2003 Rugby World Cup Pool B

Pool B was one of four pools at the 2003 Rugby World Cup into which the 20 participating teams were divided. The pool included 1999 quarter-finalists France and Scotland, who both qualified automatically having reached the quarter-finals of the 1999 tournament, along with Fiji, the United States and Japan. ^[1]

Teams

Team	Method of qualification	Date of qualification	Apps.	Last	Previous best performance	IRB World Ranking (6 October 2003)
France	Quarter-finalists in 1999	16 October 1999	5th	1999	Runners-up (1987, 1999)	5
Scotland	Quarter-finalists in 1999	20 October 1999	5th	1999	Fourth place (1991)	9
Fiji	Oceania 1	28 June 2002 [2]	4th	1999	Quarter-finals (1987)	11
United States	Repechage 1	27 April 2003 [3]	4th	1999	Pool stage (1987, 1991, 1999)	14
Japan	Asia 1	14 July 2002	5th	1999	Pool stage (1987, 1991, 1995, 1999)	18

Standings

Pos	Team	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	B	Pts	Qualification
1	France	4	4	0	0	204	70	+134	4	20	Advance to quarter-finals, and qualification to the 2007 Rugby World Cup
2	Scotland	4	3	0	1	102	97	+5	2	14
3	Fiji	4	2	0	2	98	114	−16	2	10	Qualification to the 2007 Rugby World Cup
4	United States	4	1	0	3	86	125	−39	2	6
5	Japan	4	0	0	4	79	163	−84	0	0

Source: ^{[ citation needed ]}

In the quarter-finals:

• The winners of Pool B advanced to play the runners-up of Pool A.
• The runners-up of Pool B advanced to play the winners of Pool A.

Matches

France vs Fiji

11 October 2003

France	61–18	Fiji
Try: Dominici (2) Harinordoquy Jauzion (3) Ibañez Con: Michalak (4) Pen: Michalak (6)	Report	Try: Naevo Caucaunibuca Con: Little Pen: Little (2)

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 46,795 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)

FB 15 Nicolas Brusque RW 14 Aurélien Rougerie OC 13 Tony Marsh IC 12 Yannick Jauzion LW 11 Christophe Dominici FH 10 Frédéric Michalak SH 9 Fabien Galthié (c) N8 8 Imanol Harinordoquy OF 7 Olivier Magne BF 6 Serge Betsen RL 5 Jérôme Thion LL 4 Fabien Pelous TP 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux HK 2 Raphaël Ibañez LP 1 Jean-Jacques Crenca Replacements: HK 16 Yannick Bru PR 17 Olivier Milloud LK 18 Olivier Brouzet N8 19 Christian Labit FH 20 Gérald Merceron CE 21 Damien Traille WG 22 Pépito Elhorga Coach: Bernard Laporte

FB 15 Norman Ligairi RW 14 Vilimoni Delasau OC 13 Aisea Tuilevu IC 12 Seru Rabeni LW 11 Rupeni Caucaunibuca FH 10 Nicky Little SH 9 Mosese Rauluni N8 8 Alifereti Doviverata (c) OF 7 Kitione Salawa BF 6 Sisa Koyamaibole RL 5 Apenisa Naevo LL 4 Ifereimi Rawaqa TP 3 Joeli Veitayaki HK 2 Greg Smith LP 1 Richard Nyholt Replacements: HK 16 Bill Gadolo PR 17 Nacanieli Seru LK 18 Kele Leawere LK 19 Vula Maimuri SH 20 Samisoni Rabaka FH 21 Waisale Serevi WG 22 Marika Vunibaka Coach: Mac McCallion

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Scotland vs Japan

12 October 2003

Scotland	32–11	Japan
Try: Paterson (2) Grimes Taylor Danielli Con: Paterson Townsend Pen: Paterson	Report	Try: Onozawa Pen: Hirose (2)

Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Attendance: 19,170 Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia)

FB 15 Ben Hinshelwood RW 14 Chris Paterson OC 13 Andy Craig IC 12 James McLaren LW 11 Kenny Logan FH 10 Gordon Ross SH 9 Bryan Redpath (c) N8 8 Jon Petrie OF 7 Simon Taylor BF 6 Jason White RL 5 Stuart Grimes LL 4 Scott Murray TP 3 Bruce Douglas HK 2 Robbie Russell LP 1 Tom Smith Replacements: HK 16 Gordon Bulloch PR 17 Gavin Kerr FL 18 Ross Beattie FL 19 Martin Leslie SH 20 Mike Blair FH 21 Gregor Townsend WG 22 Simon Danielli Coach: Ian McGeechan

FB 15 Tsutomu Matsuda RW 14 Daisuke Ohata OC 13 Reuben Parkinson IC 12 Yukio Motoki LW 11 Hirotoki Onozawa FH 10 Keiji Hirose SH 9 Takashi Tsuji N8 8 Takeomi Ito OF 7 Takuro Miuchi (c) BF 6 Naoya Okubo RL 5 Adam Parker LL 4 Hajime Kiso TP 3 Masahiko Toyoyama HK 2 Masao Amino LP 1 Shin Hasegawa Replacements: PR 16 Masahito Yamamoto HK 17 Masaaki Sakata LK 18 Hiroyuki Tanuma FL 19 Yasunori Watanabe SH 20 Yuji Sonoda FH 21 Andrew Miller WG 22 Toru Kurihara Coach: Shogo Mukai

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Fiji vs United States

15 October 2003

Fiji	19–18	United States
Try: Naevo Con: Little Pen: Little (4)	Report	Try: Van Zyl Schubert Con: Hercus Pen: Hercus (2)

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 30,990 Referee: Joël Jutge (France)

FB 15 Alfred Uluinayau RW 14 Marika Vunibaka OC 13 Aisea Tuilevu IC 12 Seru Rabeni LW 11 Vilimoni Delasau FH 10 Nicky Little SH 9 Mosese Rauluni N8 8 Alifereti Doviverata (c) OF 7 Koli Sewabu BF 6 Alfie Mocelutu RL 5 Apenisa Naevo LL 4 Ifereimi Rawaqa TP 3 Joeli Veitayaki HK 2 Greg Smith LP 1 Nacanieli Seru Replacements: HK 16 Bill Gadolo PR 17 Richard Nyholt LK 18 Vula Maimuri FL 19 Sisa Koyamaibole FH 20 Waisale Serevi CE 21 Epeli Ruivadra FB 22 Norman Ligairi Coach: Mac McCallion

FB 15 Paul Emerick RW 14 David Fee OC 13 Philip Eloff IC 12 Kain Cross LW 11 Riaan van Zyl FH 10 Mike Hercus SH 9 Kevin Dalzell N8 8 Dan Lyle OF 7 Dave Hodges (c) BF 6 Kort Schubert RL 5 Luke Gross LL 4 Alec Parker TP 3 Dan Dorsey HK 2 Kirk Khasigian LP 1 Mike MacDonald Replacements: HK 16 Matt Wyatt PR 17 John Tarpoff LK 18 Gerhard Klerck FL 19 Jurie Gouws SH 20 Kimball Kjar CE 21 Salesi Sika FB 22 John Buchholz Coach: Tom Billups

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France vs Japan

18 October 2003

France	51–29	Japan
Try: Michalak Rougerie (2) Pelous Dominici Crenca Con: Michalak (5) Merceron Pen: Michalak (3)	Report	Try: Konia Ohata Con: Kurihara (2) Pen: Kurihara (5)

Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Attendance: 21,309 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)

FB 15 Clément Poitrenaud RW 14 Aurélien Rougerie OC 13 Tony Marsh IC 12 Damien Traille LW 11 Christophe Dominici FH 10 Frédéric Michalak SH 9 Fabien Galthié (c) N8 8 Christian Labit OF 7 Olivier Magne BF 6 Serge Betsen RL 5 Olivier Brouzet LL 4 Fabien Pelous TP 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux HK 2 Yannick Bru LP 1 Olivier Milloud Replacements: HK 16 Raphaël Ibañez PR 17 Jean-Jacques Crenca LK 18 David Auradou FL 19 Sébastien Chabal FH 20 Gérald Merceron CE 21 Yannick Jauzion WG 22 Pépito Elhorga Coach: Bernard Laporte

FB 15 Toru Kurihara RW 14 Daisuke Ohata OC 13 George Konia IC 12 Hideki Nanba LW 11 Hirotoki Onozawa FH 10 Andrew Miller SH 9 Yuji Sonoda N8 8 Takeomi Ito OF 7 Takuro Miuchi (c) BF 6 Naoya Okubo RL 5 Adam Parker LL 4 Hiroyuki Tanuma TP 3 Ryō Yamamura HK 2 Masaaki Sakata LP 1 Shin Hasegawa Replacements: PR 16 Masahito Yamamoto HK 17 Masao Amino LK 18 Koichi Kubo FL 19 Ryota Asano SH 20 Takashi Tsuji CE 21 Yukio Motoki FB 22 Takashi Yoshida Coach: Shogo Mukai

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Scotland vs United States

20 October 2003

Scotland	39–15	United States
Try: Danielli (2) Kerr Townsend Paterson Con: Paterson (4) Pen: Paterson (2)	Report	Pen: Hercus (5)

Suncorp Stadium, Brisbane Attendance: 46,796 Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)

FB 15 Glenn Metcalfe RW 14 Simon Danielli OC 13 Andy Craig IC 12 Andrew Henderson LW 11 Chris Paterson FH 10 Gregor Townsend SH 9 Mike Blair N8 8 Jon Petrie OF 7 Simon Taylor BF 6 Ross Beattie RL 5 Stuart Grimes LL 4 Nathan Hines TP 3 Gavin Kerr HK 2 Gordon Bulloch (c) LP 1 Tom Smith Replacements: HK 16 Robbie Russell PR 17 Bruce Douglas LK 18 Jason White FL 19 Martin Leslie SH 20 Bryan Redpath CE 21 Ben Hinshelwood WG 22 Kenny Logan Coach: Ian McGeechan

FB 15 Paul Emerick RW 14 David Fee OC 13 Philip Eloff IC 12 Kain Cross LW 11 Riaan van Zyl FH 10 Mike Hercus SH 9 Kevin Dalzell N8 8 Dan Lyle OF 7 Dave Hodges (c) BF 6 Kort Schubert RL 5 Luke Gross LL 4 Alec Parker TP 3 Dan Dorsey HK 2 Kirk Khasigian LP 1 Mike MacDonald Replacements: HK 16 Matt Wyatt PR 17 Richard Liddington FL 18 Jurie Gouws FL 19 Oloseti Fifita SH 20 Kimball Kjar WG 21 Jason Keyter FH 22 Link Wilfley Coach: Tom Billups

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Fiji vs Japan

23 October 2003

Fiji	41–13	Japan
Try: Tuilevu (2) Ligairi (2) Vunibaka Con: Little (2) Pen: Little (4)	Report	Try: Miller Con: Miller Pen: Miller Drop: Miller

Dairy Farmers Stadium, Townsville Attendance: 17,269 Referee: Nigel Williams (Wales)

FB 15 Norman Ligairi RW 14 Aisea Tuilevu OC 13 Epeli Ruivadra IC 12 Seru Rabeni LW 11 Vilimoni Delasau FH 10 Waisale Serevi SH 9 Samisoni Rabaka N8 8 Alfie Mocelutu OF 7 Koli Sewabu BF 6 Alifereti Doviverata RL 5 Emori Katalau LL 4 Kele Leawere TP 3 Isaia Rasila HK 2 Greg Smith LP 1 Nacanieli Seru Replacements: HK 16 Bill Gadolo PR 17 Joeli Veitayaki FL 18 Sisa Koyamaibole LK 19 Vula Maimuri SH 20 Mosese Rauluni FH 21 Nicky Little WG 22 Marika Vunibaka Coach: Mac McCallion

FB 15 Tsutomu Matsuda RW 14 Daisuke Ohata OC 13 Reuben Parkinson IC 12 Yukio Motoki LW 11 Hirotoki Onozawa FH 10 Andrew Miller SH 9 Takashi Tsuji N8 8 Takeomi Ito OF 7 Takuro Miuchi (c) BF 6 Naoya Okubo RL 5 Adam Parker LL 4 Hajime Kiso TP 3 Masahiko Toyoyama HK 2 Masaaki Sakata LP 1 Masahito Yamamoto Replacements: PR 16 Shin Hasegawa HK 17 Masao Amino LK 18 Koichi Kubo FL 19 Ryota Asano SH 20 Yuji Sonoda CE 21 George Konia WG 22 Toru Kurihara Coach: Shogo Mukai

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France vs Scotland

25 October 2003

France	51–9	Scotland
Try: Betsen Harinordoquy Michalak Galthié Brusque Con: Michalak (3) Merceron Pen: Michalak (4) Drop: Michalak Brusque	Report	Pen: Paterson (3)

Stadium Australia, Sydney Attendance: 78,974 Referee: David McHugh (Ireland)

FB 15 Nicolas Brusque RW 14 Aurélien Rougerie OC 13 Tony Marsh IC 12 Yannick Jauzion LW 11 Christophe Dominici FH 10 Frédéric Michalak SH 9 Fabien Galthié N8 8 Imanol Harinordoquy OF 7 Olivier Magne BF 6 Serge Betsen RL 5 Jérôme Thion LL 4 Fabien Pelous TP 3 Sylvain Marconnet HK 2 Raphaël Ibañez LP 1 Jean-Jacques Crenca Replacements: HK 16 Yannick Bru PR 17 Olivier Milloud LK 18 Olivier Brouzet FL 19 Patrick Tabacco FH 20 Gérald Merceron CE 21 Damien Traille WG 22 Pépito Elhorga Coach: Bernard Laporte

FB 15 Glenn Metcalfe RW 14 Chris Paterson OC 13 Andy Craig IC 12 Andrew Henderson LW 11 Kenny Logan FH 10 Gregor Townsend SH 9 Bryan Redpath N8 8 Cameron Mather OF 7 Simon Taylor BF 6 Jason White RL 5 Stuart Grimes LL 4 Scott Murray TP 3 Gavin Kerr HK 2 Gordon Bulloch LP 1 Tom Smith Replacements: HK 16 Robbie Russell PR 17 Bruce Douglas LK 18 Nathan Hines FL 19 Ross Beattie SH 20 Mike Blair CE 21 James McLaren WG 22 Simon Danielli Coach: Ian McGeechan

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Japan vs United States

27 October 2003

Japan	26–39	United States
Try: Kurihara Ohata Con: Kurihara (2) Pen: Kurihara (4)	Report	Try: Hercus Eloff Schubert Van Zyl Khasigian Con: Hercus (4) Pen: Hercus (2)

Central Coast Stadium, Gosford Attendance: 19,653 Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)

FB 15 Tsutomu Matsuda RW 14 Daisuke Ohata OC 13 George Konia IC 12 Yukio Motoki LW 11 Toru Kurihara FH 10 Andrew Miller SH 9 Yuji Sonoda N8 8 Takeomi Ito OF 7 Takuro Miuchi (c) BF 6 Naoya Okubo RL 5 Hajime Kiso LL 4 Adam Parker TP 3 Masahiko Toyoyama HK 2 Masao Amino LP 1 Shin Hasegawa Replacements: PR 16 Masahito Yamamoto HK 17 Masaaki Sakata LK 18 Koichi Kubo N8 19 Yuya Saito SH 20 Takashi Tsuji CE 21 Hideki Nanba WG 22 Hirotoki Onozawa Coach: Shogo Mukai

FB 15 Paul Emerick RW 14 David Fee OC 13 Philip Eloff IC 12 Salesi Sika LW 11 Riaan van Zyl FH 10 Mike Hercus SH 9 Kevin Dalzell N8 8 Dan Lyle OF 7 Dave Hodges BF 6 Kort Schubert RL 5 Luke Gross LL 4 Gerhard Klerck TP 3 Dan Dorsey HK 2 Kirk Khasigian LP 1 Mike MacDonald Replacements: HK 16 Matt Wyatt PR 17 Jacob Waasdorp LK 18 Jurie Gouws FL 19 Oloseti Fifita SH 20 Kimball Kjar WG 21 Jason Keyter FB 22 John Buchholz Coach: Tom Billups

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France vs United States

31 October 2003

France	41–14	United States
Try: Liebenberg (3) Poux Bru Con: Merceron (2) Pen: Merceron (3) Drop: Yachvili	Report	Try: Hercus Schubert Con: Hercus (2)

WIN Stadium, Wollongong Attendance: 17,833 Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)

FB 15 Clément Poitrenaud RW 14 Pépito Elhorga OC 13 Brian Liebenberg IC 12 Damien Traille LW 11 David Bory FH 10 Gérald Merceron SH 9 Dimitri Yachvili N8 8 Christian Labit OF 7 Patrick Tabacco BF 6 Sébastien Chabal RL 5 Olivier Brouzet (c) LL 4 David Auradou TP 3 Jean-Baptiste Poux HK 2 Yannick Bru LP 1 Olivier Milloud Replacements: HK 16 Raphaël Ibañez PR 17 Sylvain Marconnet LK 18 Jérôme Thion FL 19 Olivier Magne FH 20 Frédéric Michalak CE 21 Yannick Jauzion WG 22 Aurélien Rougerie Coach: Bernard Laporte

FB 15 John Buchholz RW 14 David Fee OC 13 Philip Eloff IC 12 Salesi Sika LW 11 Riaan van Zyl FH 10 Mike Hercus SH 9 Kevin Dalzell N8 8 Dan Lyle OF 7 Dave Hodges (c) BF 6 Kort Schubert RL 5 Luke Gross LL 4 Alec Parker TP 3 Dan Dorsey HK 2 Kirk Khasigian LP 1 Mike MacDonald Replacements: HK 16 Matt Wyatt PR 17 Jacob Waasdorp LK 18 Gerhard Klerck FL 19 Jurie Gouws FH 20 Matt Sherman WG 21 Jason Keyter SH 22 Mose Timoteo Coach: Tom Billups

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Scotland vs Fiji

1 November 2003

Scotland	22–20	Fiji
Try: Smith Con: Paterson Pen: Paterson (5)	Report	Try: Caucaunibuca (2) Con: Little (2) Pen: Little (2)

Aussie Stadium, Sydney Attendance: 37,137 Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England)

FB 15 Glenn Metcalfe RW 14 Simon Danielli OC 13 Gregor Townsend IC 12 Andrew Henderson LW 11 Kenny Logan FH 10 Chris Paterson SH 9 Bryan Redpath (c) N8 8 Simon Taylor OF 7 Cameron Mather BF 6 Ross Beattie RL 5 Stuart Grimes LL 4 Nathan Hines TP 3 Bruce Douglas HK 2 Gordon Bulloch LP 1 Tom Smith Replacements: HK 16 Robbie Russell PR 17 Gordon McIlwham FL 18 Jason White N8 19 Jon Petrie SH 20 Mike Blair CE 21 James McLaren CE 22 Ben Hinshelwood Coach: Ian McGeechan

FB 15 Norman Ligairi RW 14 Aisea Tuilevu OC 13 Epeli Ruivadra IC 12 Seru Rabeni LW 11 Rupeni Caucaunibuca FH 10 Nicky Little SH 9 Mosese Rauluni N8 8 Vula Maimuri OF 7 Koli Sewabu BF 6 Alifereti Doviverata (c) RL 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa LL 4 Apenisa Naevo TP 3 Isaia Rasila HK 2 Greg Smith LP 1 Joeli Veitayaki Replacements: PR 16 Nacanieli Seru N8 17 Setareki Tawake FL 18 Sisa Koyamaibole FL 19 Kitione Salawa SH 20 Jacob Rauluni CE 21 Isa Nacewa WG 22 Vilimoni Delasau Coach: Mac McCallion

References

1. "World Cup schedule". BBC Sport. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 2 September 2023.
2. "Samoa and Fiji book World Cup places". BBC Sport. 29 June 2002. Retrieved 5 October 2023.
3. "US reach World Cup". BBC Sport. 28 April 2003. Retrieved 5 October 2023.