch judges: George Clancy (Ireland) JP Doyle (England) Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)

New Zealand vs France

17 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

France

FB 15 Ben Smith RW 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder  40' OC 13 Conrad Smith  52' IC 12 Ma'a Nonu LW 11 Julian Savea FH 10 Dan Carter SH 9 Aaron Smith  65' N8 8 Kieran Read OF 7 Richie McCaw (c)  69' BF 6 Jerome Kaino  65' RL 5 Sam Whitelock LL 4 Brodie Retallick TP 3 Owen Franks  51' HK 2 Dane Coles  60' LP 1 Wyatt Crockett  25' Replacements: HK 16 Keven Mealamu  60' PR 17 Joe Moody  25' PR 18 Charlie Faumuina  51' N8 19 Victor Vito  65' FL 20 Sam Cane  69' SH 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow  65' FH 22 Beauden Barrett  40' CE 23 Sonny Bill Williams  52' Coach: Steve Hansen

FB 15 Scott Spedding RW 14 Noa Nakaitaci OC 13 Alexandre Dumoulin  61' IC 12 Wesley Fofana LW 11 Brice Dulin FH 10 Frédéric Michalak  12' SH 9 Morgan Parra  69' N8 8 Louis Picamoles  47'  72' OF 7 Bernard Le Roux BF 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c) RL 5 Yoann Maestri LL 4 Pascal Papé  48' TP 3 Rabah Slimani  61' HK 2 Guilhem Guirado  57' LP 1 Eddy Ben Arous  61' Replacements: HK 16 Dimitri Szarzewski  57' PR 17 Vincent Debaty  61' PR 18 Nicolas Mas  61' N8 19 Damien Chouly  72' FL 20 Yannick Nyanga  48' SH 21 Rory Kockott  69' FH 22 Rémi Talès  12' CE 23 Mathieu Bastareaud  61' Coach: Philippe Saint-André

Man of the Match: Julian Savea (New Zealand) Touch judges: Jaco Peyper (South Africa) John Lacey (Ireland) Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

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.
• The nine tries scored by New Zealand is the most scored by one team in a Rugby World Cup knockout stage match.
• With his hat-trick of tries in this match, Julian Savea equalled Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana's single-tournament record of eight tries.

Ireland vs Argentina

18 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

Argentina

FB 15 Rob Kearney RW 14 Tommy Bowe  13' OC 13 Keith Earls IC 12 Robbie Henshaw LW 11 Dave Kearney FH 10 Ian Madigan SH 9 Conor Murray  70' N8 8 Jamie Heaslip (c) OF 7 Chris Henry BF 6 Jordi Murphy  70' RL 5 Iain Henderson  71' LL 4 Devin Toner TP 3 Mike Ross  51' HK 2 Rory Best  66' LP 1 Cian Healy  51' Replacements: HK 16 Richardt Strauss  66' PR 17 Jack McGrath  51' PR 18 Nathan White  51' LK 19 Donnacha Ryan  71' FL 20 Rhys Ruddock  70' SH 21 Eoin Reddan  70' FH 22 Paddy Jackson WG 23 Luke Fitzgerald  13' Coach: Joe Schmidt

FB 15 Joaquín Tuculet RW 14 Santiago Cordero OC 13 Matías Moroni  68' IC 12 Juan Martín Hernández LW 11 Juan Imhoff FH 10 Nicolás Sánchez SH 9 Martín Landajo  53' N8 8 Leonardo Senatore  23'  28'  51' OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe BF 6 Pablo Matera RL 5 Tomás Lavanini LL 4 Guido Petti  60' TP 3 Ramiro Herrera  17'  72' HK 2 Agustín Creevy (c)  56' LP 1 Marcos Ayerza  68' Replacements: HK 16 Julián Montoya  56' PR 17 Lucas Noguera Paz  68' PR 18 Juan Pablo Orlandi  23'  28'  72' LK 19 Matías Alemanno  60' N8 20 Facundo Isa  51' SH 21 Tomás Cubelli  53' CE 22 Jerónimo de la Fuente  68' FB 23 Lucas González Amorosino Coach: Daniel Hourcade

Man of the Match: Nicolás Sánchez (Argentina) Touch judges: Romain Poite (France) Chris Pollock (New Zealand) Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)

Notes:

• This was Argentina's first victory over Ireland since their 30–15 victory in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
• This was Argentina's largest winning margin over Ireland, surpassing the 16-point margin recorded in June 2007.

Australia vs Scotland

18 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

Scotland

FB 15 Kurtley Beale RW 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper OC 13 Tevita Kuridrani IC 12 Matt Giteau LW 11 Drew Mitchell FH 10 Bernard Foley SH 9 Will Genia  71' N8 8 Ben McCalman OF 7 Michael Hooper BF 6 Scott Fardy RL 5 Rob Simmons  66' LL 4 Kane Douglas TP 3 Sekope Kepu  54' HK 2 Stephen Moore (c)  62' LP 1 Scott Sio  51' Replacements: HK 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau  62' PR 17 James Slipper  51' PR 18 Greg Holmes  54' LK 19 Dean Mumm  66' FL 20 Sean McMahon SH 21 Nick Phipps  71' CE 22 Matt To'omua FH 23 Quade Cooper Coach: Michael Cheika

FB 15 Stuart Hogg RW 14 Sean Maitland  42' OC 13 Mark Bennett IC 12 Peter Horne  71' LW 11 Tommy Seymour  63' FH 10 Finn Russell SH 9 Greig Laidlaw (c) N8 8 David Denton OF 7 John Hardie BF 6 Blair Cowan  67' RL 5 Jonny Gray  67' LL 4 Richie Gray TP 3 WP Nel  75' HK 2 Ross Ford  54' LP 1 Alasdair Dickinson  47' Replacements: HK 16 Fraser Brown  54' PR 17 Gordon Reid  47' PR 18 Jon Welsh  75' LK 19 Tim Swinson  67' N8 20 Josh Strauss  67' SH 21 Henry Pyrgos CE 22 Richie Vernon  71' WG 23 Sean Lamont  63' Coach: Vern Cotter

Man of the Match: Matt Giteau (Australia) Touch judges: Glen Jackson (New Zealand) Pascal Gaüzère (France) Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

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.
• 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.
• 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.

Semi-finals

This was the first Rugby World Cup where no Northern Hemisphere team reached the semi-finals. 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

24 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

New Zealand

FB 15 Willie le Roux RW 14 JP Pietersen OC 13 Jesse Kriel IC 12 Damian de Allende  79' LW 11 Bryan Habana  52' FH 10 Handré Pollard  65' SH 9 Fourie du Preez (c) N8 8 Duane Vermeulen OF 7 Schalk Burger  64' BF 6 Francois Louw 29' to 35' RL 5 Lood de Jager  60' LL 4 Eben Etzebeth TP 3 Frans Malherbe  60' HK 2 Bismarck du Plessis  53' LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira  53' Replacements: HK 16 Adriaan Strauss  53' PR 17 Trevor Nyakane  53' PR 18 Jannie du Plessis  60' LK 19 Victor Matfield  60' FL 20 Willem Alberts  29'  35'  64' SH 21 Ruan Pienaar FH 22 Pat Lambie  65' CE 23 Jan Serfontein  79' Coach: Heyneke Meyer

FB 15 Ben Smith RW 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder  49' OC 13 Conrad Smith IC 12 Ma'a Nonu  52' LW 11 Julian Savea FH 10 Dan Carter SH 9 Aaron Smith N8 8 Kieran Read OF 7 Richie McCaw (c) BF 6 Jerome Kaino  39'  67' RL 5 Sam Whitelock LL 4 Brodie Retallick TP 3 Owen Franks  52' HK 2 Dane Coles  67' LP 1 Joe Moody  69' Replacements: HK 16 Keven Mealamu  67' PR 17 Ben Franks  69' PR 18 Charlie Faumuina  52' N8 19 Victor Vito FL 20 Sam Cane  67' SH 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow FH 22 Beauden Barrett  49' CE 23 Sonny Bill Williams  52' Coach: Steve Hansen

Man of the Match: Ben Smith (New Zealand) Touch judges: Romain Poite (France) John Lacey (Ireland) Television match official: George Ayoub (Australia)

Notes:

• New Zealand became the first team to reach four Rugby World Cup finals, having previously played in the 1987, 1995, and 2011 finals.
• New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams, Jerome Kaino and Sam Whitelock played in a record 13 consecutive World Cup wins.

Argentina vs Australia

25 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

Australia

FB 15 Joaquín Tuculet RW 14 Santiago Cordero OC 13 Marcelo Bosch IC 12 Juan Martín Hernández  44' LW 11 Juan Imhoff  18' FH 10 Nicolás Sánchez SH 9 Martín Landajo  56' N8 8 Leonardo Senatore  49' OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe BF 6 Pablo Matera RL 5 Tomás Lavanini  26' LL 4 Guido Petti  58' TP 3 Ramiro Herrera  61' HK 2 Agustín Creevy (c)  31' LP 1 Marcos Ayerza  61' Replacements: HK 16 Julián Montoya  31' PR 17 Lucas Noguera Paz  61' PR 18 Juan Figallo  61' LK 19 Matías Alemanno  58' N8 20 Facundo Isa  49' SH 21 Tomás Cubelli  56' CE 22 Jerónimo de la Fuente  44' FB 23 Lucas González Amorosino  18' Coach: Daniel Hourcade

FB 15 Israel Folau  65' RW 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper OC 13 Tevita Kuridrani IC 12 Matt Giteau  47' LW 11 Drew Mitchell FH 10 Bernard Foley SH 9 Will Genia  67' N8 8 David Pocock OF 7 Michael Hooper BF 6 Scott Fardy 56' to 61'  71' RL 5 Rob Simmons  67' LL 4 Kane Douglas TP 3 Sekope Kepu  53' HK 2 Stephen Moore (c)  59' LP 1 James Slipper  53' Replacements: HK 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau  59' PR 17 Toby Smith  53' PR 18 Greg Holmes  53' LK 19 Dean Mumm  67' N8 20 Ben McCalman  56'  61'  71' SH 21 Nick Phipps  67' CE 22 Matt To'omua  65' CE 23 Kurtley Beale  47' Coach: Michael Cheika

Man of the Match: Adam Ashley-Cooper (Australia) Touch judges: Jaco Peyper (South Africa) George Clancy (Ireland) Television match official: Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

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.
• 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.

Bronze final: South Africa vs Argentina

30 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

Argentina

FB 15 Willie le Roux  64' RW 14 JP Pietersen OC 13 Jesse Kriel IC 12 Damian de Allende LW 11 Bryan Habana  67' FH 10 Handré Pollard SH 9 Ruan Pienaar  77' N8 8 Duane Vermeulen OF 7 Schalk Burger  53'  61'  66' BF 6 Francois Louw 61' to 66' RL 5 Victor Matfield (c)  63' LL 4 Eben Etzebeth TP 3 Frans Malherbe  61'  70' HK 2 Bismarck du Plessis  49' LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira  40' Replacements: HK 16 Adriaan Strauss  49' PR 17 Trevor Nyakane  40' PR 18 Jannie du Plessis  61'  70' LK 19 Lood de Jager  63' FL 20 Willem Alberts  53' SH 21 Rudy Paige  77' FH 22 Pat Lambie  64' CE 23 Jan Serfontein  67' Coach: Heyneke Meyer

FB 15 Lucas González Amorosino RW 14 Santiago Cordero OC 13 Matías Moroni IC 12 Jerónimo de la Fuente  71' LW 11 Horacio Agulla  58' FH 10 Nicolás Sánchez (c) SH 9 Tomás Cubelli  5'  53' N8 8 Juan Manuel Leguizamón OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe  53' BF 6 Javier Ortega Desio RL 5 Tomás Lavanini LL 4 Matías Alemanno  47' TP 3 Ramiro Herrera  55' HK 2 Julián Montoya  77' LP 1 Juan Figallo 15' to 22'  61'  64'  71' Replacements: PR 16 Lucas Noguera Paz  15'  22'  61' 64' to 71' PR 17 Juan Pablo Orlandi  55' PR 18 Santiago García Botta  77' LK 19 Guido Petti  47' N8 20 Facundo Isa  53' SH 21 Martín Landajo  53' FH 22 Santiago González Iglesias  71' CE 23 Juan Pablo Socino  58' Coach: Daniel Hourcade

Man of the Match: Damian de Allende (South Africa) Touch judges: Glen Jackson (New Zealand) Chris Pollock (New Zealand) Television match official: Graham Hughes (England)

Notes:

• Pat Lambie earned his 50th test cap for South Africa.

Final: New Zealand vs Australia

Main article: 2015 Rugby World Cup final

31 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

Australia

FB 15 Ben Smith  52' RW 14 Nehe Milner-Skudder  65' OC 13 Conrad Smith  40' IC 12 Ma'a Nonu LW 11 Julian Savea FH 10 Dan Carter SH 9 Aaron Smith  71' N8 8 Kieran Read OF 7 Richie McCaw (c)  80' BF 6 Jerome Kaino  71' RL 5 Sam Whitelock LL 4 Brodie Retallick TP 3 Owen Franks  54' HK 2 Dane Coles  65' LP 1 Joe Moody  59' Replacements: HK 16 Keven Mealamu  65' PR 17 Ben Franks  59' PR 18 Charlie Faumuina  54' N8 19 Victor Vito  71' FL 20 Sam Cane  80' SH 21 Tawera Kerr-Barlow  71' FH 22 Beauden Barrett  65' CE 23 Sonny Bill Williams  40' Coach: Steve Hansen

FB 15 Israel Folau RW 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper OC 13 Tevita Kuridrani IC 12 Matt Giteau  26' LW 11 Drew Mitchell  66'  71' FH 10 Bernard Foley SH 9 Will Genia  70' N8 8 David Pocock OF 7 Michael Hooper BF 6 Scott Fardy  61' RL 5 Rob Simmons LL 4 Kane Douglas  15' TP 3 Sekope Kepu  59' HK 2 Stephen Moore (c)  55' LP 1 Scott Sio  59' Replacements: HK 16 Tatafu Polota-Nau  55' PR 17 James Slipper  59' PR 18 Greg Holmes  59' LK 19 Dean Mumm  15' N8 20 Ben McCalman  61' SH 21 Nick Phipps  70' CE 22 Matt To'omua  66'  71' CE 23 Kurtley Beale  26' Coach: Michael Cheika

Man of the Match: Dan Carter (New Zealand) Touch judges: Jérôme Garcès (France) Wayne Barnes (England) Television match official: Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Notes:

• New Zealand became the first team to retain the Rugby World Cup title, and win a third World Cup title.
• This was the first time New Zealand won the World Cup on foreign soil.
• 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.
• 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.