2019 Rugby World Cup Pool B
Pool B of the 2019 Rugby World Cup began on 21 September 2019.
The pool included title holders New Zealand and third-placed team from 2015 South Africa, while Italy also joined the pool after finishing third in their pool in 2015. They were joined by the African qualifier, Namibia, and the repechage winner, Canada.
Neither of the final two matches in the pool were played due to the effects of Typhoon Hagibis; New Zealand were a point behind South Africa, who had played all four of their matches, going into the final game against Italy, so the two points awarded for the cancelled match saw New Zealand take top spot in the pool, while Italy finished third behind South Africa. Neither Namibia nor Canada managed a win in their first three matches, and the cancellation of their final match meant they finished level on points, with Namibia finishing higher on points difference.
Overview
Pool B started with New Zealand beating South Africa 23–13. New Zealand opened their scoring with two tries in four minutes from George Bridge and Scott Barrett giving New Zealand a 17–3 lead at half-time. Pieter-Steph du Toit scored a converted try to bring the score back to 17–10 but two penalties from Richie Mo'unga and Beauden Barrett sealed the result. In Higashiōsaka, Italy conceded an early try against Namibia before running away with a bonus-point victory by 25 points. Italy earned a second bonus-point victory in Fukuoka, scoring seven tries in a 48–7 demolition of Canada. Over in Toyota, South Africa defeated Namibia by 54 points, scoring nine tries while Namibia could manage only a Cliven Loubser penalty in the 23rd minute. New Zealand recorded their second victory of the World Cup with a 63–0 victory over Canada at Ōita Stadium. For New Zealand, Brad Weber scored his first two tries in international rugby with the Barrett brothers (Jordie Barrett, Beauden Barrett and Scott Barrett) each scoring a try as they became first trio of brothers to start for New Zealand.
New Zealand would continue their demolition of their opponents with a 62-point win over Namibia in Chōfu, with the floodgates opening in the second half after Namibia restricted the All Blacks to 24 points in the first half. Sevu Reece, Ben Smith and Anton Lienert-Brown scoring two tries in the match. Between the two New Zealand games, South Africa romped over Italy with Cheslin Kolbe scoring two tries as the South Africans won 49–3 in Fukuroi. This was followed by a 66–7 victory over Canada with Cobus Reinach scoring the fastest hat-trick in World Cup history, with his three tries being scored in a space of 11 minutes. The final two matches of the group would not be played as Typhoon Hagibis would see the cancellation of the New Zealand–Italy and Namibia–Canada matches. At the end of the pool stage, New Zealand finished on top of the table with South Africa finishing second.
Standings
| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | B | Pts | Qualification |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 |  New Zealand | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 157 | 22 | +135 | 22 | 2 | 16 | Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup |
| 2 |  South Africa | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 185 | 36 | +149 | 27 | 3 | 15 | |
| 3 |  Italy | 4 | 2 | 1 | 1 | 98 | 78 | +20 | 14 | 2 | 12 | Eliminated but qualified for 2023 Rugby World Cup |
| 4 |  Namibia | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 34 | 175 | −141 | 3 | 0 | 2 | |
| 5 |  Canada | 4 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 14 | 177 | −163 | 2 | 0 | 2 |
Matches
All times are local Japan Standard Time (UTC+09)
New Zealand vs South Africa
| 21 September 2019 18:45 JST (UTC+09) |
| New Zealand | 23–13 | South Africa |
| Try: Bridge 24' c S. Barrett 27' c Con: Mo'unga (2/2) 25', 28' Pen: Mo'unga (2/3) 23', 67' B. Barrett (1/1) 72' | Report | Try: P. du Toit 48' c Con: Pollard (1/1) 49' Pen: Pollard (1/2) 2' Drop: Pollard (1/1) 59' |
| International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama Attendance: 63,649 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France) |
       New Zealand |     South Africa |
| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Duane Vermeulen (South Africa) earned his 50th test cap.
Italy vs Namibia
| 22 September 2019 14:15 JST (UTC+09) |
| (1 BP) Italy | 47–22 | Namibia |
| Try: Penalty try 11' Allan 26' c Tebaldi 40+1' c Bellini 44' c Canna 47' c Polledri 70' m Minozzi 76' c Con: Allan (3/3) 27', 40+2', 45' Canna (2/3) 48', 77' | Report | Try: Stevens 6' c Greyling 57' m Plato 79' c Con: Loubser (2/3) 7', 80' Pen: Loubser (1/1) 51' |
| Hanazono Rugby Stadium, Higashiōsaka Attendance: 20,354 Referee: Nic Berry (Australia) |
   Italy |    Namibia |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- PJ Walters (Namibia) made his international debut.
- Darryl de la Harpe (Namibia) earned his 50th test cap.
Italy vs Canada
| 26 September 2019 16:45 JST (UTC+09) |
| (1 BP) Italy | 48–7 | Canada |
| Try: Steyn 8' c Budd 13' c Negri 44' c Penalty try 59' Bellini 62' m Zani 73' c Minozzi 79' m Con: Allan (3/4) 9', 14', 45' Canna (1/2) 74' Pen: Allan (1/1) 3' | Report | Try: Coe 69' c Con: Nelson (1/1) 71' |
| Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium, Fukuoka Attendance: 16,984 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales) |
   Italy |      Canada |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Djustice Sears-Duru (Canada) earned his 50th test cap.
- This was Italy's biggest winning margin at a Rugby World Cup.[citation needed]
South Africa vs Namibia
| 28 September 2019 18:45 JST (UTC+09) |
| (1 BP) South Africa | 57–3 | Namibia |
| Try: Mbonambi (2) 10' c, 17' c Louw 15' m Mapimpi (2) 27' m, 54' c Am 42' c Gelant 48' c Kolisi 59' m Brits 64' c Con: E. Jantjies (6/9) 11', 19', 43', 50', 55', 66' | Report | Pen: Loubser (1/2) 24' |
| City of Toyota Stadium, Toyota Attendance: 36,449 Referee: Mathieu Raynal (France) |
  South Africa | Namibia |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
New Zealand vs Canada
| 2 October 2019 19:15 JST (UTC+09) |
| (1 BP) New Zealand | 63–0 | Canada |
| Try: Penalty try 5' J. Barrett 9' c Williams 17' c B. Barrett 36' c Ioane 41' c S. Barrett 45' c Frizell 47' c Weber (2) 50' c, 57' c Con: Mo'unga (8/8) 10', 19', 37', 43', 46', 49', 51', 59' | Report |
| Oita Stadium, Ōita Attendance: 34,411 Referee: Romain Poite (France) |
| New Zealand | Canada |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Beauden Barrett, Jordie Barrett and Scott Barrett became the first trio of brothers to start for New Zealand in a World Cup match, and the first to all start in a World Cup match since Elisi Vunipola, Manu Vunipola, and Fe'ao Vunipola all played for Tonga in 1995. The Barrett brothers also became the first trio of brothers to all score a try in the same match.
- Richie Mo'unga's eight successful conversion attempts is the most without missing in a Rugby World Cup match.[citation needed]
South Africa vs Italy
| 4 October 2019 18:45 JST (UTC+09) |
| (1 BP) South Africa | 49–3 | Italy |
| Try: Kolbe (2) 6' c, 53' m Mbonambi 27' c Am 58' c Mapimpi 68' c Snyman 76' m Marx 80+3' m Con: Pollard (4/7) 7', 28', 60', 69' Pen: Pollard (2/2) 12', 51' | Report | Pen: Allan (1/1) 9' |
| Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi Attendance: 44,148 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) |
| South Africa | Italy |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Sergio Parisse played in his 15th World Cup match, an Italian record.[citation needed]
- Andrea Lovotti became the fourth player to receive a red during the 2019 World Cup, matching a tournament high set in 1995 and 1999.[citation needed]
- With injuries to both the starting tighthead and reserve tighthead for Italy, scrums went uncontested from the 18th minute.
- No replacement was issued for Cheslin Kolbe.[citation needed]
New Zealand vs Namibia
| 6 October 2019 13:45 JST (UTC+09) |
| (1 BP) New Zealand | 71–9 | Namibia |
| Try: Reece (2) 6' m, 53' c Lienert-Brown (2) 21' m, 47' c Ta'avao 36' c B. Smith (2) 40+5' c, 68' c Moody 42' m Whitelock 56' c J. Barrett 76' c Perenara 79' m Con: J. Barrett (8/11) 37', 40+6', 44', 48', 53', 57', 69', 77' | Report | Pen: Stevens (3/3) 3', 26', 30' |
| Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu Attendance: 48,354 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France) |
| New Zealand | Namibia |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
South Africa vs Canada
| 8 October 2019 19:15 JST (UTC+09) |
| (1 BP) South Africa | 66–7 | Canada |
| Try: De Allende 3' c Nkosi 6' m Reinach (3) 10' c, 18' c, 21' c Gelant 28' c Steyn 40'+1 c Brits 55' c Willemse 66' c Malherbe 73' m Con: E. Jantjies (8/10) 3', 12', 20', 22', 29', 40'+2, 56', 68' | Report | Try: Heaton 46' c Con: Nelson (1/1) 48' |
| Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe Attendance: 28,014 Referee: Luke Pearce (England) |
| South Africa | Canada |
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| Player of the Match: Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- Cobus Reinach (South Africa) scored the fastest hat-trick in a World Cup match, with just 11 minutes between his first and third tries.
New Zealand vs Italy
| 12 October 2019 13:45 JST (UTC+09) |
| New Zealand | 0–0 (Cancelled) | Italy |
| City of Toyota Stadium, Toyota Referee: Luke Pearce (England) |
| Assistant referees: |
Notes:
- As a result of inclement weather caused by Typhoon Hagibis this match was cancelled and awarded as a 0–0 draw.
Namibia vs Canada
| 13 October 2019 12:15 JST (UTC+09) |
| Namibia | 0–0 (Cancelled) | Canada |
| Kamaishi Recovery Memorial Stadium, Kamaishi Referee: Paul Williams (New Zealand) |
| Namibia | Canada |
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Notes:
- Despite both teams naming their sides, this match was cancelled following an evacuation order in Kamaishi during Typhoon Hagibis and awarded as a 0–0 draw.
References
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