The knockout stage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup began on 8 October with a quarter-final between Ireland and Wales and concluded on 23 October with the final at Eden Park in Auckland.
New Zealand were the first team to qualify for the knockout stage, when they beat France 37–17 in their penultimate Pool A game. New Zealand and France re-encountered in the final, that was won by the local team 8–7. This was a rematch of the 1987 final, also in Eden Park and also won by New Zealand. This way, New Zealand got their second title, while France their third final.
For the first time in World Cup history, three teams that finished second in their respective pools qualified for the semi-finals, while South Africa became the second defending champions not to reach the semi-finals after Australia in 1995.
Furthermore, the bottom half of the bracket was entirely composed of the 2012 Rugby Championship teams and the other half was composed of the last four Six Nations champions since the last World Cup.
| Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
| 8 October – Wellington | ||||||||||
 Ireland | 10 | |||||||||
| 15 October – Auckland | ||||||||||
 Wales | 22 | |||||||||
| Wales | 8 | |||||||||
| 8 October – Auckland | ||||||||||
 France | 9 | |||||||||
 England | 12 | |||||||||
| 23 October – Auckland | ||||||||||
| France | 19 | |||||||||
| France | 7 | |||||||||
| 9 October – Wellington | ||||||||||
 New Zealand | 8 | |||||||||
 South Africa | 9 | |||||||||
| 16 October – Auckland | ||||||||||
 Australia | 11 | |||||||||
| Australia | 6 | |||||||||
| 9 October – Auckland | ||||||||||
| New Zealand | 20 | Third place | ||||||||
| New Zealand | 33 | |||||||||
| 21 October – Auckland | ||||||||||
 Argentina | 10 | |||||||||
| Wales | 18 | |||||||||
| Australia | 21 | |||||||||
| 8 October 2011 18:00 NZDT (UTC+13) |
| Ireland | 10–22 | Wales |
| Try: Earls 45' c Con: O'Gara (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 24' | Report [1] | Try: Williams 3' c Phillips 51' m J. Davies 64' c Con: Priestland (2/3) Pen: Halfpenny (1/1) 29' |
| Westpac Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 35,787 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa) |
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Man of the Match: Touch judges: |
| 8 October 2011 20:30 NZDT (UTC+13) |
| England | 12–19 | France |
| Try: Foden 55' c Cueto 77' m Con: Wilkinson (1/1) | Report [2] | Try: Clerc 22' m Médard 31' m Pen: Yachvili (2/3) 11', 16' Drop: Trinh-Duc (1/1) 73' |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 49,105 Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia) |
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Man of the Match: Touch judges: |
| 9 October 2011 18:00 NZDT (UTC+13) |
| South Africa | 9–11 | Australia |
| Pen: Steyn (2/4) 39', 56' Drop: Steyn (1/1) 60' | Report [3] | Try: Horwill 11' m Pen: O'Connor (2/2) 17', 72' |
| Westpac Stadium, Wellington Attendance: 34,914 Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand) |
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Man of the Match: Touch judges: |
| 9 October 2011 20:30 NZDT (UTC+13) |
| New Zealand | 33–10 | Argentina |
| Try: Read 69' m Thorn 79' c Con: Cruden (1/1) Pen: Weepu (7/7) 13', 26', 36', 40', 50', 59', 73' | Report [4] | Try: Farías Cabello 32' c Con: Contepomi (1/1) Pen: Bosch (1/1) 46' |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 57,192 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) |
Man of the Match: Touch judges: |
Notes
| 15 October 2011 21:00 NZDT (UTC+13) |
| Wales | 8–9 | France |
| Try: Phillips 58' m Pen: Hook (1/3) 8' | Report [6] | Pen: Parra (3/3) 22', 35', 51' |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 58,630 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) |
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Man of the Match: Touch judges: |
Notes
| 16 October 2011 21:00 NZDT (UTC+13) |
| Australia | 6–20 | New Zealand |
| Pen: O'Connor (1/1) 16' Drop: Cooper (1/1) 32' | Report [7] | Try: Nonu 6' m Pen: Weepu (4/7) 13', 38', 43', 73' Drop: Cruden (1/1) 22' |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 60,087 Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa) |
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Man of the Match: Touch judges: |
| 21 October 2011 20:30 NZDT (UTC+13) |
| Wales | 18–21 | Australia |
| Try: Sh. Williams 50' m Halfpenny 80+' c Con: S. Jones (1/2) Pen: Hook (1/2) 20' S. Jones (1/1) 71' | Tracker | Try: Barnes 12' c McCalman 76' m Con: O'Connor (1/2) Pen: O'Connor (2/4) 54', 58' Drop: Barnes (1/1) 68' |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 53,014 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) |
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 Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2011 Rugby World Cup Wales vs Australia .  Man of the Match: Touch judges: |
Notes
| 23 October 2011 21:00 NZDT (UTC+13) |
| France | 7–8 | New Zealand |
| Try: Dusautoir 47' c Con: Trinh-Duc (1/1) | Report [8] | Try: Woodcock 15' m Pen: Donald (1/1) 46' |
| Eden Park, Auckland Attendance: 61,079 [9] Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa) |
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Man of the Match: Touch judges: |
The Men's Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament contested every four years between the top international teams, the winners of which are recognised as the World champions of the sport.
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