2007 Rugby World Cup knockout stage

The knockout stage of the 2007 Rugby World Cup began on 6 October with a quarter-final between Australia and England and concluded on 20 October with the final, at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, Paris, between England and South Africa, their second meeting in this tournament.

South Africa were the first team to qualify for the knockout stage, when they beat Tonga 30–25 in their penultimate Pool A game.

This was the first Rugby World Cup tournament to have its semi-finalists coming from only two pools (Pools A and D), and the finalists coming from just one pool (Pool A). The top two representative nations of each of pools B and C were eliminated in the quarter-finals.

Summary [edit]

	Quarter-finals				Semi-finals				Final
	6 October – Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
	Australia	10
					13 October – Stade de France, St-Denis
	England	12
					England	14
	6 October – Millennium Stadium, Cardiff
					France	9
	New Zealand	18
									20 October – Stade de France, St-Denis
	France	20
									England	6
	7 October – Stade Vélodrome, Marseille
									South Africa	15
	South Africa	37
					14 October – Stade de France, St-Denis
	Fiji	20
					South Africa	37			Third place
	7 October – Stade de France, St-Denis
					Argentina	13
	Argentina	19							France	10
	Scotland	13							Argentina	34
									19 October – Parc des Princes, Paris

Quarter-finals [edit]

Australia vs England [edit]

6 October 2007 15:00	Australia	10 – 12	England	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 59,120 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
	Try: Tuqiri 33' c Con: Mortlock (1/1) Pen: Mortlock (1/4) 7'	Report	Pen: Wilkinson (4/7) 23', 26', 52', 60'

Australia FB 15 Chris Latham RW 14 Adam Ashley-Cooper  64' OC 13 Stirling Mortlock (c) IC 12 Matt Giteau LW 11 Lote Tuqiri FH 10 Berrick Barnes SH 9 George Gregan N8 8 Wycliff Palu  76' OF 7 George Smith  64' BF 6 Rocky Elsom  64' RL 5 Daniel Vickerman 28' to 30' LL 4 Nathan Sharpe TP 3 Guy Shepherdson  64' HK 2 Stephen Moore  73' LP 1 Matt Dunning Replacements: HK 16 Adam Freier  73' PR 17 Al Baxter  64' LK 18 Hugh McMeniman  28'  30'  64' N8 19 Stephen Hoiles  76' FL 20 Phil Waugh  64' FH 21 Julian Huxley WG 22 Drew Mitchell  64' Coach: John Connolly

England FB 15 Jason Robinson RW 14 Paul Sackey OC 13 Mathew Tait IC 12 Mike Catt  64' LW 11 Josh Lewsey FH 10 Jonny Wilkinson SH 9 Andy Gomarsall 22' to 28' N8 8 Nick Easter  69' OF 7 Lewis Moody  66' BF 6 Martin Corry RL 5 Ben Kay LL 4 Simon Shaw TP 3 Phil Vickery (c)  59' HK 2 Mark Regan  52' LP 1 Andrew Sheridan Replacements: HK 16 George Chuter  52' PR 17 Matt Stevens  59' N8 18 Lawrence Dallaglio  69' FL 19 Joe Worsley  66' SH 20 Peter Richards  22'  28' FH 21 Toby Flood  64' CE 22 Dan Hipkiss Coach: Brian Ashton

Notes [edit]

• This was England's third consecutive World Cup win against Australia, following victories in the 1995 quarter-final and 2003 Final, and gave them a 3-2 head-to-head winning World Cup record against the Wallabies. Furthermore, England remained the only team to record a Rugby World Cup win over the Wallabies since South Africa beat them in the opening match of the 1995 World Cup.
• Jonny Wilkinson's 12 points in this game took him past Gavin Hastings' record of 227 World Cup points.

New Zealand vs France [edit]

6 October 2007 21:00	New Zealand	18 – 20	France	Millennium Stadium, Cardiff Attendance: 71,669 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
	Tries: McAlister 17' c So'oialo 63' m Con: Carter (1/1) Pen: Carter (2/2) 14', 31'	Report	Tries: Dusautoir 54' c Jauzion 69' c Con: Beauxis (1/1) Elissalde (1/1) Pen: Beauxis (2/3) 40+', 46'

New Zealand FB 15 Leon MacDonald RW 14 Joe Rokocoko OC 13 Mils Muliaina IC 12 Luke McAlister 46' to 56' LW 11 Sitiveni Sivivatu FH 10 Dan Carter  56' SH 9 Byron Kelleher  56' N8 8 Rodney So'oialo OF 7 Richie McCaw (c) BF 6 Jerry Collins  64' RL 5 Ali Williams LL 4 Keith Robinson  42' TP 3 Carl Hayman HK 2 Anton Oliver  56' LP 1 Tony Woodcock Replacements: HK 16 Andrew Hore  56' PR 17 Neemia Tialata LK 18 Chris Jack  42' FL 19 Chris Masoe  64' SH 20 Brendon Leonard  56' FH 21 Nick Evans  56'  71' CE 22 Isaia Toeava  71' Coach: Graham Henry

France FB 15 Damien Traille RW 14 Vincent Clerc OC 13 David Marty IC 12 Yannick Jauzion LW 11 Cédric Heymans  69' FH 10 Lionel Beauxis  68' SH 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde N8 8 Julien Bonnaire OF 7 Thierry Dusautoir BF 6 Serge Betsen  5' RL 5 Jérôme Thion LL 4 Fabien Pelous  52' TP 3 Pieter de Villiers HK 2 Raphaël Ibañez (c)  52' LP 1 Olivier Milloud  41' Replacements: HK 16 Dimitri Szarzewski  52' PR 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux  41' LK 18 Sébastien Chabal  52' N8 19 Imanol Harinordoquy  5' FH 20 Frédéric Michalak  68' WG 21 Christophe Dominici  69' FB 22 Clément Poitrenaud Coach: Bernard Laporte

Notes [edit]

• This was New Zealand's worst World Cup finish; they had never before failed to reach the semi-finals.^{[citation needed]}

South Africa vs Fiji [edit]

7 October 2007 15:00	South Africa	37 – 20	Fiji	Stade Vélodrome, Marseille Attendance: 55,943 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland)
	Tries: Fourie 13' m Smit 35' m Pietersen 51' c Smith 70' c James 80' c Con: Montgomery (3/5) Pen: Steyn (1/1) 8' Montgomery (1/2) 63'	Report	Tries: Delasau 57' c Bobo 59' c Con: Bai (2/2) Pen: Bai (2/2) 26', 44'

South Africa FB 15 Percy Montgomery RW 14 JP Pietersen OC 13 Jaque Fourie IC 12 François Steyn LW 11 Bryan Habana FH 10 Butch James SH 9 Fourie du Preez N8 8 Danie Rossouw  50' OF 7 Juan Smith BF 6 Schalk Burger RL 5 Victor Matfield LL 4 Bakkies Botha 53' to 58'  75' TP 3 Jannie du Plessis HK 2 John Smit (c) LP 1 Os du Randt  53' Replacements: HK 16 Gary Botha PR 17 Gurthro Steenkamp  53' LK 18 Johannes Muller  53'  58'  75' FL 19 Wickus van Heerden  50' SH 20 Ruan Pienaar FH 21 Andre Pretorius CE 22 Wynand Olivier Coach: Jake White

Fiji FB 15 Norman Ligairi RW 14 Vilimoni Delasau OC 13 Kameli Ratuvou  64' IC 12 Seru Rabeni 51' to 63' LW 11 Sereli Bobo FH 10 Seremaia Bai SH 9 Mosese Rauluni (c) N8 8 Sisa Koyamaibole OF 7 Akapusi Qera  71' BF 6 Semisi Naevo RL 5 Ifereimi Rawaqa LL 4 Kele Leawere  73' TP 3 Henry Qiodravu  55' HK 2 Sunia Koto  71' LP 1 Graham Dewes Replacements: HK 16 Bill Gadolo  71' PR 17 Jone Railomo  55' CE 18 Aca Ratuva  71' LK 19 Wame Lewaravu  73' SH 20 Jone Daunivucu FH 21 Waisea Luveniyali CE 22 Gabiriele Lovobalavu  64' Coach: Ilie Tabua

Note [edit]

• This was Fiji's first quarter-final appearance since the inaugural competition in 1987.

Argentina vs Scotland [edit]

7 October 2007 21:00	Argentina	19 – 13	Scotland	Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 76,866 Referee: Joël Jutge (France)
	Try: Longo Elía 33' c Con: F. Contepomi (1/1) Pen: F. Contepomi (3/4) 23', 29', 43' Drop: Hernández (1/4) 54'	Report	Try: Cusiter 63' c Con: Paterson (1/1) Pen: Parks (1/2) 16' Paterson (1/1) 38'

Argentina FB 15 Ignacio Corleto RW 14 Lucas Borges OC 13 Manuel Contepomi  67' IC 12 Felipe Contepomi LW 11 Horacio Agulla FH 10 Juan Martín Hernández SH 9 Agustín Pichot (c) N8 8 Gonzalo Longo Elía OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe BF 6 Lucas Ostiglia  55' RL 5 Patricio Albacete LL 4 Carlos Ignacio Fernández Lobbe  51' TP 3 Martín Scelzo  57' HK 2 Mario Ledesma Arocena LP 1 Rodrigo Roncero Replacements: HK 16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo PR 17 Omar Hasan Jalil  57' LK 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis  51' FL 19 Juan Manuel Leguizamón  55' SH 20 Nicolás Fernández Miranda FH 21 Federico Todeschini CE 22 Hernán Senillosa  67' Coach: Marcelo Loffreda

Scotland FB 15 Rory Lamont  68' RW 14 Sean Lamont OC 13 Simon Webster IC 12 Rob Dewey  41' LW 11 Chris Paterson FH 10 Dan Parks SH 9 Mike Blair  57' N8 8 Simon Taylor OF 7 Allister Hogg  57' BF 6 Jason White (c) RL 5 Jim Hamilton  57' LL 4 Nathan Hines TP 3 Euan Murray HK 2 Ross Ford  68' LP 1 Gavin Kerr  57' Replacements: HK 16 Scott Lawson  68' PR 17 Craig Smith  57' LK 18 Scott MacLeod  57' FL 19 Kelly Brown  57' SH 20 Chris Cusiter  57' CE 21 Andrew Henderson  41' FB 22 Hugo Southwell  68' Coach: Frank Hadden

Note [edit]

• Argentina's win took them into their first ever World Cup semi-final. Scotland had been seeking to reach their second semi-final, after a fourth-place finish in 1991.

Semi-finals [edit]

England vs France [edit]

13 October 2007 21:00	England	14 – 9	France	Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 80,283 Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
	Try: Lewsey 2' m Pen: Wilkinson (2/3) 47', 75' Drop: Wilkinson (1/4) 78'	Report	Pen: Beauxis (3/3) 8', 18', 44'

England FB 15 Jason Robinson RW 14 Paul Sackey OC 13 Mathew Tait IC 12 Mike Catt  69' LW 11 Josh Lewsey  40' FH 10 Jonny Wilkinson SH 9 Andy Gomarsall  71' N8 8 Nick Easter  69' OF 7 Lewis Moody  54' BF 6 Martin Corry RL 5 Ben Kay LL 4 Simon Shaw TP 3 Phil Vickery (c)  56' HK 2 Mark Regan  66' LP 1 Andrew Sheridan Replacements: HK 16 George Chuter  66' PR 17 Matt Stevens  56' N8 18 Lawrence Dallaglio  69' FL 19 Joe Worsley  54' SH 20 Peter Richards  71' FH 21 Toby Flood  69' CE 22 Dan Hipkiss  40' Coach: Brian Ashton

France FB 15 Damien Traille RW 14 Vincent Clerc OC 13 David Marty IC 12 Yannick Jauzion LW 11 Cédric Heymans  61' FH 10 Lionel Beauxis  51' SH 9 Jean-Baptiste Elissalde N8 8 Julien Bonnaire OF 7 Thierry Dusautoir BF 6 Serge Betsen  67' RL 5 Jérôme Thion LL 4 Fabien Pelous  25' TP 3 Pieter de Villiers  66' HK 2 Raphaël Ibañez (c)  51' LP 1 Olivier Milloud Replacements: HK 16 Dimitri Szarzewski  51' PR 17 Jean-Baptiste Poux  66' LK 18 Sébastien Chabal  25' N8 19 Imanol Harinordoquy  67' FH 20 Frédéric Michalak  51' WG 21 Christophe Dominici  61' FB 22 Clément Poitrenaud Coach: Bernard Laporte

Notes [edit]

• Josh Lewsey's try — scored after 79 seconds — was the fastest in any match at the knockout stage of a Rugby World Cup and is thought to be the fastest try in England's history.^{[citation needed]}
• Jonny Wilkinson extended his World Cup points record to 243.

South Africa vs Argentina [edit]

14 October 2007 21:00	South Africa	37 – 13	Argentina	Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 77,055 Referee: Steve Walsh (New Zealand)
	Tries: du Preez 7' c Habana (2) 32' c, 76' c Rossouw 40' c Con: Montgomery (4/4) Pen: Montgomery (3/3) 17', 71', 75'	Report	Try: M. Contepomi 45' c Con: F. Contepomi (1/1) Pen: F. Contepomi (2/4) 15', 30'

South Africa FB 15 Percy Montgomery RW 14 JP Pietersen  76' OC 13 Jaque Fourie IC 12 François Steyn  76' LW 11 Bryan Habana FH 10 Butch James  76' SH 9 Fourie du Preez N8 8 Danie Rossouw  75' OF 7 Juan Smith 78' to 80+' BF 6 Schalk Burger RL 5 Victor Matfield LL 4 Bakkies Botha 21' to 29'  76' TP 3 CJ van der Linde HK 2 John Smit (c)  76' LP 1 Os du Randt 44' to 49'  72' Replacements: HK 16 Bismarck du Plessis  76' PR 17 Jannie du Plessis  44'  49'  72' LK 18 Johannes Muller  21'  29'  76' N8 19 Bobby Skinstad  75' SH 20 Ruan Pienaar  76' FH 21 Andre Pretorius  76' CE 22 Wynand Olivier  76' Coach: Jake White

Argentina FB 15 Ignacio Corleto RW 14 Lucas Borges OC 13 Manuel Contepomi  65' IC 12 Felipe Contepomi 79' to 80+' LW 11 Horacio Agulla FH 10 Juan Martín Hernández SH 9 Agustín Pichot (c) N8 8 Gonzalo Longo Elía OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe BF 6 Lucas Ostiglia  65' RL 5 Patricio Albacete LL 4 Carlos Ignacio Fernández Lobbe  53' TP 3 Martín Scelzo  34' HK 2 Mario Ledesma Arocena LP 1 Rodrigo Roncero Replacements: HK 16 Alberto Vernet Basualdo PR 17 Omar Hasan Jalil  34' LK 18 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis  53' FL 19 Juan Manuel Leguizamón  65' SH 20 Nicolás Fernández Miranda FH 21 Federico Todeschini CE 22 Gonzalo Tiesi  65' Coach: Marcelo Loffreda

Note [edit]

• With his second try in this match, Bryan Habana equalled Jonah Lomu's single-tournament record of eight tries.^{[citation needed]}

Bronze Final - France vs Argentina [edit]

19 October 2007 21:00	France	10 – 34	Argentina	Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 45,958 Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand)
	Try: Poitrenaud 69' c Con: Beauxis (1/1) Pen: Élissalde (1/1) 18'	Report	Tries: F. Contepomi (2) 28' c, 77' c Hasan Jalil 32' c Martín Aramburú 53' m Corleto 65' m Con: F. Contepomi (3/5) Pen: F. Contepomi (1/1) 21'

France FB 15 Clément Poitrenaud RW 14 Aurélien Rougerie  62' OC 12 David Marty  70' IC 13 David Skrela LW 11 Christophe Dominici FH 10 Frédéric Michalak SH 9 Jean-Baptiste Élissalde  55' N8 8 Imanol Harinordoquy OF 7 Thierry Dusautoir  42' BF 6 Yannick Nyanga RL 5 Jérôme Thion  62' LL 4 Lionel Nallet TP 3 Nicolas Mas HK 2 Raphaël Ibañez (c) 40+' to 50'  50' LP 1 Jean-Baptiste Poux Replacements: HK 16 Sébastien Bruno  42' PR 17 Pieter de Villiers LK 18 Sébastien Chabal  62' FL 19 Rémy Martin  50' SH 20 Pierre Mignoni  55' FH 21 Lionel Beauxis  70' WG 22 Vincent Clerc  62' Coach: Bernard Laporte

Argentina FB 15 Ignacio Corleto  74' RW 14 Federico Martin Aramburu OC 13 Manuel Contepomi  62' IC 12 Felipe Contepomi 70' to 77' LW 11 Horacio Agulla FH 10 Juan Martín Hernández SH 9 Agustín Pichot (c) N8 8 Gonzalo Longo Elía OF 7 Juan Martín Fernández Lobbe BF 6 Martín Durand  62' RL 5 Patricio Albacete LL 4 Rimas Álvarez Kairelis 40+' to 50'  71' TP 3 Omar Hasan Jalil  71' HK 2 Alberto Vernet Basualdo LP 1 Rodrigo Roncero  79' Replacements: HK 16 Eusebio Guiñazu  79' PR 17 Marcos Ayerza  71' LK 18 Esteban Lozada  71' N8 19 Juan Manuel Leguizamón 63' to 74'  62' SH 20 Nicolás Fernández Miranda  70'  77' FH 21 Federico Todeschini  74' CE 22 Hernán Senillosa  62' Coach: Marcelo Loffreda

Note [edit]

• This was referee Paul Honiss's 45th Test, breaking the record he had previously shared with Derek Bevan of Wales.^[1] This record would be surpassed by Jonathan Kaplan in 2008.
• French centre David Marty played outside centre despite wearing the #12, David Skrela played inside centre with the #13.
• This was the first occasion in Rugby World Cup history where two teams who had played each other in the pool stage met each other later on in the same tournament.

Final - England vs South Africa [edit]

20 October 2007 21:00	England	6 – 15	South Africa	Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 80,430 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)
	Pen: Wilkinson (2/2) 13', 44'	Report	Pen: Montgomery (4/4) 7', 16', 40', 51' Steyn (1/2) 62'

England FB 15 Jason Robinson  47' RW 14 Paul Sackey OC 13 Mathew Tait IC 12 Mike Catt  51' LW 11 Mark Cueto FH 10 Jonny Wilkinson SH 9 Andy Gomarsall N8 8 Nick Easter  65' OF 7 Lewis Moody  63' BF 6 Martin Corry RL 5 Ben Kay LL 4 Simon Shaw TP 3 Phil Vickery (c)  41' HK 2 Mark Regan  63' LP 1 Andrew Sheridan Replacements: HK 16 George Chuter  63' PR 17 Matt Stevens  41' N8 18 Lawrence Dallaglio  65' FL 19 Joe Worsley  63'  71' SH 20 Peter Richards  71' FH 21 Toby Flood  51' CE 22 Dan Hipkiss  47' Coach: Brian Ashton

South Africa FB 15 Percy Montgomery RW 14 JP Pietersen OC 13 Jaque Fourie IC 12 François Steyn LW 11 Bryan Habana FH 10 Butch James SH 9 Fourie du Preez N8 8 Danie Rossouw  72' OF 7 Juan Smith BF 6 Schalk Burger RL 5 Victor Matfield LL 4 Bakkies Botha TP 3 CJ van der Linde HK 2 John Smit (c) 72' to 77' LP 1 Os du Randt Replacements: HK 16 Bismarck du Plessis  72'  77' PR 17 Jannie du Plessis LK 18 Johannes Muller FL 19 Wickus van Heerden  72' SH 20 Ruan Pienaar FH 21 Andre Pretorius CE 22 Wynand Olivier Coach: Jake White

Notes [edit]

• Jonny Wilkinson's six points in this game made him the leading points scorer in World Cups with 249 points.
• Percy Montgomery finished as the tournament's leading points scorer, with 105 points.
• This was the second occasion in Rugby World Cup history where two teams who had played each other in the pool stage met each other later on in the same tournament, also it was the only occasion where the finalists had earlier met in pool play.

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Knockout stage at rugbyworldcup.com