Tournament details | |
---|---|
Host nation | England |
Dates | 18 September – 31 October (44 days) |
No. of nations | 20 (96 qualifying) |
Final positions | |
Champions | New Zealand (3rd title) |
Runner-up | Australia |
Third place | South Africa |
Tournament statistics | |
Matches played | 48 |
Attendance | 2,477,805 (51,621 per match) |
Top scorer(s) | Nicolás Sánchez (97) |
Most tries | Julian Savea (8) |
← 2011 2019 → |
The IRB2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England [nb 1] from 18 September to 31 October. [2] Of the 20 countries competing in the World Cup in 2011, there was only one change: Uruguay replaced Russia. This was the first World Cup with no new teams to the tournament.
Reigning champions New Zealand won the cup and defended their title by defeating Australia 34–17 in the final; South Africa defeated Argentina to take third place. This was the first Rugby World Cup where no Northern Hemisphere team got beyond the quarter-finals. [3] New Zealand were the first team to retain their title and the first to win for a third time. [4]
The highly contested match between Japan and South Africa on the opening weekend, in which Japan scored the winning try in the final minute, was widely considered the biggest upset in the history of rugby. [5] Hosts England were eliminated at the pool stage, after defeats by Wales and Australia; this was the first time the knockout stage did not feature a host nation.
The International Rugby Board (IRB) requested that any member unions wishing to host this tournament or the 2019 Rugby World Cup should indicate their interest by 15 August 2008. This would be purely to indicate interest; no details had to be provided at this stage. A record 10 unions indicated formal interest in hosting the 2015 and/or the 2019 events: Australia, England, Ireland, Italy, Jamaica, Japan, Russia, Scotland, South Africa and Wales. [6] Argentina had been reported in early 2008 as having given preliminary consideration to bidding, [7] but did not ultimately formally indicate an interest in bidding.
Of the 10 nations that had expressed formal interest, many withdrew their candidacy in early 2009. Jamaica was the first to withdraw its candidacy. [8] Russia withdrew in February 2009 to concentrate on bidding for the 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens, [9] Australia and Ireland withdrew in spring 2009 due to financial reasons. [10] [11] Scotland withdrew in April 2009 after they were unable to secure co-hosting partners for the tournament. [12] Wales was the last nation to officially pull out after they failed to submit a bid by 8 May 2009, [13] but Wales backed England's bid and some games were played at Cardiff's Millennium Stadium. [14]
The final nations that bid for the right to host the 2015 Rugby World Cup were England, Japan, South Africa and Italy. Four confirmed bids was a record number for the Rugby World Cup. [8]
On 28 July 2009, the IRB confirmed that England would host the 2015 Rugby World Cup, and Japan would host the 2019 event, [15] [16] having voted 16–10 in favour of approving the recommendation from Rugby World Cup Ltd (RWCL) that England and Japan should be named hosts. [nb 2] [18] RWCL chairman Bernard Lapasset revealed the result on 28 July 2009 at IRB headquarters. [15]
In September 2007, The Guardian reported that the Rugby Football Union had decided to submit a bid. BBC News reported in February 2009 that the intent was for a solo bid from the RFU, but with the possibility of some matches being played in Scotland, Wales or Ireland. [19] It was hoped that the 2015 World Cup would add to Britain's "Decade of Sport" (including the 2012 Summer Olympics, 2013 Rugby League World Cup and 2014 Commonwealth Games).
It was also claimed that the bid had a very strong chance of success due to the IRB's belief that the 2011 tournament might make a loss, therefore making it particularly important to ensure a profit, which was considered a strong point of England's proposed bid. [20] The chief executive of the Rugby Football Union, Francis Baron, said that the tournament would target sales of 3 million tickets. England's package was projected to generate £300 million for the IRB – £220 million in commercial returns from broadcasting, sponsorship and merchandising, and the £80 million tournament fee. [15]
Italy stated its desire to host, [21] and an Italian bid to host the Rugby World Cup in 2015 or 2019 was confirmed on 20 July 2008. Italy declared that it wanted to host "For the Enlargement of the Frontiers of Our Sport". It was a slogan relevant to the then-current landscape of World Cup rugby, given that 2007 was the first time that the Rugby World Cup was hosted by a primarily non-English-speaking country.
The Italian bid offered the largest cities and stadiums in the country and promised a fast domestic train system. The Italian Rugby Federation (FIR) also included the importance of the population and the growth of rugby since Italy joined the Six Nations in 2000 as reasons for hosting a World Cup. Rugby had been growing increasingly popular in Italy in recent years, with improved crowds at international matches.
The Stadio Olimpico in Rome had been proposed as the venue to host the final and the first match of the tournament. Milan and Naples were included as the other large venues. The entire list was a selection of large stadiums spread across the country. Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, France was also included as the tenth proposed venue.
The Japan Rugby Football Union officially submitted its tender to the IRB in May 2009. [22] Japan was seen as a favourite to host after finishing as runner-up in the bidding for the 2011 event. [22] Japan was seen as having a lot to offer rugby's growth in Asia.[ citation needed ] Its population of 127 million, its large economy, and its ability to place rugby before a new Asian audience made it a front-runner for hosting rights.[ citation needed ] Furthermore, rugby in Japan had developed a following, and with 126,000 registered players, Japan had more players than some of the Six Nations.[ citation needed ] Japan's Top League was a showcase for Japanese rugby, and there was excitement about Japan's entry into the RWC.[ citation needed ] Japan's experience in co-hosting the 2002 FIFA World Cup was also seen as a boost, with Japan already possessing the necessary stadiums and infrastructure.[ citation needed ]
The South African Rugby Union (SARU) had confirmed its intent to bid for the 2015 tournament, [23] and in May 2009 South Africa delivered its application to the IRB. [24] South Africa had previously made an unsuccessful bid to host the 2011 RWC. The strengths of a South African bid would be that it is in the same time zone as Europe, the wealthiest television market from a rugby perspective, that South Africa were the current World Cup holders, that they had successfully hosted the 1995 Rugby World Cup, won the 2007 Rugby World Cup and that they were in the process of building large new stadiums for the then-upcoming 2010 FIFA World Cup.
After England were appointed tournament hosts on 28 July 2009, the proposed stadia for the tournament were revealed. The final venues were confirmed, along with the tournament's schedule, on 2 May 2013. [25] Twelve of the stadia were located in England, while the Millennium Stadium located in neighbour Wales was also to be used. In 2011, the IRB approved the use of the Millennium Stadium, despite being outside of the host country, due to its capacity and strategic location. [26] Of the thirteen venues, two were dedicated rugby union grounds (Kingsholm Stadium and Sandy Park), two were national rugby stadia (Twickenham and the Millennium Stadium), two were multi-purpose stadia (Wembley Stadium and the Olympic Stadium), and the remainder were association football grounds. [27]
Proposed venues that did not make the final selection were the Stadium of Light in Sunderland, Coventry's Ricoh Arena, St Mary's Stadium in Southampton, Pride Park Stadium in Derby, Anfield in Liverpool and Bristol's Ashton Gate. [28] In April 2013, Old Trafford was withdrawn from consideration by its owners, Manchester United F.C., citing commitments to hosting rugby league and its Super League Grand Final and concerns about pitch degradation. The RWCL then approached neighbouring Manchester City about leasing their home stadium as a replacement. City agreed to let their stadium be used for the tournament but only for one match due to footballing commitments – down from the original three which were to be played at Old Trafford. [29] Etihad Stadium, as it was known for football sponsorship purposes, would be called 'Manchester City Stadium' by organisers for the duration of the tournament. [30]
London | Cardiff | ||||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
Wembley Stadium | Twickenham | Olympic Stadium | Millennium Stadium | ||
Capacity: 90,000 | Capacity: 82,000 | Capacity: 56,000 | Capacity: 74,154 | ||
Newcastle | Manchester | ||||
St James' Park | City of Manchester Stadium | ||||
Capacity: 52,409 | Capacity: 55,097 [31] | ||||
Birmingham | Leeds | ||||
Villa Park | Elland Road | ||||
Capacity: 42,785 | Capacity: 37,914 | ||||
Leicester | Brighton | Milton Keynes | Gloucester | Exeter | |
Leicester City Stadium | Brighton Community Stadium | Stadium MK | Kingsholm Stadium | Sandy Park | |
Capacity: 32,312 | Capacity: 30,750 | Capacity: 30,717 | Capacity: 16,500 | Capacity: 12,300 | |
Source: The Telegraph [32]
The 41 venues that acted as bases for the teams were announced on 26 August 2014. [33] All prospective team bases were subject to a rigorous selection process, which included a programme of detailed site visits as well as liaison with the competing teams. Each team base included an outdoor and indoor training facility, a swimming pool, gym and hotel and would be used by the competing teams in the lead up to and during the World Cup.
Of the 20 teams competing at the 2015 World Cup, 12 of them qualified by finishing in the top three places in their pools in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. The other eight teams qualified through regional competition. As the host nation, England qualified automatically. The qualification process for the remaining teams incorporated existing regional competitions such as the European Nations Cup. [34]
Twenty teams played in the final tournament. They are listed below, along with their pre-tournament positions in the World Rugby Rankings. [35] The list of teams was the same as in the 2003 tournament.
|
|
|
Seedings for the pools of the 2015 World Cup were based on the teams' respective IRB Rankings. The draw, hosted by Will Greenwood, was conducted on 3 December 2012 in London, and used the World Rankings as of that day, just after the 2012 end-of-year rugby union internationals, which finished on 1 December 2012. [36] The 12 automatic qualifiers from 2011 were allocated to their respective bands based on their rankings:
The remaining 8 qualifying places were allocated to Bands 4 and 5, based on previous World Cup playing strength;
This meant the 20 teams, qualified and qualifiers, were seeded thus:
Pot 1 | Pot 2 | Pot 3 | Pot 4 | Pot 5 |
---|---|---|---|---|
|
|
The draw saw a representative randomly draw a ball from a pot, the first drawn ball goes to Pool A, the second Pool B, the third Pool C and the fourth Pool D. The draw began with Pot 5, drawn by All Blacks captain Richie McCaw, followed by Pot 4, drawn by RWC 2015 Ambassador and English women's international Maggie Alphonsi, then Pot 3, drawn by Mayor of London Boris Johnson, Pot 2, drawn by the then Chief Executive for RWC 2015 Debbie Jevans, and finally Pot 1, drawn by IRB chairman Bernard Lapasset.
The timing of the draw drew criticism due to the long period between the draw occurring and the commencement of the tournament – three years. [37] Indeed, by the time of the pool match between England and Wales on 26 September, pool A contained the 2nd, 3rd and 4th (Australia, England and Wales) ranked teams in the world. [38] Following England's elimination at the pool stage after defeats by Australia and Wales, Wales coach Warren Gatland noted that "Everyone is making a thing about the first home country to hold a World Cup to miss out on the quarter-finals, but the stupid thing, as we all know, is why was the World Cup draw done three years ago? That's just ridiculous as far as I am concerned. If they had followed the football model, then we wouldn't be in this position. There are other people outside this who need to have a look at themselves and why those decisions were made, and you have got to feel sorry for the people involved and who this has affected". [39] The chief executive of World Rugby Brett Gosper subsequently acknowledged criticisms, saying "We’ll look at that next time to see if it's possible to make the draw closer to the tournament". [40]
Each country was allowed a squad of 31 players for the tournament. These squads were to be submitted to World Rugby by a deadline of 31 August 2015. Once the squad was submitted, a player could be replaced if injured, but would not be allowed to return to the squad. There was also a stand-down period of 48 hours before the new player was allowed to take the field. Hence, a replacement player called into a squad on the eve of a game would not be permitted to play in that game. [41]
The opening ceremony of the 2015 Rugby World Cup took place at Twickenham Stadium in London on 18 September 2015 at 19:20 (BST). The ceremony told the legend of how William Webb Ellis created the sport of rugby union, and featured the choir of Rugby School singing "Swing Low, Sweet Chariot", an anthem of rugby union in England. All the participating teams were represented by a former player in the ceremony; the host nation, England, was represented by World Cup-winning captain Martin Johnson. The ceremony was directed by Kim Gavin, who was also responsible for directing the closing ceremonies of both the 2012 Summer Olympics and the 2012 Summer Paralympics. Prince Harry, Duke of Sussex, who had an acting part previously in the ceremony, declared the tournament officially open, ending his speech with the words, "We're ready. Game on." British Prime Minister David Cameron said on social media that the 2015 Rugby World Cup would be the best ever. [42]
The first round, or pool stage, saw the 20 teams divided into four pools of five teams, using the same format that was used in 2003, 2007, and 2011. Each pool was a single round-robin of ten games, in which each team played one match against each of the other teams in the same pool. Teams were awarded four points for a win, two points for a draw and none for a defeat. A team scoring four tries in one match scored a bonus point, as did a team that lost by fewer than eight points. [43]
Pool A | Pool B | Pool C | Pool D |
---|---|---|---|
The teams finishing in the top two of each pool would advance to the quarter-finals. The top three teams of each pool received automatic qualification to the 2019 Rugby World Cup (Japan had already automatically qualified as hosts). [44]
If two or more teams were tied on match points, the following tiebreakers would apply: [45]
If three teams were tied on points, the above criteria would be used to decide first place in the Pool, and then the criteria would be used again (starting from criteria 1) to decide second place in the Pool.
Key to colours in pool tables | |
---|---|
Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2019 Rugby World Cup | |
Eliminated but qualified for 2019 Rugby World Cup |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | B | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Australia | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 141 | 35 | +106 | 17 | 1 | 17 |
2 | Wales | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 111 | 62 | +49 | 11 | 1 | 13 |
3 | England | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 133 | 75 | +58 | 16 | 3 | 11 |
4 | Fiji | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 84 | 101 | −17 | 10 | 1 | 5 |
5 | Uruguay | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 30 | 226 | −196 | 2 | 0 | 0 |
18 September 2015 | England | 35–11 | Fiji | Twickenham Stadium, London |
20 September 2015 | Wales | 54–9 | Uruguay | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
23 September 2015 | Australia | 28–13 | Fiji | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
26 September 2015 | England | 25–28 | Wales | Twickenham Stadium, London |
27 September 2015 | Australia | 65–3 | Uruguay | Villa Park, Birmingham |
1 October 2015 | Wales | 23–13 | Fiji | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
3 October 2015 | England | 13–33 | Australia | Twickenham Stadium, London |
6 October 2015 | Fiji | 47–15 | Uruguay | Stadium mk, Milton Keynes |
10 October 2015 | Australia | 15–6 | Wales | Twickenham Stadium, London |
10 October 2015 | England | 60–3 | Uruguay | City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | B | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | South Africa | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 176 | 56 | +120 | 23 | 4 | 16 |
2 | Scotland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 136 | 93 | +43 | 14 | 2 | 14 |
3 | Japan | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 98 | 100 | −2 | 9 | 0 | 12 |
4 | Samoa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 124 | −55 | 7 | 2 | 6 |
5 | United States | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 50 | 156 | −106 | 5 | 0 | 0 |
19 September 2015 | South Africa | 32–34 | Japan | Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton |
20 September 2015 | Samoa | 25–16 | United States | Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton |
23 September 2015 | Scotland | 45–10 | Japan | Kingsholm, Gloucester |
26 September 2015 | South Africa | 46–6 | Samoa | Villa Park, Birmingham |
27 September 2015 | Scotland | 39–16 | United States | Elland Road, Leeds |
3 October 2015 | Samoa | 5–26 | Japan | Stadium mk, Milton Keynes |
3 October 2015 | South Africa | 34–16 | Scotland | St. James' Park, Newcastle |
7 October 2015 | South Africa | 64–0 | United States | Olympic Stadium, London |
10 October 2015 | Samoa | 33–36 | Scotland | St. James' Park, Newcastle |
11 October 2015 | United States | 18–28 | Japan | Kingsholm, Gloucester |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | B | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | New Zealand | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 49 | +125 | 25 | 3 | 19 |
2 | Argentina | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 179 | 70 | +109 | 22 | 3 | 15 |
3 | Georgia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 123 | −70 | 5 | 0 | 8 |
4 | Tonga | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 70 | 130 | −60 | 8 | 2 | 6 |
5 | Namibia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 70 | 174 | −104 | 8 | 1 | 1 |
19 September 2015 | Tonga | 10–17 | Georgia | Kingsholm, Gloucester |
20 September 2015 | New Zealand | 26–16 | Argentina | Wembley Stadium, London |
24 September 2015 | New Zealand | 58–14 | Namibia | Olympic Stadium, London |
25 September 2015 | Argentina | 54–9 | Georgia | Kingsholm, Gloucester |
29 September 2015 | Tonga | 35–21 | Namibia | Sandy Park, Exeter |
2 October 2015 | New Zealand | 43–10 | Georgia | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
4 October 2015 | Argentina | 45–16 | Tonga | Leicester City Stadium, Leicester |
7 October 2015 | Namibia | 16–17 | Georgia | Sandy Park, Exeter |
9 October 2015 | New Zealand | 47–9 | Tonga | St. James' Park, Newcastle |
11 October 2015 | Argentina | 64–19 | Namibia | Leicester City Stadium, Leicester |
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | B | Pts |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Ireland | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 134 | 35 | +99 | 16 | 2 | 18 |
2 | France | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 120 | 63 | +57 | 12 | 2 | 14 |
3 | Italy | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 74 | 88 | −14 | 7 | 2 | 10 |
4 | Romania | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 60 | 129 | −69 | 7 | 0 | 4 |
5 | Canada | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 58 | 131 | −73 | 7 | 2 | 2 |
19 September 2015 | Ireland | 50–7 | Canada | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
19 September 2015 | France | 32–10 | Italy | Twickenham Stadium, London |
23 September 2015 | France | 38–11 | Romania | Olympic Stadium, London |
26 September 2015 | Italy | 23–18 | Canada | Elland Road, Leeds |
27 September 2015 | Ireland | 44–10 | Romania | Wembley Stadium, London |
1 October 2015 | France | 41–18 | Canada | Stadium mk, Milton Keynes |
4 October 2015 | Ireland | 16–9 | Italy | Olympic Stadium, London |
6 October 2015 | Canada | 15–17 | Romania | Leicester City Stadium, Leicester |
11 October 2015 | Italy | 32–22 | Romania | Sandy Park, Exeter |
11 October 2015 | France | 9–24 | Ireland | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
Quarter-finals | Semi-finals | Final | ||||||||
17 October – London (Twickenham) | ||||||||||
South Africa | 23 | |||||||||
24 October – London (Twickenham) | ||||||||||
Wales | 19 | |||||||||
South Africa | 18 | |||||||||
17 October – Cardiff | ||||||||||
New Zealand | 20 | |||||||||
New Zealand | 62 | |||||||||
31 October – London (Twickenham) | ||||||||||
France | 13 | |||||||||
New Zealand | 34 | |||||||||
18 October – Cardiff | ||||||||||
Australia | 17 | |||||||||
Ireland | 20 | |||||||||
25 October – London (Twickenham) | ||||||||||
Argentina | 43 | |||||||||
Argentina | 15 | |||||||||
18 October – London (Twickenham) | ||||||||||
Australia | 29 | Third place | ||||||||
Australia | 35 | |||||||||
30 October – London (Olympic) | ||||||||||
Scotland | 34 | |||||||||
South Africa | 24 | |||||||||
Argentina | 13 | |||||||||
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) |
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) |
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) |
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) |
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) |
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) |
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) |
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) |
At the 2015 World Rugby Awards, Japan's game-winning final try against South Africa was named the best match moment of the tournament. [46] A dream team was named made up of the best performing players of the tournament. [47]
2015 Rugby World Cup dream team [48]
|
|
Player | Team | Points |
---|---|---|
Nicolás Sánchez | Argentina | 97 |
Handré Pollard | South Africa | 93 |
Bernard Foley | Australia | 82 |
Dan Carter | New Zealand | 82 |
Greig Laidlaw | Scotland | 79 |
The tournament's top point scorer was Argentine fly-half Nicolás Sánchez, who scored 97 points. [49] New Zealand wing Julian Savea scored the most tries, eight, equalling the record for one tournament set by his compatriot Jonah Lomu and South African Bryan Habana. [50]
World Rugby named the following twelve referees, seven assistant referees and four television match officials to handle the pool stage games: [51]
|
|
ITV Sport was the UK and worldwide host broadcaster for the 2015 event, having signed a deal in 2011 to broadcast the 2011 and 2015 RWC tournaments. ITV won the rights after outbidding rivals including the BBC and Sky Sports. [52] It showed every match from the tournament live in the UK on ITV or ITV4. [53]
Country or region | Broadcaster | Broadcasting |
---|---|---|
Africa1 | SuperSport [54] [55] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Argentina | ESPN Extra | All 48 matches broadcast live. |
TV Pública | All Argentina matches, plus opening, semi-final and final matches. | |
Australia | Fox Sports [54] [55] | All 48 matches broadcast live [56] |
Nine Network [54] [55] | All Australian matches, some other pool games and all knockout games free-to-air live | |
Azerbaijan Turkey | Tivibu Spor | 45 matches live (excluding Tonga v Georgia, Wales v Fiji and France v Canada at the pool stage) |
Brazil | ESPN Brasil [54] [57] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Canada | TSN [54] [58] | All 48 matches live on either TSN, TSN2 or TSN.ca |
RDS [54] [58] | Rights to a select number of matches in French | |
Caribbean Central America2 Mexico South America3 | ESPN [54] [57] | At least 16 matches (all Argentina and Uruguay matches, plus all knockout stage matches). |
China | CCTV [54] [57] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Czech Republic Slovakia | Pragosport/Czech Television [54] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Fiji | Fiji TV [54] [59] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
FBC TV [59] | All 48 matches broadcast live free to air | |
France and French Overseas Territories | TF1 [54] [60] | 21 matches, including all France matches, selected pool stage matches, all knockout stage matches |
Canal+ [54] [60] | 27 matches that will not be broadcast by TF1 | |
Georgia | 1TV [54] | All 48 matches broadcast live [56] |
Hungary | Digi Sport [54] | More than 40 matches broadcast live |
India | Sony SIX | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Ireland | TV3 [54] [61] 3e | All 48 matches broadcast live. TV3 began broadcasting in HD just before the competition. |
Israel | Sport1 | TBA |
Italy | Sky Sport [54] [62] | All 48 matches broadcast live, and delay at 11 p.m. of Italy matches, a quarter-final, a semi-final and the final on TV8 |
Japan | J Sports [54] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Nippon TV [54] | Japanese commentary of all Japanese pool-stage matches, 2 quarter-finals, both semi-finals, the bronze final and the final | |
NHK [54] | Free to air coverage of 16 matches, including all Japanese matches, the opening match, 2 quarter-finals, both semi-finals, the bronze final and the final | |
Latvia | Best 4 Sport TV [54] | All 48 matches live or on delay and repeat |
Netherlands | RTL 7 [63] | Total of 24 matches live |
New Zealand | Sky Sport | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Prime Television | Live: opening match, 2 quarter-finals, 1 semi-final, bronze final, final; delayed: New Zealand pool matches, other quarter-finals, other semi-final. | |
Poland | Polsat Sport [64] | All 48 matches broadcast live or on delay |
Portugal | Sport TV [54] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Romania | Digi Sport [65] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Russia | Peretz [66] | More than 30 matches broadcast delay on TV and live on internet |
Samoa | Sky Pacific (Fiji TV) [54] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
South Asia | Sony SIX [67] [68] | All 48 matches broadcast live with sister channel Sony Kix. [68] |
Sri Lanka | Channel Eye [69] | All 48 matches live or on delay and repeat (Free to air) |
South Africa | SABC [70] SuperSport [71] | 29 live matches, including all South African matches, and 7 delayed matches All 48 matches broadcast live with repeats and highlights |
Spain | Canal+ Deportes (Movistar+) [72] [73] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Tonga | Sky Pacific (Fiji TV) [54] | All 48 matches broadcast live |
United Kingdom | ITV Network [55] | All 48 matches live on either ITV, STV (Scotland), UTV (Northern Ireland) or ITV4 |
BBC Radio [74] | Live radio commentary for all 48 games. Radio Cymru broadcast live commentary of all Wales games in Welsh [75] | |
S4C [76] | All Wales matches live in Welsh, the opening match, one quarter-final and one semi-final, the bronze final and the final | |
United States | Universal Sports NBC [77] & Univision | All 48 matches live online in the US Live coverage of nine matches between the two broadcasters – all USA pool matches, opening match, both semi-finals, bronze final and the final |
Uruguay | Teledoce | Only Uruguay matches |
1 Except British Indian Ocean Territory – Chagos Archipelago, Cape Verde, Chad, Democratic Republic of Congo, Djibouti, Mauritania, Mauritius, Mayotte, North Africa, Réunion, Somalia, South Sudan and Tristan da Cunha
2 Except Belize
3 Except Brazil and South Georgia and South Sandwich Islands
Television network | Country or region | Broadcasting |
---|---|---|
Canal+ Africa | Francophone Central and West Africa | All 48 matches live on Canal+ Sport 3 |
Eurosport [78] | Austria, Belgium, Germany, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Switzerland | 20 matches live, including opening match and final |
Fox Sports Asia [79] | Cambodia, China (Via STAR Sports), Hong Kong, Indonesia, South Korea (via STAR Sports Korea), Macau, Mongolia, Myanmar, Papua New Guinea, Philippines, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand, Vietnam, Malaysia | All 48 matches broadcast live |
Fiji TV [54] | Cook Islands, East Timor, Solomon Islands, Niue, Nauru, Vanuatu, Kiribati, Northern Marianas, Tokelau, Tahiti, Tuvalu, New Caledonia, American Samoa, Marshall Islands, Palau and Federated States of Micronesia. Papua New Guinea, Wallis and Futuna, Nouvelle Calédonie, Îles Éparses, Polynésie Française. | All 48 matches broadcast live |
OSN [54] | Algeria, Bahrain, Egypt, Jordan, Kuwait, Lebanon, Morocco, Saudi Arabia, Oman, Qatar, Tunisia, UAE | All 48 matches broadcast live or on delay |
TF1 [54] | Monaco | 21 matches, including all French matches, selected pool stage matches, all knockout matches |
Viaplay, Viasat [80] | Denmark, Finland, Norway, Sweden | All 48 matches broadcast live on OTT Service Viaplay, with selected games on Viasat Sport |
The officially licensed Rugby World Cup 2015 video game was released on 4 September 2015 on PC, PS3, PS4, PS Vita, Xbox 360 and Xbox One. [82] IGN rated the game 1.5/10, calling it "unbearable to play". [83]
Ticket prices were announced in November 2013 with general sale applications launching in September 2014. [84] Adult ticket prices started at £15 for pool matches and children's tickets were available from £7 at 41 of the 48 matches. Tickets for the final ranged from £150 to £715. [85]
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.
The 2007 Rugby World Cup was the sixth Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition organised by the International Rugby Board. Twenty nations competed for the Webb Ellis Cup in the tournament, which was hosted by France from 7 September to 20 October. France won the hosting rights in 2003, beating a bid from England. The competition consisted of 48 matches over 44 days; 42 matches were played in 10 cities throughout France, as well as four in Cardiff, Wales, and two in Edinburgh, Scotland.
The Japan Rugby Football Union is the governing body for rugby union in Japan. It was formed 30 November 1926, and organises matches for the Japan national team.
The Ireland national rugby union team is the men's representative national team for the island of Ireland in rugby union. The team represents both the Republic of Ireland and Northern Ireland. Ireland competes in the annual Six Nations Championship and in the Rugby World Cup. Ireland is one of the four unions that make up the British & Irish Lions – players eligible to play for Ireland are also eligible for the Lions.
Rugby World Cup Sevens (RWCS) is the quadrennial world championship of rugby sevens, a variant of rugby union. Organised by World Rugby, it currently consists of men's and women's tournaments, and is the highest level of competition in the sport outside of the Summer Olympics.
The 2011 Rugby World Cup, was the seventh Rugby World Cup, a quadrennial international rugby union competition inaugurated in 1987. The International Rugby Board (IRB) selected New Zealand as the host country in preference to Japan and South Africa at a meeting in Dublin on 17 November 2005. The tournament was won by New Zealand, who defeated France 8–7 in the final. The defending champions, South Africa, were eliminated by Australia 11–9 in the quarter-finals. The result marked the third time that the tournament was won by the country that hosted the event.
Rugby World Cup records have been accumulating since the first Rugby World Cup tournament was held in 1987.
The Rugby World Cup host nation for both men and women is selected by World Rugby at a meeting six years before each tournament. Each of the Men's Rugby World Cups from 1987 to 2015 were hosted by countries that are considered the traditional powers in World Rugby. The first non Rugby Championship or Six Nations country to host a Rugby World Cup was Japan in 2019, after failed bids for the 2011 and 2015 tournaments. The women's version of the Rugby World Cup, which is known as the Women's Rugby World Cup, was first held in 1991, alternating with even-numbered non-leap years from 1994 to 2014 before switching to odd-numbered years from 2017 onwards.
The 2010 Women's Rugby World Cup was the sixth edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup and was held in England. The International Rugby Board Executive Committee selected the host union following a recommendation from the Rugby World Cup Limited board after considering bids from the Rugby Football Union and the German Rugby Union – it had been England's third successive bid after being rejected in 2002 and 2006. The tournament was again being organised by the International Rugby Board (IRB) as opposed to the host union, and included five matches for all teams played on 20, 24, 28 August and 1 and 5 September. In May 2009 it was announced that the semi-final, 3rd place play off and final would take place at The Stoop and not Twickenham as had previously been suggested. Pool games were held at the Surrey Sports Park in Guildford.
The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match was played at Ajinomoto Stadium in Chōfu, Tokyo, with the final match being held at International Stadium Yokohama in Yokohama. This was the first time that the tournament had taken place in Asia and outside the traditional Tier 1 rugby nations.
The 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the sixth edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. The tournament was held at Luzhniki Stadium in Moscow, Russia. New Zealand won the tournament, defeating England 33–0 in the final. Attendance for the tournament was poor, with matches played in mostly empty stadiums.
Argentina have competed in all the Rugby World Cup tournaments, starting with the inaugural 1987 tournament.
The Rugby World Cup is a rugby union tournament held every four years and contested by the men's national teams of the member unions of World Rugby. The Wales national rugby union team has participated in all ten Rugby World Cup tournaments. Up to and including 2015, hosting of the tournament alternated between traditional rugby heartlands in the southern hemisphere and those in Europe. Wales was the primary host in 1999, with Cardiff's Millennium Stadium built to coincide with the event, and the other three tournaments played in Europe have also used venues in Wales to some degree. Cardiff's Millennium Stadium and its predecessor, the Cardiff Arms Park, will have hosted a total 21 matches over a total of four World Cups. This is the largest number of World Cup games hosted by one venue.
The Ireland national rugby union team have played in all ten Rugby World Cup tournaments. They have reached the quarter-finals at all but two tournaments, but have yet to progress to the semi-finals. They have finished top of their pool on three occasions.
The Japan national team have competed in every Rugby World Cup since the inaugural tournament in 1987. They are so far the only team to reach the Rugby World Cup through Asian regional qualifying. In 2019, they progressed to the quarterfinals for the first time in their participation, making them the first Asian team to do so in the tournament.
The 2014 Women's Rugby World Cup was the seventh edition of the Women's Rugby World Cup, and the sixth held in Europe. The World Cup Final took place on 17 August.
The 2003 Rugby World Cup was the fifth Rugby World Cup and was won by England. Originally planned to be co-hosted by Australia and New Zealand, all games were shifted to Australia following a contractual dispute over ground signage rights between the New Zealand Rugby Union and Rugby World Cup Limited. The pre-event favourites were England, regarded by many at the time as the best team in the world. New Zealand, France, South Africa and defending champions Australia were also expected to make strong showings, with New Zealand being second favourites after victory in the southern-hemisphere Tri-Nations championship.
Rugby sevens was played at the Olympics for the first time at the 2016 Summer Olympics, with both men's and women's contests. It was added to the Olympics following the decision of the 121st IOC Session in Copenhagen in October 2009. The champions for the inaugural rugby sevens tournament in 2016 were Fiji for the men and Australia for the women. Prior to 2016, 15-a-side matches were played in 1900, 1908, 1920, and 1924.
The 2018 Rugby World Cup Sevens was the seventh edition of the Rugby World Cup Sevens. Organized by World Rugby, it was held at AT&T Park, now known as Oracle Park, in San Francisco, United States. A total of 84 matches were played over three days from July 20–22, 2018. The men's tournament had 24 teams and the women's tournament 16, with both tournaments being played for the first time in a knock-out only format. New Zealand won the championship for both events — defeating England in the men's final and France in the women's final.
The women's 2013 Rugby World Cup Sevens tournament was held at Luzhniki stadium and nearby Gorodok Stadium, both in Moscow. The tournament was held from 29 June to 30 June, with New Zealand beating Canada 29−12 at the final. The eight quarter-finalists qualified as core teams for the 2013–14 IRB Women's Sevens World Series.