Pool C of the 2019 Rugby World Cup began on 21 September 2019. The pool included previous World Cup hosts

England England is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is located on the island of Great Britain, of which it covers about 62%, and List of islands of England, more than 100 smaller adjacent islands. It ...

and

France France, officially the French Republic, is a country located primarily in Western Europe. Overseas France, Its overseas regions and territories include French Guiana in South America, Saint Pierre and Miquelon in the Atlantic Ocean#North Atlan ...

, as well as the fourth-placed team from 2015,

Argentina Argentina, officially the Argentine Republic, is a country in the southern half of South America. It covers an area of , making it the List of South American countries by area, second-largest country in South America after Brazil, the fourt ...

. They were joined by regional qualifiers from the

Americas The Americas, sometimes collectively called America, are a landmass comprising the totality of North America and South America.''Webster's New World College Dictionary'', 2010 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Cleveland, Ohio. When viewed as a sing ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

''(Americas 1)'', and

Oceania Oceania ( , ) is a region, geographical region including Australasia, Melanesia, Micronesia, and Polynesia. Outside of the English-speaking world, Oceania is generally considered a continent, while Mainland Australia is regarded as its co ...

Tonga Tonga, officially the Kingdom of Tonga, is an island country in Polynesia, part of Oceania. The country has 171 islands, of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in the southern Pacific Ocean. accordin ...

''(Oceania 2)'', to become the first completed table ahead of the World Cup. England and France both went unbeaten in their first three matches to guarantee qualification for the knockout stage, but their final match against each other was cancelled 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 ...

. England had earned a bonus point in all three of their matches, while France had just one, so England went through to the quarter-finals as pool winners. With bonus point victories against Tonga and the United States, Argentina claimed third place and the final automatic qualification spot for the

2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup () was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game ...

, while Tonga's win over the United States in the final pool match saw them finish fourth.

Overview

Pool C's opening match saw

come back from a 17-point half-time deficit against

at Tokyo Stadium, only for France's

Camille Lopez Camille Lopez (born 3 April 1989) is a French rugby union player. He plays as a fly half (rugby union), fly-half for Aviron Bayonnais, Bayonne. Club career In 2009 it was announced that Lopez would leave SA Mauléon and join Bordeaux, he becam ...

to score a game-winning

drop goal A drop goal, field goal, or dropped goal is a method of scoring points in rugby union and rugby league and also, rarely, in American football and Canadian football. A drop goal is scored by drop kicking the ball (dropping the ball and then kick ...

in the 70th minute. In

Sapporo is a Cities designated by government ordinance of Japan, designated city in Hokkaido, Japan. Located in the southwest of Hokkaido, it lies within the alluvial fan of the Toyohira River, a tributary of the Ishikari River. Sapporo is the capital ...

, two tries from Manu Tuilagi helped

to a bonus-point victory over

. England followed that up with a 38-point victory over the

, with Joe Cokanasiga scoring two tries in the victory; however, the match was soured by the first red card of the tournament, shown to the United States' John Quill for a shoulder charge to the head of England's

Owen Farrell Owen Andrew Farrell (born Owen Andrew O'Loughlin, 24 September 1991) is an English professional rugby union player who plays as a Fly-half (rugby union), fly-half for Premiership Rugby club Saracens F.C., Saracens. He was the England captain fr ...

. Argentina bounced back from their defeat by France with a 28–12 victory over Tonga in Higashiōsaka; all of Argentina's scoring happened in the first 28 minutes, including a hat-trick from Julián Montoya as they raced to a 28-point lead before Tonga brought the margin back to 16 with two tries of their own. After Typhoon Mitag almost cancelled the match, the French were inconsistent with errors keeping the United States in the match before three late tries in the second half would secure a 33–9 win in Fukuoka. In Chōfu, England qualified for the quarter-finals with a 39–10 victory over Argentina with Argentinean player

Tomás Lavanini Tomás Lavanini (born 22 January 1993) is an Argentine professional rugby union player who plays as a lock for Top 14 club Clermont and the Argentina national team. Club career On 6 May 2019, Leicester Tigers announced Lavanini's signing, w ...

being shown a red card, which forced Argentina down to 14 men as he was forced off due to a high tackle on Owen Farrell's head. France would later join them in qualifying for the knockout stage with a two-point victory over Tonga at Kumamoto Stadium. After conceding the first 17 points of the match, Tonga came back into the match with tries from Sonatane Takulua and Mali Hingano to close the gap to only three points before Romain Ntamack gave the cushion that France needed with two penalties in eight minutes giving France the victory. Argentina would become the first team to finish their matches of the 2019 World Cup, with a 47–17 victory over the United States in Kumagaya. Joaquín Tuculet and Juan Cruz Mallia each scored two tries in the meeting, their first since 2003. After the England–France game was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis, Tonga ended their World Cup campaign with a 31–19 victory over the United States. This was due to the Tongan's using their opportunities with them converting into tries and despite the United States being within striking range with three minutes to go, Telusa Veainu converted the match-winning try and a bonus-point victory for Tonga. At the end of the pool stage, it was England winning the group with France finishing in second place.

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)''

France vs Argentina

Notes: * Guido Petti (Argentina) earned his 50th test cap.

England vs Tonga

England vs United States

Argentina vs Tonga

Notes: * Agustín Creevy levelled Argentina's most capped player record, set by Felipe Contepomi with 87 caps.

France vs United States

Notes: * Gaël Fickou (France) earned his 50th test cap.

England vs Argentina

Notes: * Agustín Creevy became the most capped player for Argentina with 88 caps, surpassing Felipe Contepomi's record of 87. *

's red card was a record fifth for a World Cup, surpassing the four given out 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 this loss for Argentina and France's win on the 6 October, Argentina fail to advance through to the knock-out stage of the World Cup for the first time since

2003 2003 was designated by the United Nations as the International Year of Fresh water, Freshwater. In 2003, a Multi-National Force – Iraq, United States-led coalition 2003 invasion of Iraq, invaded Iraq, starting the Iraq War. Demographic ...

. *

Angus Gardner Angus Gardner (born 24 August 1984) is an Australian rugby union professional referee who was appointed to the Super Rugby referees panel in 2012. His first match in Super Rugby was between the Queensland Reds and Melbourne Rebels at Suncorp S ...

was due to be part of the officiating team for this game, but swapped with Ben O'Keeffe's appointment between Japan and Samoa.

France vs Tonga

Notes: *

Pierre-Louis Barassi Pierre-Louis Barassi (born 22 April 1998) is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a Centre (rugby union), centre for Top 14 club Stade Toulousain, Toulouse and the France national rugby union team, France national team. Profes ...

(France) made his international debut.

Argentina vs United States

Notes: * Cam Dolan (United States) earned his 50th test cap.

England vs France

Notes: *As a result of inclement weather caused by

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

United States vs Tonga

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 English rugby union 2019–20 in French rugby union 2019 in Argentine rugby union 2019 in American rugby union 2019 in Tongan rugby union