Pool B of the 2019 Rugby World Cup began on 21 September 2019. The pool included title holders

New Zealand New Zealand () is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and List of islands of New Zealand, over 600 smaller islands. It is the List of isla ...

and third-placed team from 2015

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the Southern Africa, southernmost country in Africa. Its Provinces of South Africa, nine provinces are bounded to the south by of coastline that stretches along the Atlantic O ...

, while

Italy Italy, officially the Italian Republic, is a country in Southern Europe, Southern and Western Europe, Western Europe. It consists of Italian Peninsula, a peninsula that extends into the Mediterranean Sea, with the Alps on its northern land b ...

also joined the pool after finishing third in their pool in 2015. They were joined by the African qualifier,

Namibia Namibia, officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country on the west coast of Southern Africa. Its borders include the Atlantic Ocean to the west, Angola and Zambia to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south; in the no ...

, and the repechage winner,

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. Neither of the final two matches in the pool were played due to the effects of

Typhoon Hagibis Typhoon Hagibis, known in Japan as Typhoon No.19 or , was a large and costly tropical cyclone that caused widespread destruction in Japan. The thirty-eighth depression, nineteenth tropical storm, ninth typhoon, and third super typhoon of the 201 ...

; 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

beating

23–13. New Zealand opened their scoring with two tries in four minutes from

George Bridge George Crispin Bridge (born 1 April 1995) is a New Zealand people, New Zealand Rugby Union, rugby union player who currently plays as an Wing (rugby union), outside back for Montpellier Hérault Rugby, Montpellier in France's domestic Top 14. ...

and Scott Barrett giving New Zealand a 17–3 lead at half-time.

Pieter-Steph du Toit Pieter Stephanus du Toit (born 20 August 1992) is a South African professional rugby union player and two-time winner of World Rugby Player of the Year (in 2019, 2024). Du Toit plays as a lock or a flanker for the South Africa national team a ...

scored a converted try to bring the score back to 17–10 but two penalties from

Richie Mo'unga Richie Mo'unga (born 25 May 1994) is a New Zealand professional rugby union player who plays as a first five-eighth for Japan Rugby League One club Toshiba Brave Lupus and the New Zealand national team. Early life Mo'unga was born in Chris ...

and

Beauden Barrett Beauden John Barrett (born 27 May 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a First five-eighth or Fullback for the Blues in Super Rugby and Taranaki in the Bunnings NPC. Barrett won the World Rugby Player of the Year awards ...

sealed the result. In

Higashiōsaka is a Cities of Japan, city located in Osaka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 486,464 in 233,124 households and a population density of 7,874 persons per km2. The total area of the city is . The city is known as one of ...

conceded an early try against

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

. Over in Toyota, South Africa defeated Namibia by 54 points, scoring nine tries while Namibia could manage only a

Cliven Loubser Cliven Sven James Loubser (born 24 February 1997) is a Namibian rugby union player, who currently plays for in Major League Rugby (MLR). He represents internationally. His regular position is fly-half. Loubser previously played for Yorkshi ...

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 Crasus Dome Õita is a retractable roof, multi-purpose stadium in the city of Ōita (city), Ōita in Ōita Prefecture on Kyushu Island in Japan. The stadium was built for Ōita Prefecture, which still owns it. Design was led by the famous archit ...

. For New Zealand,

Brad Weber Brad McCormick Weber (born 17 January 1991) is a New Zealand rugby union player, who currently plays as a halfback for Stade Français in the French Top 14. He previously played for in the National Provincial Championship and the in Super Ru ...

scored his first two tries in international rugby with the Barrett brothers (

Jordie Barrett Jordan Matthew Barrett (born 17 February 1997) is a New Zealand-born rugby union player who currently plays as a centre or fullback for Irish side Leinster in the United Rugby Championship. He represents New Zealand internationally. He previous ...

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 is a Cities of Japan, city in the western side of Tokyo, Tokyo Metropolis, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 238,087, and a population density of 11,000 per km2. the total area of the city is . Geography Chōfu is approximately ...

, with the floodgates opening in the second half after Namibia restricted the All Blacks to 24 points in the first half.

Sevu Reece Sevuloni Lasei Reece (born 13 February 1997) is a Fijian born New Zealand rugby union player who plays as a wing for the Crusaders in Super Rugby and Southland in the Bunnings NPC. Born in Fiji, he represents New Zealand at international level a ...

, 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 Cheslin Kolbe (born 28 October 1993) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for Tokyo Sungoliath in the Japan Rugby League One and the South Africa national team. His regular position is wing, but he also plays a ...

scoring two tries as the South Africans won 49–3 in

Fukuroi 270px, Shizuoka Stadium is a city located in Shizuoka Prefecture, Japan. , the city had an estimated population of 88,395 in 34,842 households, and a population density of 820 persons per km2. The total area of the city was . Fukuroi is a member ...

. This was followed by a 66–7 victory over Canada with

Cobus Reinach Jacobus Meyer Reinach (born 7 February 1990) is a South African professional rugby union player who plays for the Top 14 side Montpellier and South Africa national team. His playing position is scrum-half and he is the son of former Springbo ...

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

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

Matches

''All times are local

Japan Standard Time , or , is the standard time zone in Japan, 9 hours ahead of UTC (UTC+09:00). Japan does not observe daylight saving time, though its introduction has been debated on several occasions. During World War II, the time zone was often referred to a ...

(

UTC+09 Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) is the primary time standard globally used to regulate clocks and time. It establishes a reference for the current time, forming the basis for civil time and time zones. UTC facilitates international communicat ...

)''

New Zealand vs South Africa

Notes: *

Duane Vermeulen Daniel Johannes "Duane" Vermeulen (born 3 July 1986) is a former South African professional rugby union player who previously played for the South Africa national team. He also previously played for Ulster Rugby in the United Rugby Championsh ...

(South Africa) earned his 50th test cap.

Italy vs Namibia

Notes: * PJ Walters (Namibia) made his international debut. * Darryl de la Harpe (Namibia) earned his 50th test cap.

Italy vs Canada

Notes: *

Djustice Sears-Duru Djustice Sears-Duru (born 24 May 1994) is a Canada international rugby union prop who plays for Ealing Trailfinders and the San Diego Legion of Major League Rugby (MLR). He previously played for the Seattle Seawolves and the LA Giltinis in ...

(Canada) earned his 50th test cap. *This was Italy's biggest winning margin at a Rugby World Cup.

South Africa vs Namibia

New Zealand vs Canada

Notes: *

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 Elisi Busco Vunipola (born 5 July 1972, in Nukuʻalofa) is a Tongan former rugby union player. He played as fly-half. Career Vunipola debuted for Tonga in the match against Fiji, in Nuku'alofa, on 24 March 1990. He played the 1995 and 1999 Wor ...

, 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. *

's eight successful conversion attempts is the most without missing in a Rugby World Cup match.

South Africa vs Italy

Notes: *

Sergio Parisse Sergio Francesco Parisse (; born 12 September 1983) is an Italian-Argentine former rugby union player. He is currently the lineout coach for French club Toulon. He played for the Italy national team from 2002 until the 2019 Rugby World Cup. Pari ...

played in his 15th World Cup match, an Italian record. * Andrea Lovotti became the fourth player to receive a red during the 2019 World Cup, matching a tournament high set in

1995 1995 was designated as: * United Nations Year for Tolerance * World Year of Peoples' Commemoration of the Victims of the Second World War This was the first year that the Internet was entirely privatized, with the United States government ...

and

1999 1999 was designated as the International Year of Older Persons. Events January * January 1 – The euro currency is established and the European Central Bank assumes its full powers. * January 3 – The Mars Polar Lander is launc ...

. *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.

New Zealand vs Namibia

South Africa vs Canada

Notes: *

(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

Notes: *As a result of inclement weather caused by

this match was cancelled and awarded as a 0–0 draw.

Namibia vs Canada

Notes: *Despite both teams naming their sides, this match was cancelled following an evacuation order in Kamaishi during

and awarded as a 0–0 draw.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:World Cup

Pool B Pool may refer to: Bodies of water * Swimming pool, usually an artificial structure containing a large body of water intended for swimming * Reflecting pool, a shallow pool designed to reflect a structure and its surroundings * Tide pool, a roc ...

2019–20 in Italian rugby union 2019 in South African rugby union 2019 in New Zealand rugby union