2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A

Pool A of the 2019 Rugby World Cup began on 20 September 2019. The pool included hosts Japan, and previous 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-finalists Ireland and Scotland. They were joined by the European qualifier, Russia, and Samoa, the winner of the European-Oceania Cross-Regional play-off.

Japan won all four of their matches, including surprise victories over both Ireland and Scotland, to finish top of the pool and become the first Asian nation to reach a Rugby World Cup quarter-final. Ireland picked up a bonus point in each of their matches, and their victory over Scotland in their opening pool match proved the difference between the two sides in the hunt for second place. Samoa finished in fourth place, their only win coming against bottom-placed Russia.

Overview

The opening match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup was played in Pool A with Japan scoring a 30–10 win over Russia. Kotaro Matsushima became the first Japanese player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup. For the Russian side, Kirill Golosnitsky scored the first try of the tournament after four minutes – the fastest try ever scored in the opening match of a World Cup.[1] Two days later, Ireland defeated Scotland 27–3.[2] On 24 September, Samoa played their first match against Russia in Kumagaya. Despite Samoa's being reduced to 13 men after Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu'u were sin-binned within two minutes of each other, Russia could not capitalise on their advantage and Samoa went on to win 34–9.[3] Four days later, hosts Japan defeated Ireland 19–12, scoring four out of six penalties. While it was an upset win for Japan, World Rugby later admitted three of the four offside penalties were incorrectly awarded to Japan.[4][5] Kenki Fukuoka scored a try in the 58th minute to give Japan a two-point lead after Ireland's Garry Ringrose and Rob Kearney had scored the opening two tries. Yu Tamura's conversion and fourth successful penalty kick sealed the result for Japan.[6] Scotland recorded their first victory of the World Cup with a 34–0 whitewash victory over Samoa in muggy conditions in Kobe, with Samoan captain Jack Lam stating that the rugby ball was "a bar of soap."[7]

Three days later, Kobe Misaki Stadium held another match in Pool A – this time it was Ireland, who would whitewash their opponents (Russia) in a 35–0 victory with five different players getting tries for the Irish. The Irish though, did not have everything go right with Jordi Murphy being subbed off in the 27th minute due to a possible rib injury, which added to the Irish back row pain after losing Jack Conan earlier in the tournament.[8] Japan recorded their third victory over Samoa in Toyota with a 85th minute try from Kotaro Matsushima sealing the Japanese a 38–19 bonus point victory.[9] Russia in the final match of the tournament was hammered by Scotland 61–0 with George Horne scoring a hat-trick as the Scots became the first team in World Cup history to not concede a point from two World Cup matches.[10] A red card to Bundee Aki in the 29th minute forced Ireland to go down to 14 men but that was the only blemish with Ireland winning 47–5 over Samoa in Fukuoka. Johnny Sexton scoring two tries for the Irish.[11] Typhoon Hagibis saw the Japan–Scotland match under threat with the Scottish Rugby Union demanding legal action if it was cancelled.[12] But after an inspection deemed the match to go ahead,[13] Japan held their nerve against a fast-finishing Scotland to take home a 28–21 victory with Kenki Fukuoka scoring two tries. The win saw Japan become the first Tier 2 team to qualify since 2007, as they topped the group while Ireland finished in second place.[14]

Standings

Pos Team Pld W D L PF PA PD T B Pts Qualification
1  Japan 4 4 0 0 115 62 +53 13 3 19 Advanced to the quarter-finals and
qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup
2  Ireland 4 3 0 1 121 27 +94 18 4 16
3  Scotland 4 2 0 2 119 55 +64 16 3 11 Eliminated but qualified for 2023 Rugby World Cup
4  Samoa 4 1 0 3 58 128 −70 8 1 5
5  Russia 4 0 0 4 19 160 −141 1 0 0
Source: [citation needed]

Matches

All times are local Japan Standard Time (UTC+09)

Japan vs Russia

20 September 2019
19:45 JST (UTC+09)
(1 BP) Japan 30–10 Russia
Try: Matsushima (3) 12' m, 39' c, 69' c
Labuschagné 47' m
Con: Tamura (1/3) 40'
Matsuda (1/1) 71'
Pen: Tamura (2/2) 44', 64'
ReportTry: Golosnitski 5' c
Con: Kushnarev (1/1) 6'
Pen: Kushnarev (1/1) 61'
Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu
Attendance: 45,745
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
Japan
Russia
FB 15 Will Tupou downward-facing red arrow 71'
RW 14 Kotaro Matsushima
OC 13 Timothy Lafaele
IC 12 Ryoto Nakamura
LW 11 Lomano Lemeki
FH 10 Yu Tamura downward-facing red arrow 67'
SH 9 Yutaka Nagare downward-facing red arrow 61'
N8 8 Kazuki Himeno
OF 7 Lappies Labuschagné
BF 6 Michael Leitch (c) downward-facing red arrow 71'
RL 5 James Moore
LL 4 Wimpie van der Walt downward-facing red arrow 61'
TP 3 Asaeli Ai Valu downward-facing red arrow 55'
HK 2 Shota Horie downward-facing red arrow 75'
LP 1 Keita Inagaki downward-facing red arrow 55'
Replacements:
HK 16 Atsushi Sakate upward-facing green arrow 75'
PR 17 Isileli Nakajima upward-facing green arrow 55'
PR 18 Koo Ji-won upward-facing green arrow 55'
LK 19 Luke Thompson upward-facing green arrow 60'
FL 20 Hendrik Tui upward-facing green arrow 71'
SH 21 Fumiaki Tanaka upward-facing green arrow 61'
FH 22 Rikiya Matsuda upward-facing green arrow 67'
FB 23 Ryohei Yamanaka upward-facing green arrow 71'
Coach:
New Zealand Jamie Joseph
FB 15 Vasily Artemyev (c)
RW 14 German Davydov
OC 13 Vladimir Ostroushko
IC 12 Dmitry Gerasimov downward-facing red arrow 68'
LW 11 Kirill Golosnitsky
FH 10 Yuri Kushnarev downward-facing red arrow 65'
SH 9 Vasily Dorofeev downward-facing red arrow 33' upward-facing green arrow 42' downward-facing red arrow 74'
N8 8 Nikita Vavilin
OF 7 Tagir Gadzhiev
BF 6 Vitaly Zhivatov downward-facing red arrow 65'
RL 5 Bogdan Fedotko downward-facing red arrow 61'
LL 4 Andrei Ostrikov
TP 3 Kirill Gotovtsev downward-facing red arrow 68'
HK 2 Stanislav Sel'skiy downward-facing red arrow 65'
LP 1 Valery Morozov downward-facing red arrow 65'
Replacements:
HK 16 Evgeny Matveev upward-facing green arrow 65'
PR 17 Andrei Polivalov upward-facing green arrow 65'
PR 18 Azamat Bitiev upward-facing green arrow 68'
LK 19 Andrey Garbuzov upward-facing green arrow 62'
FL 20 Anton Sychev upward-facing green arrow 65'
SH 21 Dmitry Perov upward-facing green arrow 33' downward-facing red arrow 42' upward-facing green arrow 74'
FH 22 Ramil Gaisin upward-facing green arrow 65'
WG 23 Vladislav Sozonov upward-facing green arrow 68'
Coach:
Wales Lyn Jones

Player of the Match:
Kotaro Matsushima (Japan)

Assistant referees:
Nic Berry (Australia)
Matthew Carley (England)
Television match official:
Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Notes:

  • This was the first Rugby World Cup opener not to feature a Tier 1 nation.
  • Kotaro Matsushima (Japan) became the first Japanese player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, and the first player to score one in a Rugby World Cup opener.
  • Russia's try was the fastest to be scored in an opening match of a Rugby World Cup.

Ireland vs Scotland

22 September 2019
16:45 JST (UTC+09)
(1 BP) Ireland 27–3 Scotland
Try: Ja. Ryan 6' c
Best 14' m
Furlong 25' c
Conway 56' m
Con: Sexton (1/2) 8'
Murray (1/2) 27'
Pen: Carty (1/1) 68'
ReportPen: Laidlaw (1/1) 21'
International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
Attendance: 63,731[15]
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Ireland
Scotland
FB 15 Jordan Larmour
RW 14 Andrew Conway
OC 13 Garry Ringrose
IC 12 Bundee Aki downward-facing red arrow 21'
LW 11 Jacob Stockdale
FH 10 Johnny Sexton downward-facing red arrow 58'
SH 9 Conor Murray downward-facing red arrow 58'
N8 8 CJ Stander
OF 7 Josh van der Flier red cross icon 14' to 22' downward-facing red arrow 74'
BF 6 Peter O'Mahony downward-facing red arrow 27'
RL 5 James Ryan
LL 4 Iain Henderson downward-facing red arrow 58'
TP 3 Tadhg Furlong downward-facing red arrow 50'
HK 2 Rory Best (c)
LP 1 Cian Healy downward-facing red arrow 50'
Replacements:
HK 16 Niall Scannell upward-facing green arrow 74'
PR 17 Dave Kilcoyne upward-facing green arrow 50'
PR 18 Andrew Porter upward-facing green arrow 50'
LK 19 Tadhg Beirne Yellow card 70' upward-facing green arrow 58'
FL 20 Jack Conan upward-facing green arrow 14' downward-facing red arrow 22' upward-facing green arrow 27'
SH 21 Luke McGrath upward-facing green arrow 58'
FH 22 Jack Carty upward-facing green arrow 58'
CE 23 Chris Farrell upward-facing green arrow 21'
Coach:
New Zealand Joe Schmidt
FB 15 Stuart Hogg
RW 14 Tommy Seymour downward-facing red arrow 58'
OC 13 Duncan Taylor downward-facing red arrow 65'
IC 12 Sam Johnson
LW 11 Sean Maitland
FH 10 Finn Russell
SH 9 Greig Laidlaw downward-facing red arrow 62'
N8 8 Ryan Wilson
OF 7 Hamish Watson downward-facing red arrow 38'
BF 6 John Barclay downward-facing red arrow 53'
RL 5 Jonny Gray downward-facing red arrow 65'
LL 4 Grant Gilchrist
TP 3 WP Nel downward-facing red arrow 53'
HK 2 Stuart McInally (c)
LP 1 Allan Dell downward-facing red arrow 62'
Replacements:
HK 16 Fraser Brown upward-facing green arrow 38'
PR 17 Gordon Reid upward-facing green arrow 62'
PR 18 Simon Berghan upward-facing green arrow 53'
LK 19 Scott Cummings upward-facing green arrow 65'
FL 20 Blade Thomson upward-facing green arrow 53'
SH 21 Ali Price upward-facing green arrow 62'
CE 22 Chris Harris upward-facing green arrow 65'
WG 23 Darcy Graham upward-facing green arrow 58'
Coach:
Scotland Gregor Townsend

Player of the Match:
CJ Stander (Ireland)

Assistant referees:
Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Television match official:
Graham Hughes (England)

Notes:

  • This was the first meeting between the two nations at a neutral venue.

Russia vs Samoa

24 September 2019
19:15 JST (UTC+09)
Russia 9–34 Samoa (1 BP)
Pen: Kushnarev (2/2) 19', 26'
Drop: Kushnarev (1/1) 48'
ReportTry: Leiua (2) 16' m, 80' m
Amosa 45' m
Fidow (2) 49' c, 53' c
Lee-Lo 63' m
Con: Pisi (2/5) 50', 54'
Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya
Attendance: 22,564
Referee: Romain Poite (France)
Russia
Samoa
FB 15 Vasily Artemyev (c)
RW 14 German Davydov
OC 13 Vladimir Ostroushko
IC 12 Dmitry Gerasimov downward-facing red arrow 65'
LW 11 Kirill Golosnitsky
FH 10 Yuri Kushnarev downward-facing red arrow 55'
SH 9 Vasily Dorofeev downward-facing red arrow 55'
N8 8 Nikita Vavilin downward-facing red arrow 65'
OF 7 Tagir Gadzhiev
BF 6 Vitaly Zhivatov
RL 5 Bogdan Fedotko
LL 4 Andrei Ostrikov downward-facing red arrow 65'
TP 3 Kirill Gotovtsev Yellow card 47' downward-facing red arrow 71'
HK 2 Stanislav Sel'skiy downward-facing red arrow 57'
LP 1 Valery Morozov downward-facing red arrow 59'
Replacements:
HK 16 Evgeny Matveev upward-facing green arrow 57'
PR 17 Andrey Polivalov upward-facing green arrow 59'
PR 18 Azamat Bitiev upward-facing green arrow 71'
LK 19 Andrey Garbuzov upward-facing green arrow 65'
FL 20 Anton Sychev upward-facing green arrow 21'
SH 21 Dmitry Perov upward-facing green arrow 22'
FH 22 Ramil Gaisin upward-facing green arrow 55'
WG 23 Vladislav Sozonov upward-facing green arrow 65'
Coach:
Wales Lyn Jones
FB 15 Tim Nanai-Williams downward-facing red arrow 65'
RW 14 Alapati Leiua
OC 13 Rey Lee-Lo Yellow card 29'
IC 12 Henry Taefu
LW 11 Ed Fidow
FH 10 Tusi Pisi downward-facing red arrow 65'
SH 9 Dwayne Polataivao downward-facing red arrow 40'
N8 8 Afa Amosa downward-facing red arrow 33' upward-facing green arrow 40' downward-facing red arrow 46'
OF 7 TJ Ioane
BF 6 Chris Vui (c)
RL 5 Kane Le'aupepe
LL 4 Filo Paulo downward-facing red arrow 65'
TP 3 Michael Alaalatoa downward-facing red arrow 55'
HK 2 Motu Matu'u Yellow card 31' downward-facing red arrow 40'
LP 1 Logovi'i Mulipola downward-facing red arrow 51'
Replacements:
HK 16 Ray Niuia upward-facing green arrow 33'
PR 17 Paul Alo-Emile upward-facing green arrow 55'
PR 18 Jordan Lay upward-facing green arrow 51'
LK 19 Senio Toleafoa upward-facing green arrow 65'
LK 20 Josh Tyrell upward-facing green arrow 46'
SH 21 Melani Matavao upward-facing green arrow 40'
FH 22 AJ Alatimu upward-facing green arrow 65'
FH 23 UJ Seuteni upward-facing green arrow 65'
Coach:
New Zealand Steve Jackson

Player of the Match:
Alapati Leiua (Samoa)

Assistant referees:
Jérôme Garcès (France)
Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Television match official:
Graham Hughes (England)

Notes:

  • This was the first meeting between the two nations.
  • Ahsee Tuala was due to start the game, but was replaced with Henry Taefu following injury ahead of kick off.

Japan vs Ireland

28 September 2019
16:15 JST (UTC+09)
Japan 19–12 Ireland (1 BP)
Try: Fukuoka 59' c
Con: Tamura (1/1) 61'
Pen: Tamura (4/6) 18', 34', 40', 72'
ReportTry: Ringrose 14' m
Kearney 21' c
Con: Carty (1/2) 22'
Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi
Attendance: 47,813
Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
Japan
Ireland
FB 15 Ryohei Yamanaka downward-facing red arrow 50'
RW 14 Kotaro Matsushima
OC 13 Timothy Lafaele
IC 12 Ryoto Nakamura
LW 11 Lomano Lemeki
FH 10 Yu Tamura
SH 9 Yutaka Nagare downward-facing red arrow 56'
N8 8 Amanaki Mafi downward-facing red arrow 31'
OF 7 Lappies Labuschagné (c)
BF 6 Kazuki Himeno
RL 5 James Moore
LL 4 Luke Thompson downward-facing red arrow 64'
TP 3 Koo Ji-won downward-facing red arrow 54'
HK 2 Shota Horie
LP 1 Keita Inagaki downward-facing red arrow 64'
Replacements:
HK 16 Atsushi Sakate
PR 17 Isileli Nakajima upward-facing green arrow 64'
PR 18 Asaeli Ai Valu upward-facing green arrow 54'
LK 19 Wimpie van der Walt upward-facing green arrow 64'
FL 20 Michael Leitch upward-facing green arrow 31'
SH 21 Fumiaki Tanaka upward-facing green arrow 57'
FH 22 Rikiya Matsuda
WG 23 Kenki Fukuoka upward-facing green arrow 50'
Coach:
New Zealand Jamie Joseph
FB 15 Rob Kearney downward-facing red arrow 68'
RW 14 Keith Earls
OC 13 Garry Ringrose
IC 12 Chris Farrell downward-facing red arrow 61'
LW 11 Jacob Stockdale
FH 10 Jack Carty downward-facing red arrow 61'
SH 9 Conor Murray
N8 8 CJ Stander
OF 7 Josh van der Flier
BF 6 Peter O'Mahony downward-facing red arrow 55'
RL 5 James Ryan
LL 4 Iain Henderson downward-facing red arrow 66'
TP 3 Tadhg Furlong downward-facing red arrow 61'
HK 2 Rory Best (c) downward-facing red arrow 61'
LP 1 Cian Healy downward-facing red arrow 46'
Replacements:
HK 16 Seán Cronin upward-facing green arrow 61'
PR 17 Dave Kilcoyne upward-facing green arrow 46'
PR 18 Andrew Porter upward-facing green arrow 61'
LK 19 Tadhg Beirne upward-facing green arrow 66'
FL 20 Rhys Ruddock upward-facing green arrow 53'
SH 21 Luke McGrath upward-facing green arrow 66'
FH 22 Joey Carbery upward-facing green arrow 61'
FB 23 Jordan Larmour upward-facing green arrow 61'
Coach:
New Zealand Joe Schmidt

Player of the Match:
Shota Horie (Japan)

Assistant referees:
Jérôme Garcès (France)
Matthew Carley (England)
Television match official:
Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Notes:

  • Will Tupou was due to start the game, but was replaced by Lomano Lemeki due to injury ahead of kick off.
  • Iain Henderson (Ireland) earned his 50th test cap.
  • This is Japan's first victory over Ireland.
  • This is Ireland's first Rugby World Cup pool stage loss since losing 30–15 to Argentina during the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
  • This is Ireland's first loss to a Tier 2 nation since losing 40–25 to Samoa in 1996.
  • This is the first time that Ireland has failed to score any points in the second half of a match since their match against France in the 2016 Six Nations Championship.

Scotland vs Samoa

30 September 2019
19:15 JST (UTC+09)
(1 BP) Scotland 34–0 Samoa
Try: Maitland 30' c
Laidlaw 34' c
Penalty try (2) 57', 75'
Con: Laidlaw (2/2) 31', 36'
Pen: Laidlaw (1/1) 9'
Drop: Hogg (1/1) 38'
Report
Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe
Attendance: 27,586
Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
Scotland
Samoa
FB 15 Stuart Hogg
RW 14 Darcy Graham
OC 13 Chris Harris
IC 12 Sam Johnson downward-facing red arrow 64'
LW 11 Sean Maitland
FH 10 Finn Russell downward-facing red arrow 75'
SH 9 Greig Laidlaw downward-facing red arrow 64'
N8 8 Blade Thomson
OF 7 Jamie Ritchie
BF 6 Magnus Bradbury downward-facing red arrow 73'
RL 5 Jonny Gray
LL 4 Grant Gilchrist downward-facing red arrow 52'
TP 3 WP Nel downward-facing red arrow 58'
HK 2 Stuart McInally (c) downward-facing red arrow 52'
LP 1 Allan Dell downward-facing red arrow 13'
Replacements:
HK 16 Fraser Brown upward-facing green arrow 52'
PR 17 Gordon Reid upward-facing green arrow 13'
PR 18 Zander Fagerson upward-facing green arrow 58'
LK 19 Scott Cummings upward-facing green arrow 52'
N8 20 Ryan Wilson upward-facing green arrow 73'
SH 21 George Horne upward-facing green arrow 64'
FH 22 Adam Hastings upward-facing green arrow 75'
CE 23 Duncan Taylor upward-facing green arrow 64'
Coach:
Scotland Gregor Townsend
FB 15 Tim Nanai-Williams
RW 14 Belgium Tuatagaloa downward-facing red arrow 45'
OC 13 Alapati Leiua
IC 12 Henry Taefu
LW 11 Ed Fidow Yellow card 57' Yellow-red card 75'
FH 10 Tusi Pisi downward-facing red arrow 54'
SH 9 Melani Matavao downward-facing red arrow 71'
N8 8 Jack Lam (c) downward-facing red arrow 3' upward-facing green arrow 14'
OF 7 TJ Ioane downward-facing red arrow 66'
BF 6 Chris Vui
RL 5 Kane Le'aupepe
LL 4 Filo Paulo downward-facing red arrow 51' upward-facing green arrow 79'
TP 3 Michael Alaalatoa downward-facing red arrow 44'
HK 2 Ray Niuia downward-facing red arrow 54'
LP 1 Logovi'i Mulipola downward-facing red arrow 44'
Replacements:
HK 16 Seilala Lam upward-facing green arrow 54'
PR 17 Paul Alo-Emile upward-facing green arrow 47'
PR 18 Jordan Lay upward-facing green arrow 44'
FL 19 Piula Fa'asalele upward-facing green arrow 51' downward-facing red arrow 79'
LK 20 Josh Tyrell upward-facing green arrow 4' downward-facing red arrow 14' upward-facing green arrow 66'
SH 21 Pele Cowley upward-facing green arrow 71'
FH 22 UJ Seuteni upward-facing green arrow 54'
CE 23 Kieron Fonotia upward-facing green arrow 45'
Coach:
New Zealand Steve Jackson

Player of the Match:
Jonny Gray (Scotland)

Assistant referees:
Nigel Owens (Wales)
Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Television match official:
Graham Hughes (England)

Notes:

  • This is the first time since beating Italy 29–0 in 2017 that Scotland have kept their opponents scoreless, and the first time ever against Samoa. The last time they did so at a Rugby World Cup was in 2007, when they beat Romania 42–0.
  • This is the first time that Samoa has failed to score any points in a Rugby World Cup match.

Ireland vs Russia

3 October 2019
19:15 JST (UTC+09)
(1 BP) Ireland 35–0 Russia
Try: Kearney 2' c
O'Mahony 13' c
Ruddock 35' c
Conway 62' c
Ringrose 76' c
Con: Sexton (3/3) 4', 15', 37'
Carty (2/2) 63', 77'
Report
Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe
Attendance: 26,856
Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
Ireland
Russia
FB 15 Rob Kearney downward-facing red arrow 50'
RW 14 Andrew Conway
OC 13 Garry Ringrose
IC 12 Bundee Aki
LW 11 Keith Earls
FH 10 Johnny Sexton (c) downward-facing red arrow 40'
SH 9 Luke McGrath
N8 8 Jordi Murphy downward-facing red arrow 27'
OF 7 Peter O'Mahony
BF 6 Rhys Ruddock
RL 5 Jean Kleyn downward-facing red arrow 61'
LL 4 Tadhg Beirne
TP 3 John Ryan downward-facing red arrow 58'
HK 2 Niall Scannell downward-facing red arrow 58'
LP 1 Dave Kilcoyne downward-facing red arrow 58'
Replacements:
HK 16 Seán Cronin upward-facing green arrow 58'
PR 17 Andrew Porter upward-facing green arrow 58'
PR 18 Tadhg Furlong upward-facing green arrow 58'
LK 19 Iain Henderson upward-facing green arrow 61'
N8 20 CJ Stander upward-facing green arrow 27'
SH 21 Conor Murray
FH 22 Jack Carty upward-facing green arrow 40'
FB 23 Jordan Larmour upward-facing green arrow 50'
Coach:
New Zealand Joe Schmidt
FB 15 Vasily Artemyev (c)
RW 14 German Davydov
OC 13 Igor Galinovskiy
IC 12 Kirill Golosnitsky downward-facing red arrow 15'
LW 11 Denis Simplikevich downward-facing red arrow 71'
FH 10 Ramil Gaisin
SH 9 Dmitry Perov
N8 8 Victor Gresev
OF 7 Tagir Gadzhiev
BF 6 Anton Sychev downward-facing red arrow 70'
RL 5 Bogdan Fedotko Yellow card 34' downward-facing red arrow 64'
LL 4 Andrey Garbuzov downward-facing red arrow 50'
TP 3 Kirill Gotovtsev downward-facing red arrow 68'
HK 2 Evgeny Matveev downward-facing red arrow 40'
LP 1 Andrey Polivalov downward-facing red arrow 40'
Replacements:
HK 16 Stanislav Sel'skiy upward-facing green arrow 40'
PR 17 Valery Morozov upward-facing green arrow 40'
PR 18 Vladimir Podrezov upward-facing green arrow 68'
LK 19 Andrei Ostrikov Yellow card 51' upward-facing green arrow 50'
LK 20 Evgeny Elgin upward-facing green arrow 64'
FH 21 Sergey Yanyushkin upward-facing green arrow 71'
FL 22 Roman Khodin upward-facing green arrow 70'
CE 23 Vladimir Ostroushko upward-facing green arrow 15'
Coach:
Wales Lyn Jones

Player of the Match:
Rhys Ruddock (Ireland)

Assistant referees:
Mathieu Raynal (France)
Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Television match official:
Ben Skeen (New Zealand)

Notes:

Japan vs Samoa

5 October 2019
19:30 JST (UTC+09)
(1 BP) Japan 38–19 Samoa
Try: Lafaele 28' c
Himeno 53' c
Fukuoka 76' m
Matsushima 80+5' c
Con: Tamura (3/4) 29', 55', 80+7'
Pen: Tamura (4/5) 3', 8', 24', 51'
ReportTry: Taefu 73' c
Con: Taefu (1/1) 74'
Pen: Taefu (4/5) 10', 15', 34', 45'
City of Toyota Stadium, Toyota
Attendance: 39,695
Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
Japan
Samoa
FB 15 Ryohei Yamanaka downward-facing red arrow 57'
RW 14 Kotaro Matsushima
OC 13 Timothy Lafaele
IC 12 Ryoto Nakamura downward-facing red arrow 70'
LW 11 Lomano Lemeki
FH 10 Yu Tamura
SH 9 Yutaka Nagare downward-facing red arrow 63'
N8 8 Kazuki Himeno
OF 7 Lappies Labuschagné (c)
BF 6 Michael Leitch downward-facing red arrow 64'
RL 5 James Moore
LL 4 Wimpie van der Walt downward-facing red arrow 68'
TP 3 Koo Ji-won downward-facing red arrow 52'
HK 2 Atsushi Sakate downward-facing red arrow 40'
LP 1 Keita Inagaki downward-facing red arrow 52'
Replacements:
HK 16 Shota Horie upward-facing green arrow 40'
PR 17 Isileli Nakajima upward-facing green arrow 52'
PR 18 Asaeli Ai Valu upward-facing green arrow 52'
LK 19 Uwe Helu upward-facing green arrow 68'
FL 20 Hendrik Tui upward-facing green arrow 64'
SH 21 Fumiaki Tanaka upward-facing green arrow 63'
FH 22 Rikiya Matsuda upward-facing green arrow 70'
WG 23 Kenki Fukuoka upward-facing green arrow 57'
Coach:
New Zealand Jamie Joseph
FB 15 Tim Nanai-Williams downward-facing red arrow 40'
RW 14 Ahsee Tuala downward-facing red arrow 55'
OC 13 Alapati Leiua
IC 12 Henry Taefu
LW 11 Ed Fidow
FH 10 UJ Seuteni
SH 9 Dwayne Polataivao downward-facing red arrow 66'
N8 8 Jack Lam (c)
OF 7 TJ Ioane Yellow card 25' downward-facing red arrow 70'
BF 6 Chris Vui
RL 5 Kane Le'aupepe
LL 4 Piula Fa'asalele downward-facing red arrow 61'
TP 3 Michael Alaalatoa downward-facing red arrow 56'
HK 2 Seilala Lam downward-facing red arrow 56'
LP 1 Jordan Lay downward-facing red arrow 66'
Replacements:
HK 16 Ray Niuia upward-facing green arrow 56'
PR 17 Paul Alo-Emile upward-facing green arrow 66'
PR 18 James Lay upward-facing green arrow 56'
LK 19 Senio Toleafoa upward-facing green arrow 61'
LK 20 Josh Tyrell upward-facing green arrow 70'
SH 21 Pele Cowley upward-facing green arrow 66'
FH 22 Tusi Pisi upward-facing green arrow 55'
CE 23 Kieron Fonotia upward-facing green arrow 40'
Coach:
New Zealand Steve Jackson

Player of the Match:
Lomano Lemeki (Japan)

Assistant referees:
Angus Gardner (Australia)
Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Television match official:
Graham Hughes (England)

Notes:

  • Ben O'Keeffe was due to be part of the officiating team for this game, but swapped with Angus Gardner's appointment between England and Argentina.

Scotland vs Russia

9 October 2019
16:15 JST (UTC+09)
(1 BP) Scotland 61–0 Russia
Try: Hastings (2) 14' c, 18' c
G. Horne (3) 22' c, 45' c, 59' m
Turner 51' c
Seymour 56' c
Barclay 75' c
McInally 78' c
Con: Hastings (8/9) 15', 20', 24', 46', 53', 57', 76', 80'
Report
Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi
Attendance: 44,123
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
Scotland
Russia
FB 15 Blair Kinghorn
RW 14 Tommy Seymour
OC 13 Duncan Taylor
IC 12 Peter Horne
LW 11 Darcy Graham downward-facing red arrow 47'
FH 10 Adam Hastings
SH 9 George Horne downward-facing red arrow 65'
N8 8 Ryan Wilson
OF 7 Fraser Brown downward-facing red arrow 31'
BF 6 John Barclay (c)
RL 5 Ben Toolis
LL 4 Scott Cummings downward-facing red arrow 61'
TP 3 Zander Fagerson downward-facing red arrow 40'
HK 2 George Turner downward-facing red arrow 65'
LP 1 Gordon Reid downward-facing red arrow 61'
Replacements:
HK 16 Stuart McInally upward-facing green arrow 65'
PR 17 Simon Berghan upward-facing green arrow 40'
PR 18 W. P. Nel upward-facing green arrow 61'
LK 19 Grant Gilchrist upward-facing green arrow 61'
FL 20 Magnus Bradbury upward-facing green arrow 31'
FL 21 Jamie Ritchie
SH 22 Henry Pyrgos upward-facing green arrow 47'
CE 23 Chris Harris upward-facing green arrow 65'
Coach:
Scotland Gregor Townsend
FB 15 Vasily Artemyev (c) downward-facing red arrow 61'
RW 14 German Davydov
OC 13 Vladimir Ostroushko downward-facing red arrow 38' upward-facing green arrow 40'
IC 12 Dmitry Gerasimov
LW 11 Vladislav Sozonov
FH 10 Ramil Gaisin downward-facing red arrow 65'
SH 9 Dmitry Perov
N8 8 Nikita Vavilin downward-facing red arrow 58'
OF 7 Tagir Gadzhiev
BF 6 Vitaly Zhivatov
RL 5 Evgeny Elgin downward-facing red arrow 50'
LL 4 Andrei Ostrikov downward-facing red arrow 69'
TP 3 Kirill Gotovtsev downward-facing red arrow 61'
HK 2 Stanislav Sel'skiy downward-facing red arrow 61'
LP 1 Valery Morozov downward-facing red arrow 61'
Replacements:
HK 16 Sergey Chernyshev upward-facing green arrow 61'
PR 17 Azamat Bitiev upward-facing green arrow 61'
PR 18 Vladimir Podrezov upward-facing green arrow 61'
LK 19 Bogdan Fedotko upward-facing green arrow 50'
LK 20 Andrey Garbuzov upward-facing green arrow 69'
FH 21 Sergey Yanyushkin upward-facing green arrow 65'
N8 22 Anton Sychev upward-facing green arrow 58'
FH 23 Yuri Kushnarev upward-facing green arrow 38' downward-facing red arrow 40' upward-facing green arrow 61'
Coach:
Wales Lyn Jones

Player of the Match:
Adam Hastings (Scotland)

Assistant referees:
Alexandre Ruiz (France)
Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
Television match official:
Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Notes:

  • This is the first meeting between the two nations.
  • Vladimir Ostroushko (Russia) earned his 50th test cap.
  • Scotland became the first team to hold their opponents to nil points more than once in a single World Cup campaign.
  • Mathieu Raynal was due to referee this game but withdrew ahead of kick off due to illness – Wayne Barnes stepped up from assistant with Alexandre Ruiz covering the assistant role.

Ireland vs Samoa

12 October 2019
19:45 JST (UTC+09)
(1 BP) Ireland 47–5 Samoa
Try: Best 4' c
Furlong 10' c
Sexton (2) 21' c, 39' m
Larmour 48' c
Stander 65' c
Conway 70' c
Con: Sexton (4/5) 5', 11', 23', 50
Carbery (2/2) 67', 72'
ReportTry: J. Lam 26' m
Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium, Fukuoka
Attendance: 17,967
Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
Ireland
Samoa
FB 15 Jordan Larmour
RW 14 Keith Earls
OC 13 Robbie Henshaw downward-facing red arrow 62'
IC 12 Bundee Aki Red card 29'
LW 11 Jacob Stockdale
FH 10 Johnny Sexton downward-facing red arrow 51'
SH 9 Conor Murray downward-facing red arrow 53'
N8 8 CJ Stander
OF 7 Josh van der Flier
BF 6 Tadhg Beirne downward-facing red arrow 60'
RL 5 James Ryan downward-facing red arrow 57'
LL 4 Iain Henderson
TP 3 Tadhg Furlong downward-facing red arrow 45'
HK 2 Rory Best (c) downward-facing red arrow 50'
LP 1 Cian Healy downward-facing red arrow 57'
Replacements:
HK 16 Niall Scannell upward-facing green arrow 50'
PR 17 Dave Kilcoyne upward-facing green arrow 57'
PR 18 Andrew Porter upward-facing green arrow 45'
LK 19 Jean Kleyn upward-facing green arrow 57'
FL 20 Peter O'Mahony upward-facing green arrow 60'
SH 21 Luke McGrath upward-facing green arrow 53'
FH 22 Joey Carbery upward-facing green arrow 51'
WG 23 Andrew Conway upward-facing green arrow 62'
Coach:
New Zealand Joe Schmidt
FB 15 Tim Nanai-Williams
RW 14 Ahsee Tuala
OC 13 Alapati Leiua
IC 12 Henry Taefu
LW 11 Ed Fidow downward-facing red arrow 50'
FH 10 UJ Seuteni downward-facing red arrow 29'
SH 9 Dwayne Polataivao downward-facing red arrow 70'
N8 8 Jack Lam (c)
OF 7 TJ Ioane Yellow card 59' downward-facing red arrow 70'
BF 6 Chris Vui
RL 5 Kane Le'aupepe
LL 4 Filo Paulo downward-facing red arrow 14' upward-facing green arrow 17' downward-facing red arrow 54'
TP 3 Michael Alaalatoa downward-facing red arrow 54'
HK 2 Seilala Lam Yellow card 6' downward-facing red arrow 47'
LP 1 Logovi'i Mulipola downward-facing red arrow 47'
Replacements:
HK 16 Ray Niuia upward-facing green arrow 14' downward-facing red arrow 17' upward-facing green arrow 47'
PR 17 Paul Alo-Emile upward-facing green arrow 47'
PR 18 Jordan Lay upward-facing green arrow 54'
FL 19 Piula Faʻasalele upward-facing green arrow 54'
LK 20 Josh Tyrell upward-facing green arrow 70'
SH 21 Pele Cowley upward-facing green arrow 70'
FH 22 Tusi Pisi upward-facing green arrow 29'
CE 23 Kieron Fonotia upward-facing green arrow 50'
Coach:
New Zealand Steve Jackson

Player of the Match:
Jordan Larmour (Ireland)

Assistant referees:
Romain Poite (France)
Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
Television match official:
Rowan Kitt (England)

Japan vs Scotland

13 October 2019
19:45 JST (UTC+09)
(1 BP) Japan 28–21 Scotland (1 BP)
Try: Matsushima 18' c
Inagaki 26' c
Fukuoka (2) 40' c, 43' c
Con: Tamura (4/4) 20', 27', 40+2', 44'
ReportTry: Russell 7' c
Nel 50' c
Fagerson 55' c
Con: Laidlaw (2/2) 8', 51'
Russell (1/1) 56'
International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama
Attendance: 67,666
Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
Japan
Scotland
FB 15 Will Tupou downward-facing red arrow 51'
RW 14 Kotaro Matsushima
OC 13 Timothy Lafaele
IC 12 Ryoto Nakamura downward-facing red arrow 75'
LW 11 Kenki Fukuoka
FH 10 Yu Tamura
SH 9 Yutaka Nagare downward-facing red arrow 51'
N8 8 Kazuki Himeno
OF 7 Lappies Labuschagné
BF 6 Michael Leitch (c) downward-facing red arrow 73'
RL 5 James Moore downward-facing red arrow 52'
LL 4 Luke Thompson
TP 3 Koo Ji-won downward-facing red arrow 22'
HK 2 Shota Horie downward-facing red arrow 73'
LP 1 Keita Inagaki downward-facing red arrow 57'
Replacements:
HK 16 Atsushi Sakate upward-facing green arrow 73'
PR 17 Isileli Nakajima upward-facing green arrow 57'
PR 18 Asaeli Ai Valu upward-facing green arrow 22'
LK 19 Uwe Helu upward-facing green arrow 52'
FL 20 Hendrik Tui upward-facing green arrow 73'
SH 21 Fumiaki Tanaka upward-facing green arrow 51'
FH 22 Rikiya Matsuda upward-facing green arrow 75'
FB 23 Ryohei Yamanaka upward-facing green arrow 51'
Coach:
New Zealand Jamie Joseph
FB 15 Stuart Hogg
RW 14 Tommy Seymour downward-facing red arrow 52'
OC 13 Chris Harris
IC 12 Sam Johnson
LW 11 Darcy Graham downward-facing red arrow 60'
FH 10 Finn Russell
SH 9 Greig Laidlaw (c) downward-facing red arrow 52'
N8 8 Blade Thomson
OF 7 Jamie Ritchie
BF 6 Magnus Bradbury downward-facing red arrow 66'
RL 5 Jonny Gray
LL 4 Grant Gilchrist downward-facing red arrow 52'
TP 3 WP Nel downward-facing red arrow 52'
HK 2 Fraser Brown downward-facing red arrow 52'
LP 1 Allan Dell downward-facing red arrow 52'
Replacements:
HK 16 Stuart McInally upward-facing green arrow 52'
PR 17 Gordon Reid upward-facing green arrow 52'
PR 18 Zander Fagerson upward-facing green arrow 52'
LK 19 Scott Cummings upward-facing green arrow 52'
N8 20 Ryan Wilson upward-facing green arrow 66'
SH 21 George Horne upward-facing green arrow 52'
CE 22 Peter Horne upward-facing green arrow 61'
FB 23 Blair Kinghorn upward-facing green arrow 52'
Coach:
Scotland Gregor Townsend

Player of the Match:
Kenki Fukuoka (Japan)

Assistant referees:
Mathieu Raynal (France)
Matthew Carley (England)
Television match official:
Marius Jonker (South Africa)

Notes:

  • This was Scotland's 700th test match.
  • This was Japan's first win over Scotland.
  • This was the first time that a Tier 2 nation had defeated two Tier 1 nations in a single World Cup tournament.
  • With this win, Japan topped the pool and advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time – the first Asian side to do so.
  • Japan became the first Tier 2 nation since Fiji in 2007, and the fourth ever, to advance to the quarter-finals.
  • Japan became the first Tier 2 nation to top their pool and win all of their pool games.
  • The game was at risk of cancellation due to the after effects of Typhoon Hagibis the previous night. There was a lot of determination that, of all games, this one would be played. During the early hours of that morning a clean up operation was carried out by a large number of local residents. After an appeal put out by stadium management, they had spent the night in the stadium to be sure of being there as soon as the worst of the typhoon had passed. To get the venue match-ready mud had to be cleaned up and the entire pitch was dried by hand with towels. It was passed safe by 1100 and the game went ahead.

References

External videos
video icon Rugby World Cup 2019: Japan v Scotland on YouTube
  1. ^ Pugmire, Jerome (20 September 2019). "Japan beats Russia 30–10 in Rugby World Cup opener". Tokyo: Japan Today. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  2. ^ Duggan, Keith (22 September 2019). "Rugby World Cup: Ireland take a bow after near perfect opening night". Yokohama: The Irish Times. Retrieved 23 September 2019.
  3. ^ "Samoa ease past battling Russia in bruising Rugby World Cup encounter". The Guardian. 24 September 2019. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  4. ^ Kinsella, Murray (2019-10-01). "Ireland get World Rugby feedback that three offside penalties were incorrect". The42.ie. Archived from the original on 2019-10-03. Retrieved 2021-03-16.
  5. ^ "Rugby World Cup: World Rugby admitted penalty errors in Japan game, says Schmidt". BBC Sports. 2019-10-01.
  6. ^ Freeman, Rich (28 September 2019). "Japan stun world No. 2 Ireland with 19–12 victory at Rugby World Cup". Japan Today. Retrieved 30 September 2019.
  7. ^ Bull, Andy (30 September 2019). "Scotland shower points over Samoa in Rugby World Cup walkover". The Guardian. Kobe Misaki Stadium. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  8. ^ Thornley, Gerry (3 October 2019). "Rugby World Cup: Ireland make heavy weather of Russia win". Kobe Misaki Stadium: The Irish Times. Retrieved 8 October 2019.
  9. ^ "Japan's late bonus from Matsushima against Samoa hurts Scotland". The Guardian. 5 October 2019. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  10. ^ Bull, Andy (9 October 2019). "Scotland run in nine tries to hammer Russia and keep World Cup hopes alive". The Guardian. Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  11. ^ Thornley, Gerry (12 October 2019). "Improved Ireland qualify for Rugby World Cup quarter-finals". The Irish Times. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  12. ^ Harris, Talek (12 October 2019). "World Rugby slams Scotland legal threat over typhoon-hit game". Tokyo: Japan Today. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  13. ^ Kitson, Robert (2019-10-13). "Rugby World Cup: Scotland v Japan to go ahead but Namibia v Canada off". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 2019-10-13.
  14. ^ Phillips, Mitch (13 October 2019). "Japan beats Scotland 28-21 to advance to Rugby World Cup quarterfinals for first time". Japan Today. Retrieved 14 October 2019.
  15. ^ "RUGBY WORLD CUP , Pool A - Yokohama, 22 September 2019, 16:45 local, 07:45 GMT". espnscrum. Retrieved 9 March 2023.