2015 Rugby World Cup knockout stage

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.^[1]^[2]^[3]

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,^[4] 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.^[5]^[6]

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.^[7]
The nine tries scored by New Zealand is the most scored by one team in a Rugby World Cup knockout stage match.^{[citation needed]}
With his hat-trick of tries in this match, Julian Savea equalled Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana's single-tournament record of eight tries.^[8]

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.^[9]
This was Argentina's largest winning margin over Ireland, surpassing the 16-point margin recorded in June 2007.^[10]

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.^[11]
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.^[12]
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.^[13]

Semi-finals

This was the first Rugby World Cup where no Northern Hemisphere team reached the semi-finals.^[14] 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.^[15]
New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams, Jerome Kaino and Sam Whitelock played in a record 13 consecutive World Cup wins.^[16]

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.^[17]
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.^[18]

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.^[19]

Final: New Zealand vs Australia

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.^[20]
This was the first time New Zealand won the World Cup on foreign soil.^[21]
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.^[16]
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.

References

^ "World Cup 2015 schedule". BBC Sport. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.
^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Our experts predict their winners and reflect on tournament so far". Daily Telegraph. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
^ "As the pool stages end, our writers rate the Rugby World Cup so far". The Guardian. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.
^ Kitson, Robert (19 September 2015). "Japan beat South Africa in greatest Rugby World Cup shock ever". The Observer. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Quarter-finals - The stats you need to know". New Zealand Herald. 16 October 2015. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 24 October 2015.
^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: fixtures, results and standings". BBC Sport. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.
^ "Rugby World Cup: New Zealand beat France 62-13 to reach semis". BBC Sport. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
^ "Savea plays down Lomu comparison". Sporting Life. 18 October 2015. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Ireland 20-43 Argentina". BBC Sport. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
^ "Ireland 20-43 Argentina: how World Cup quarter-final was won and lost". Guardian. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
^ rugbybworldcup.com. "Ross Ford and Jonny Gray back in Scotland starting team". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
^ "Australia 35 Scotland 34". Guardian. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.
^ rugbybworldcup.com. "World Rugby Statement: Match officials' performance review (Australia v Scotland)". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.
^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: Rugby Championship downs Six Nations". New Zealand Herald. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.
^ "Rugby World Cup 2015: South Africa 18-20 New Zealand". BBC Sport. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
^ ^a ^b "Rugby: All Blacks unchanged for final". Otago Daily Times. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.
^ "Wallabies flanker Michael Hooper brings up his 50th Test against Argentina". Fox Sports Australia. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.
^ "Rugby World Cup: Australia beat Argentina to reach final". BBC Sport. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.
^ Lambley, Garrin (31 October 2015). "Habana praises 50-Test cap Lambie". sport24. Retrieved 11 July 2017.
^ "It's official - this New Zealand side are the greatest rugby union team ever". Daily Telegraph. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.
^ "New Zealand retain Rugby World Cup with ruthless display against Australia". the Guardian. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2021.

[BBC_fixtures-1] "World Cup 2015 schedule". BBC Sport. 2 May 2013. Retrieved 2 May 2013.

[2] "Rugby World Cup 2015: Our experts predict their winners and reflect on tournament so far". Daily Telegraph. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.

[3] "As the pool stages end, our writers rate the Rugby World Cup so far". The Guardian. 12 October 2015. Retrieved 13 October 2015.

[4] Kitson, Robert (19 September 2015). "Japan beat South Africa in greatest Rugby World Cup shock ever". The Observer. Retrieved 24 October 2015.

[5] "Rugby World Cup 2015: Quarter-finals - The stats you need to know". New Zealand Herald. 16 October 2015. ISSN 1170-0777. Retrieved 24 October 2015.

[6] "Rugby World Cup 2015: fixtures, results and standings". BBC Sport. 23 April 2015. Retrieved 4 November 2015.

[7] "Rugby World Cup: New Zealand beat France 62-13 to reach semis". BBC Sport. 17 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.

[8] "Savea plays down Lomu comparison". Sporting Life. 18 October 2015. Archived from the original on 29 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[9] "Rugby World Cup 2015: Ireland 20-43 Argentina". BBC Sport. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.

[10] "Ireland 20-43 Argentina: how World Cup quarter-final was won and lost". Guardian. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.

[11] rugbybworldcup.com. "Ross Ford and Jonny Gray back in Scotland starting team". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.

[12] "Australia 35 Scotland 34". Guardian. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 20 October 2015.

[13] rugbybworldcup.com. "World Rugby Statement: Match officials' performance review (Australia v Scotland)". rugbyworldcup.com. Retrieved 14 September 2017.

[14] "Rugby World Cup 2015: Rugby Championship downs Six Nations". New Zealand Herald. 18 October 2015. Retrieved 18 October 2015.

[15] "Rugby World Cup 2015: South Africa 18-20 New Zealand". BBC Sport. 24 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.

[auto-16] "Rugby: All Blacks unchanged for final". Otago Daily Times. 30 October 2015. Retrieved 30 October 2015.

[17] "Wallabies flanker Michael Hooper brings up his 50th Test against Argentina". Fox Sports Australia. 23 October 2015. Retrieved 26 October 2015.

[18] "Rugby World Cup: Australia beat Argentina to reach final". BBC Sport. 25 October 2015. Retrieved 28 October 2015.

[19] Lambley, Garrin (31 October 2015). "Habana praises 50-Test cap Lambie". sport24. Retrieved 11 July 2017.

[20] "It's official - this New Zealand side are the greatest rugby union team ever". Daily Telegraph. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 2 November 2015.

[21] "New Zealand retain Rugby World Cup with ruthless display against Australia". the Guardian. 31 October 2015. Retrieved 29 July 2021.

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v t e 2015 Rugby World Cup
Stages	Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D Knockout stage Final
General	Qualifying Squads Statistics Warm-up matches

v t e Rugby World Cup
Tournaments	Australia / New Zealand 1987 England / France / Ireland / Scotland / Wales 1991 South Africa 1995 Wales 1999 Australia 2003 France 2007 New Zealand 2011 England 2015 Japan 2019 France 2023 Australia 2027 United States 2031
Qualifying	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Knockout stages	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Finals	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Squads	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Statistics	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Overview	History Hosts Qualification Theme song Trophy
Overall records	All-time table Hat-tricks Multiple winners Records and statistics Red cards Team appearances Try scorers
Notes: There was no qualification for the 1987 World Cup as places were given by invitation only.