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.
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, 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.
PoolWinnersRunners-upABCD
Bracket
Quarter-finals
South Africa vs Wales
FB 15Willie le RouxRW 14JP PietersenOC 13Jesse Kriel IC 12Damian de AllendeLW 11Bryan HabanaFH 10Handré Pollard SH 9 Fourie du Preez (c)N8 8 Duane VermeulenOF 7 Schalk BurgerBF 6 Francois Louw RL 5 Lood de JagerLL 4 Eben Etzebeth TP 3 Frans Malherbe HK 2 Bismarck du Plessis LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira Replacements:HK 16Adriaan Strauss PR 17Trevor Nyakane PR 18Jannie du Plessis LK 19Pieter-Steph du Toit FL 20Willem Alberts SH 21Ruan PienaarFH 22Pat Lambie CE 23Jan Serfontein Coach: Heyneke Meyer FB 15Gareth AnscombeRW 14Alex CuthbertOC 13Tyler Morgan IC 12Jamie RobertsLW 11George NorthFH 10Dan Biggar SH 9 Gareth Davies N8 8 Taulupe FaletauOF 7 Sam Warburton (c)BF 6 Dan Lydiate RL 5 Alun Wyn JonesLL 4 Luke Charteris TP 3 Samson Lee HK 2 Scott Baldwin LP 1 Gethin Jenkins Replacements:HK 16Ken Owens PR 17Paul James PR 18Tomas Francis LK 19Bradley Davies FL 20Justin Tipuric SH 21Lloyd Williams FH 22Rhys Priestland CE 23James Hook 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
FB 15Ben SmithRW 14Nehe Milner-Skudder OC 13Conrad Smith IC 12Ma'a NonuLW 11Julian SaveaFH 10Dan CarterSH 9 Aaron Smith N8 8 Kieran ReadOF 7 Richie McCaw (c) BF 6 Jerome Kaino RL 5 Sam WhitelockLL 4 Brodie RetallickTP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Dane Coles LP 1 Wyatt Crockett Replacements:HK 16Keven Mealamu PR 17Joe Moody PR 18Charlie Faumuina N8 19Victor Vito FL 20Sam Cane SH 21Tawera Kerr-Barlow FH 22Beauden Barrett CE 23Sonny Bill Williams Coach: Steve Hansen FB 15Scott SpeddingRW 14Noa NakaitaciOC 13Alexandre Dumoulin IC 12Wesley FofanaLW 11Brice DulinFH 10Frédéric Michalak SH 9 Morgan Parra N8 8 Louis Picamoles OF 7 Bernard Le RouxBF 6 Thierry Dusautoir (c)RL 5 Yoann MaestriLL 4 Pascal Papé TP 3 Rabah Slimani HK 2 Guilhem Guirado LP 1 Eddy Ben Arous Replacements:HK 16Dimitri Szarzewski PR 17Vincent Debaty PR 18Nicolas Mas N8 19Damien Chouly FL 20Yannick Nyanga SH 21Rory Kockott FH 22Rémi Talès CE 23Mathieu Bastareaud 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. The nine tries scored by New Zealand is the most scored by one team in a Rugby World Cup knockout stage match. With his hat-trick of tries in this match, Julian Savea equalled Jonah Lomu and Bryan Habana's single-tournament record of eight tries.
Ireland vs Argentina
FB 15Rob KearneyRW 14Tommy Bowe OC 13Keith EarlsIC 12Robbie HenshawLW 11Dave KearneyFH 10Ian MadiganSH 9 Conor Murray N8 8 Jamie Heaslip (c)OF 7 Chris HenryBF 6 Jordi Murphy RL 5 Iain Henderson LL 4 Devin TonerTP 3 Mike Ross HK 2 Rory Best LP 1 Cian Healy Replacements:HK 16Richardt Strauss PR 17Jack McGrath PR 18Nathan White LK 19Donnacha Ryan FL 20Rhys Ruddock SH 21Eoin Reddan FH 22Paddy JacksonWG 23Luke Fitzgerald Coach: Joe Schmidt FB 15Joaquín TuculetRW 14Santiago CorderoOC 13Matías Moroni IC 12Juan Martín HernándezLW 11Juan ImhoffFH 10Nicolás SánchezSH 9 Martín Landajo N8 8 Leonardo Senatore OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández LobbeBF 6 Pablo MateraRL 5 Tomás LavaniniLL 4 Guido Petti TP 3 Ramiro Herrera HK 2 Agustín Creevy (c) LP 1 Marcos Ayerza Replacements:HK 16Julián Montoya PR 17Lucas Noguera Paz PR 18Juan Pablo Orlandi LK 19Matías Alemanno N8 20Facundo Isa SH 21Tomás Cubelli CE 22Jerónimo de la Fuente FB 23Lucas González AmorosinoCoach: 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. This was Argentina's largest winning margin over Ireland, surpassing the 16-point margin recorded in June 2007.
Australia vs Scotland
FB 15Kurtley BealeRW 14Adam Ashley-CooperOC 13Tevita KuridraniIC 12Matt GiteauLW 11Drew MitchellFH 10Bernard FoleySH 9 Will Genia N8 8 Ben McCalmanOF 7 Michael HooperBF 6 Scott FardyRL 5 Rob Simmons LL 4 Kane DouglasTP 3 Sekope Kepu HK 2 Stephen Moore (c) LP 1 Scott Sio Replacements:HK 16Tatafu Polota-Nau PR 17James Slipper PR 18Greg Holmes LK 19Dean Mumm FL 20Sean McMahonSH 21Nick Phipps CE 22Matt To'omuaFH 23Quade CooperCoach: Michael Cheika FB 15Stuart HoggRW 14Sean Maitland OC 13Mark BennettIC 12Peter Horne LW 11Tommy Seymour FH 10Finn RussellSH 9 Greig Laidlaw (c)N8 8 David DentonOF 7 John HardieBF 6 Blair Cowan RL 5 Jonny Gray LL 4 Richie GrayTP 3 WP Nel HK 2 Ross Ford LP 1 Alasdair Dickinson Replacements:HK 16Fraser Brown PR 17Gordon Reid PR 18Jon Welsh LK 19Tim Swinson N8 20Josh Strauss SH 21Henry PyrgosCE 22Richie Vernon WG 23Sean Lamont 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. 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. 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.
Semi-finals This was the first Rugby World Cup where no Northern Hemisphere team reached the semi-finals. 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
FB 15Willie le RouxRW 14JP PietersenOC 13Jesse KrielIC 12Damian de Allende LW 11Bryan Habana FH 10Handré Pollard SH 9 Fourie du Preez (c)N8 8 Duane VermeulenOF 7 Schalk Burger BF 6 Francois Louw RL 5 Lood de Jager LL 4 Eben EtzebethTP 3 Frans Malherbe HK 2 Bismarck du Plessis LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira Replacements:HK 16Adriaan Strauss PR 17Trevor Nyakane PR 18Jannie du Plessis LK 19Victor Matfield FL 20Willem Alberts SH 21Ruan PienaarFH 22Pat Lambie CE 23Jan Serfontein Coach: Heyneke Meyer FB 15Ben SmithRW 14Nehe Milner-Skudder OC 13Conrad SmithIC 12Ma'a Nonu LW 11Julian SaveaFH 10Dan CarterSH 9 Aaron SmithN8 8 Kieran ReadOF 7 Richie McCaw (c)BF 6 Jerome Kaino RL 5 Sam WhitelockLL 4 Brodie RetallickTP 3 Owen Franks HK 2 Dane Coles LP 1 Joe Moody Replacements:HK 16Keven Mealamu PR 17Ben Franks PR 18Charlie Faumuina N8 19Victor VitoFL 20Sam Cane SH 21Tawera Kerr-BarlowFH 22Beauden Barrett CE 23Sonny Bill Williams 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. New Zealand's Sonny Bill Williams, Jerome Kaino and Sam Whitelock played in a record 13 consecutive World Cup wins.
Argentina vs Australia
FB 15Joaquín TuculetRW 14Santiago CorderoOC 13Marcelo BoschIC 12Juan Martín Hernández LW 11Juan Imhoff FH 10Nicolás SánchezSH 9 Martín Landajo N8 8 Leonardo Senatore OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández LobbeBF 6 Pablo MateraRL 5 Tomás Lavanini LL 4 Guido Petti TP 3 Ramiro Herrera HK 2 Agustín Creevy (c) LP 1 Marcos Ayerza Replacements:HK 16Julián Montoya PR 17Lucas Noguera Paz PR 18Juan Figallo LK 19Matías Alemanno N8 20Facundo Isa SH 21Tomás Cubelli CE 22Jerónimo de la Fuente FB 23Lucas González Amorosino Coach: Daniel Hourcade FB 15Israel Folau RW 14Adam Ashley-CooperOC 13Tevita KuridraniIC 12Matt Giteau LW 11Drew MitchellFH 10Bernard FoleySH 9 Will Genia N8 8 David PocockOF 7 Michael HooperBF 6 Scott Fardy RL 5 Rob Simmons LL 4 Kane DouglasTP 3 Sekope Kepu HK 2 Stephen Moore (c) LP 1 James Slipper Replacements:HK 16Tatafu Polota-Nau PR 17Toby Smith PR 18Greg Holmes LK 19Dean Mumm N8 20Ben McCalman SH 21Nick Phipps CE 22Matt To'omua CE 23Kurtley Beale 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. 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.
Bronze final: South Africa vs Argentina
FB 15Willie le Roux RW 14JP PietersenOC 13Jesse KrielIC 12Damian de AllendeLW 11Bryan Habana FH 10Handré PollardSH 9 Ruan Pienaar N8 8 Duane VermeulenOF 7 Schalk Burger BF 6 Francois Louw RL 5 Victor Matfield (c) LL 4 Eben EtzebethTP 3 Frans Malherbe HK 2 Bismarck du Plessis LP 1 Tendai Mtawarira Replacements:HK 16Adriaan Strauss PR 17Trevor Nyakane PR 18Jannie du Plessis LK 19Lood de Jager FL 20Willem Alberts SH 21Rudy Paige FH 22Pat Lambie CE 23Jan Serfontein Coach: Heyneke Meyer FB 15Lucas González AmorosinoRW 14Santiago CorderoOC 13Matías MoroniIC 12Jerónimo de la Fuente LW 11Horacio Agulla FH 10Nicolás Sánchez (c)SH 9 Tomás Cubelli N8 8 Juan Manuel LeguizamónOF 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe BF 6 Javier Ortega DesioRL 5 Tomás LavaniniLL 4 Matías Alemanno TP 3 Ramiro Herrera HK 2 Julián Montoya LP 1 Juan Figallo Replacements:PR 16Lucas Noguera Paz PR 17Juan Pablo Orlandi PR 18Santiago García Botta LK 19Guido Petti N8 20Facundo Isa SH 21Martín Landajo FH 22Santiago González Iglesias CE 23Juan Pablo Socino 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.
Final: New Zealand vs Australia