The IRB 2015 Rugby World Cup was the eighth Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial rugby union world championship. The tournament was hosted by England from 18 September to 31 October. 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. New Zealand were the first team to retain their title and the first to win for a third time.
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. 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.
Venues[]
| Stadiums | Location | Capacity |
|---|---|---|
| England | ||
| Wembley Stadium | London | 90,000 |
| Twickenham Stadium | 82,000 | |
| Olympic Stadium | 56,000 | |
| City of Manchester Stadium | Manchester | 55,097 |
| St James' Park | Newcastle | 52,409 |
| Villa Park | Birmingham | 42,785 |
| Elland Road | Leeds | 37,914 |
| Leicester City Stadium | Leicester | 32,312 |
| Brighton Community Stadium | Brighton | 30,750 |
| Stadium MK | Milton Keynes | 30,717 |
| Kingsholm Stadium | Gloucester | 16,500 |
| Sandy Park | Exeter | 12,300 |
| Wales | ||
| Millennium Stadium | Cardiff | 74,154 |
Participating teams[]
| Region | Team | World Rank |
|---|---|---|
| Africa (Rugby Africa) | Namibia | 20 |
| South Africa | 3 | |
| North America (Rugby Americas North) | Canada | 18 |
| United States | 15 | |
| Asia (Asia Rugby) | Japan | 13 |
| Europe (Rugby Europe) | England (host country) | 4 |
| France | 7 | |
| Georgia | 16 | |
| Ireland | 6 | |
| Italy | 14 | |
| Romania | 17 | |
| Scotland | 10 | |
| Wales | 5 | |
| Oceania (Oceania Rugby) | Australia | 2 |
| Fiji | 9 | |
| New Zealand | 1 | |
| Samoa | 12 | |
| Tonga | 11 | |
| South America (Sudamérica Rugby) | Argentina | 8 |
| Uruguay | 19 |
List of games[]
Pool stage[]
| Date | Venue | Winner | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Pool A | ||||
| 18 September 2015 | Twickenham Stadium, London | England | 35–11 | Fiji |
| 20 September 2015 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Wales | 54–9 | Uruguay |
| 23 September 2015 | Australia | 28–13 | Fiji | |
| 26 September 2015 | Twickenham Stadium, London | Wales | 28–25 | England |
| 27 September 2015 | Villa Park, Birmingham | Australia | 65–3 | Uruguay |
| 1 October 2015 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Wales | 23–13 | Fiji |
| 3 October 2015 | Twickenham Stadium, London | Australia | 33–13 | England |
| 6 October 2015 | Stadium MK, Milton Keynes | Fiji | 47–15 | Uruguay |
| 10 October 2015 | Twickenham Stadium, London | Australia | 15–6 | Wales |
| City of Manchester Stadium, Manchester | England | 60–3 | Uruguay | |
| Pool B | ||||
| 19 September 2015 | Brighton Community Stadium, Brighton | Japan | 34–32 | South Africa |
| 20 September 2015 | Samoa | 25–16 | United States | |
| 23 September 2015 | Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester | Scotland | 45–10 | Japan |
| 26 September 2015 | Villa Park, Birmingham | South Africa | 46–6 | Samoa |
| 27 September 2015 | Elland Road, Leeds | Scotland | 39–16 | United States |
| 3 October 2015 | Stadium MK, Milton Keynes | Japan | 26–5 | Samoa |
| St James' Park, Newcastle | South Africa | 34–16 | Scotland | |
| 7 October 2015 | Olympic Stadium, London | South Africa | 64–0 | United States |
| 10 October 2015 | St James' Park, Newcastle | Scotland | 36–33 | Samoa |
| 11 October 2015 | Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester | Japan | 28–18 | United States |
| Pool C | ||||
| 19 September 2015 | Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester | Georgia | 17–10 | Tonga |
| 20 September 2015 | Wembley Stadium, London | New Zealand | 26–16 | Argentina |
| 24 September 2015 | Olympic Stadium, London | New Zealand | 58–14 | Namibia |
| 25 September 2015 | Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester | Argentina | 54–9 | Georgia |
| 29 September 2015 | Sandy Park, Exeter | Tonga | 35–21 | Namibia |
| 2 October 2015 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | New Zealand | 43–10 | Georgia |
| 4 October 2015 | Leicester City Stadium, Leicester | Argentina | 45–16 | Tonga |
| 7 October 2015 | Sandy Park, Exeter | Georgia | 17–16 | Namibia |
| 9 October 2015 | St James' Park, Newcastle | New Zealand | 47–9 | Tonga |
| 11 October 2015 | Leicester City Stadium, Leicester | Argentina | 64–19 | Namibia |
| Pool D | ||||
| 19 September 2015 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Ireland | 50–7 | Canada |
| Twickenham Stadium, London | France | 32–10 | Italy | |
| 23 September 2015 | Olympic Stadium, London | France | 38–11 | Romania |
| 26 September 2015 | Elland Road, Leeds | Italy | 23–18 | Canada |
| 27 September 2015 | Wembley Stadium, London | Ireland | 44–10 | Romania |
| 1 October 2015 | Stadium MK, Milton Keynes | France | 41–18 | Canada |
| 4 October 2015 | Olympic Stadium, London | Ireland | 16–9 | Italy |
| 6 October 2015 | Leicester City Stadium, Leicester | Romania | 17–15 | Canada |
| 11 October 2015 | Sandy Park, Exeter | Italy | 32–22 | Romania |
| Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | Ireland | 24–9 | France | |
Final round[]
| Date | Venue | Winner | Score | Runners-up |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Quarter-finals | ||||
| 17 October 2015 | Twickenham Stadium, London | South Africa | 23–19 | Wales |
| Millennium Stadium, Cardiff | New Zealand | 62–13 | France | |
| 18 October 2015 | Argentina | 43–20 | Ireland | |
| Twickenham Stadium, London | Australia | 35–34 | Scotland | |
| Semi-finals | ||||
| 24 October 2015 | Twickenham Stadium, London | New Zealand | 20–18 | South Africa |
| 25 October 2015 | Australia | 29–15 | Argentina | |
| Bronze final | ||||
| 30 October 2015 | Olympic Stadium, London | South Africa | 24–13 | Argentina |
| Final | ||||
| 31 October 2015 | Twickenham Stadium, London | New Zealand | 34–17 | Australia |
Broadcasters[]
| Country | Broadcaster(s) |
|---|---|
| Africa | SuperSport, Canal+ Afrique |
| Caribbean Latin America |
ESPN |
| Middle East and North Africa | OSN |
| Nordic countries | Viaplay, Viasat Sport |
| Pacific Islands | Fiji TV |
| South Asia | Sony SIX, Sony Kix |
| Southeast Asia Hong Kong Macau Mongolia Papua New Guinea Taiwan |
Fox Sports Asia |
| Argentina | ESPN Extra, TV Pública |
| Australia | Fox Sports, Nine Network |
| Austria Belgium Germany Liechtenstein Luxembourg Switzerland |
Eurosport |
| Azerbaijan Turkey |
Tivibu Spor |
| Brazil | ESPN |
| Canada | TSN, TSN2, TSN.ca, RDS |
| China | CCTV, Star Sports |
| Czech Republic | Pragosport, ČT |
| Fiji | Fiji TV, FBC TV |
| France French Overseas Territories |
TF1, Canal+ |
| Georgia | 1TV |
| Hungary | Digi Sport |
| India | Sony SIX |
| Ireland | TV3, 3e |
| Israel | Sport1 |
| Italy | Sky Sport, TV8 |
| Japan | J Sports, Nippon TV, NHK |
| Latvia | Best 4 Sport TV |
| Monaco | TF1 |
| Netherlands | RTL 7 |
| New Zealand | Sky Sport, Prime |
| Poland | Polsat Sport |
| Portugal | Sport TV |
| Romania | Digi Sport |
| Russia | Peretz |
| Slovakia | Pragosport |
| South Africa | SABC |
| South Korea | Star Sports Korea |
| Sri Lanka | Channel Eye |
| Spain | Canal+ Deportes (Movistar+) |
| Tonga | Sky Pacific |
| United Kingdom | ITV, STV, UTV, ITV4, S4C, BBC Radio 5 Live, BBC Radio Cymru |
| United States | Universal Sports, NBC, Univision |
| Uruguay | Teledoce |