The

2019 Rugby World Cup The 2019 Rugby World Cup was the ninth edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It was hosted in Japan from 20 September to 2 November in 12 venues all across the country. The opening match ...

was an international

rugby union Rugby union, commonly known simply as rugby, is a Contact sport#Terminology, close-contact team sport that originated at Rugby School in the first half of the 19th century. One of the Comparison of rugby league and rugby union, two codes of ru ...

tournament which was held in Japan from 20 September until 2 November 2019. Twenty national teams competed, and each brought a 31-man squad containing no regulated number of players per-position to the tournament. The tournament was administered by

World Rugby World Rugby is the world governing body for the sport of rugby union. World Rugby organises the Rugby World Cup every four years, the sport's most recognised and most profitable competition. It also organises a number of other international rug ...

, to whom each team submitted their finalised squad by 8 September 2019. A player may be replaced for medical or compassionate reasons, but would be unable to return to the squad. Any replacement player has an enforced stand-down period of 48 hours before they can take the field. Players marked (c) were named as

captain Captain is a title, an appellative for the commanding officer of a military unit; the supreme leader of a navy ship, merchant ship, aeroplane, spacecraft, or other vessel; or the commander of a port, fire or police department, election precinct, e ...

for their national squad. The age listed for each player is on 20 September 2019, the first day of the tournament. The numbers of caps for each player do not include any matches played after the start of tournament.

Overview

Below is a table listing all the head coaches and captains for each nation.

Pool A

Ireland

Ireland Ireland ( ; ga, Éire ; Ulster Scots dialect, Ulster-Scots: ) is an island in the Atlantic Ocean, North Atlantic Ocean, in Northwestern Europe, north-western Europe. It is separated from Great Britain to its east by the North Channel (Grea ...

announced a 31-man squad for the tournament on 2 September 2019. ¹ On 29 September, Jordi Murphy replaced

Jack Conan Jack Edward Conan (born 29 July 1992) is an Irish professional rugby union player who plays as a number eight for United Rugby Championship club Leinster and the Ireland national team. Professional career Leinster Conan made his senior de ...

, who suffered a foot injury in training. ² On 16 October, Rob Herring replaced Seán Cronin following an injury. Head coach: Joe Schmidt

Japan

Japan named a 41-man training squad for the tournament on 15 August 2019, before confirming their final 31-man squad on 29 August. Head coach:

Jamie Joseph James Whitinui Joseph (born 21 November 1969) is a New Zealand-born Japanese former rugby union player and current rugby union coach. A flanker, Joseph represented Otago at a provincial level, and was a member of the New Zealand national side, ...

Russia

Russia Russia (, , ), or the Russian Federation, is a transcontinental country spanning Eastern Europe and Northern Asia. It is the largest country in the world, with its internationally recognised territory covering , and encompassing one-eigh ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 1 September. Head coach:

Lyn Jones Lyn Jones (born 1964) is a former Wales international rugby union player, and now works as a coach. A flanker, Jones has experience at various different levels of the game, both as a player and a coach. Jones played most of his playing career f ...

Samoa

Samoa Samoa, officially the Independent State of Samoa; sm, Sāmoa, and until 1997 known as Western Samoa, is a Polynesian island country consisting of two main islands (Savai'i and Upolu); two smaller, inhabited islands (Manono Island, Manono an ...

named a 34-man training squad for the tournament on 23 August 2019, before reducing it to a final 31 on 31 August. ¹ On 9 September,

Pele Cowley Pele Cowley (born 16 April 1993) is a Samoan international rugby union player who currently plays as a halfback for in New Zealand's domestic Mitre 10 Cup. He also plays for the Austin Gilgronis of Major League Rugby (MLR) in the United ...

replaced

Scott Malolua Scott Malolua (born 11 June 1993 in Samoa) is a Samoan rugby union player who plays for the Queensland Reds in Super Rugby. His playing position is scrum-half. He was named in the Reds squad for week 15 in 2019. He gave up his rugby caree ...

, who suffered a knee injury in Samoa's final warm-up match. ² On 26 September, Alamanda Motuga joined the squad in Japan after

Afa Amosa Afaesetiti Amosa (born 11 October 1990) is a Samoan rugby player for Aviron Bayonnais in France's Top 14, the highest level of French rugby. His primary position is number 8. Career Born in Samoa Amosa moved to Australia at the age of four, an ...

sustained an injury in Samoa's opening match. Head coach: Steve Jackson

Scotland

Scotland Scotland (, ) is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Covering the northern third of the island of Great Britain, mainland Scotland has a border with England to the southeast and is otherwise surrounded by the Atlantic Ocean to th ...

named an initial 42-man training squad on 7 May 2019. The final 31-man squad for the tournament was confirmed on 3 September. ¹ On 23 September, Magnus Bradbury replaced Hamish Watson, after he suffered a knee injury in the team's opening match against Ireland. ² On 24 September,

Henry Pyrgos Henry Benjamin Pyrgos (born 9 July 1989) is a Scottish rugby union player who currently plays for Edinburgh Rugby in the United Rugby Championship. Rugby Union career Amateur career Pyrgos was drafted to Stirling County in the Scottish Pre ...

replaced

Ali Price Alistair William Price (born 12 May 1993) is a Scotland international rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for Glasgow Warriors. Early life and education Price was born on 12 May 1993 in King's Lynn, Norfolk, England. He was educated a ...

, after he suffered a foot injury in the team's opening match against Ireland. Head coach:

Gregor Townsend Gregor Peter John Townsend, (born 26 April 1973) is a Scottish rugby union coach and former player. He is currently the head coach of the Scotland national team having previously been an assistant coach from 2009 to 2012. As a player, he won 8 ...

Pool B

Canada

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tota ...

named a 42-man training squad for the tournament on 20 August 2019. The final 31-man squad was named on 3 September 2019. ¹ On 10 September, Justin Blanchet was replaced by Josh Larsen in the World Cup squad following an injury sustained in Canada's final warm-up match. ² On 27 September, injured centres Nick Blevins and

Ben LeSage Benjamin LeSage (born 24 November 1995) is a Canadian rugby union player who plays as a centre for the LA Giltinis in Major League Rugby (MLR) and for Canada internationally. He previously played for the Toronto Arrows. He is the son of Mar ...

were replaced in the squad by Giuseppe du Toit and Theo Sauder. ³ On 3 October, Kainoa Lloyd joined the squad as an injury replacement for Taylor Paris. Head coach: Kingsley Jones

Italy

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 18 August 2019. ¹ On 8 October,

Giosuè Zilocchi Giosuè Zilocchi (born 15 January 1997) is an Italian rugby union player. His usual position is as a Prop, and he currently plays for Benetton Rugby in United Rugby Championship. He played with Zebre from 2018 to 2022. Zilocchi will come back ...

and Danilo Fischetti joined the Italian squad following injuries to Simone Ferrari and Marco Riccioni. Head coach: Conor O'Shea

Namibia

Namibia Namibia (, ), officially the Republic of Namibia, is a country in Southern Africa. Its western border is the Atlantic Ocean. It shares land borders with Zambia and Angola to the north, Botswana to the east and South Africa to the south and e ...

named a 31-man squad for the tournament on 2 September. Head coach: Phil Davies

New Zealand

New Zealand New Zealand ( mi, Aotearoa ) is an island country in the southwestern Pacific Ocean. It consists of two main landmasses—the North Island () and the South Island ()—and over 700 List of islands of New Zealand, smaller islands. It is the ...

named their 31-man squad on 28 August 2019. ¹ On 13 September 2019,

Shannon Frizell Shannon Michael Frizell (born 11 February 1994) is a Tongan born New Zealand rugby union player. His position of choice is flanker. Early life Frizell was born and raised in Folaha, Tonga and started his childhood playing football for Folaha ...

was named as replacement for Luke Jacobson, who was ruled out of the competition due to delayed onset of concussion. Head coach:

Steve Hansen Sir Stephen William Hansen and High Chief Of Vaiala, (born 7 May 1959) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He is also the father of Black Ferns assistant coach, Whitney Hansen. He was the head coach of the New Zealand nat ...

South Africa

South Africa South Africa, officially the Republic of South Africa (RSA), is the southernmost country in Africa. It is bounded to the south by of coastline that stretch along the South Atlantic and Indian Oceans; to the north by the neighbouring count ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 26 August 2019. ¹ On 23 September, Thomas du Toit replaced

Trevor Nyakane Trevor Ntando Nyakane (born 4 May 1989) is a South African professional rugby union player who currently plays for Racing 92 in the French Top14, and also the South Africa national rugby team, His regular playing position is prop and he has the ab ...

, after he injured his calf in the team's opening match against New Zealand. ² On 1 October, Damian Willemse replaced Jesse Kriel, after he was injured the team's opening match against New Zealand. Head coach:

Rassie Erasmus Johan "Rassie" Erasmus (born 5 November 1972) is a South African rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the South African national team from 2018 to the end of their 2019 World Cup campaign, doubling up on his duties as t ...

Pool C

Argentina

Argentina Argentina (), officially the Argentine Republic ( es, link=no, República Argentina), is a country in the southern half of South America. Argentina covers an area of , making it the second-largest country in South America after Brazil, t ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 19 August 2019. ¹ On 6 October,

Gonzalo Bertranou Gonzalo Bertranou (born 31 December 1993) is an Argentine professional rugby union player who plays as a scrum-half for United Rugby Championship club Dragons and the Argentina national team. Club career Bertranou is a regular player for A ...

replaced Tomás Cubelli after he was injured in Argentina's game against England. Head coach: Mario Ledesma

England

On 12 August,

England England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Wales to its west and Scotland to its north. The Irish Sea lies northwest and the Celtic Sea to the southwest. It is separated from continental Europe ...

became the first team to announce their 31-man squad for the tournament. ¹ Ben Spencer was called up on 27 October as an injury replacement for Willi Heinz. Head coach:

Eddie Jones Edward, Eddie, or Ed Jones may refer to: Architecture * Edward Vason Jones (1909–1980), American neoclassical architect * Edward Jones (English architect) (born 1939), English architect who designed the Saïd Business School * Edward Jones (Wel ...

France

On 18 June 2019, head coach Jacques Brunel named a 37-man squad for the 2019 Rugby World Cup warm-up matches. On 10 July 2019,

Paul Willemse Paul Willemse (born 13 November 1992) is a South African born rugby union player for French Top 14 side Montpellier. His regular playing position is lock. Although he was born in South Africa, and was part of the Springbok U20 side that won the 20 ...

had to withdraw from the team due to injury; he was replaced by

Romain Taofifénua Romain Taofifénua (born 14 September 1990) is a French rugby union player, playing as Lock for Toulon in the Top 14. Club career Taofifénua's rugby career began in 2005, while playing for Limoges. He later moved to play for Clermont in the 200 ...

. On 20 July 2019,

Cyril Baille Cyril Baille (born 15 September 1993) is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a prop for Top 14 club Toulouse and the France national team. Professional career Baille made his debut for France in November 2016 and was par ...

was called up to replaced the injured

Étienne Falgoux Étienne Falgoux (born 19 January 1993) is a French rugby union player, currently playing in the prop for Top 14 side Clermont Auvergne. International career Falgoux won his first cap for France as a replacement in the side's win over Scotland ...

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan ar ...

named their final 31-man squad for the tournament on 2 September 2019. ¹ On 22 September, Wesley Fofana withdrew from the squad due to injury, and was replaced by

Pierre-Louis Barassi Pierre-Louis Barassi (born 22 April 1998) is a French rugby union player who plays for Toulouse in the Top 14 and the French national team. His position is centre. International career He was not initially named in France's squad for the 2019 ...

. ² On 29 September,

Cedate Gomes Sa Cedate Gomes Sa (born 7 August 1993) is a French-Portuguese rugby union player. His position is prop and he currently plays for Racing 92 in the Top 14. International career Gomes Sa was called up to the French national team for the first time a ...

was called up to replace the injured

Demba Bamba Demba Bamba (born 17 March 1998) is a French rugby union player. His position is prop and he currently plays for Lyon in the Top 14. Early life and education Demba's parents originate from Mauritania and he grew up in the Saint-Denis area ...

. ³ On 4 October, Christopher Tolofua was called up to replace the injured

Peato Mauvaka Peato Mauvaka (born 10 January 1997) is a French professional rugby union player who plays as a Hooker (rugby union), hooker for Top 14 club Stade Toulousain, Toulouse and the France national rugby union team, France national team. Born in Noumé ...

. ⁴ On 4 October,

Vincent Rattez Vincent Rattez (born 24 March 1992) is a French rugby union player who plays the regular position of wing and he currently plays for Montpellier and the France national team. International career Rattez was part of the French squad for the 201 ...

was called up to replace the injured Thomas Ramos. Head coach: Jacques Brunel

Tonga

Tonga Tonga (, ; ), officially the Kingdom of Tonga ( to, Puleʻanga Fakatuʻi ʻo Tonga), is a Polynesian country and archipelago. The country has 171 islands – of which 45 are inhabited. Its total surface area is about , scattered over in ...

announced their 31-man squad for the tournament on 1 September 2019. ¹ On 24 September, Kurt Morath and Nafi Tuitavake were ruled out for the remainder of the tournament following injuries sustained in Tonga's opening match against England.

Latiume Fosita Latiume Junior Fosita (born 25 July 1992) is a Tonga rugby union player who currently plays as a utility back for in the Mitre 10 Cup and the Tonga national rugby union team. Career Fosita started his career with a surprise move from Aucklan ...

and Fetuli Paea replaced them. Head coach: Toutai Kefu

United States

On 13 June, the

United States The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 U.S. state, states, a Washington, D.C., federal district, five ma ...

named a 50-man extended training squad ahead of the 2019 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup in preparation for the 2019 Rugby World Cup. On 19 June, Samu Manoa retired from international rugby and withdrew from the squad. On 8 September, USA were the last side to name their 31-man squad. ¹ On 1 October,

David Ainu'u David (; , "beloved one") (traditional spelling), , ''Dāwūd''; grc-koi, Δαυΐδ, Dauíd; la, Davidus, David; gez , ዳዊት, ''Dawit''; xcl, Դաւիթ, ''Dawitʿ''; cu, Давíдъ, ''Davidŭ''; possibly meaning "beloved one". w ...

was ruled out for the remainder of the tournament following an injury sustained in the United States' opening match against England,

Chance Wenglewski Chance Allen Wenglewski (born April 9, 1997) is a rugby union player who plays at Rugby union positions#Prop, prop for Rugby New York of Major League Rugby (MLR) and the United States men's national rugby union team, United States men's nationa ...

replaced him. Head coach: Gary Gold

Pool D

Australia

Australia named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 23 August 2019. Head coach:

Michael Cheika Michael Cheika (born 4 March 1967) is an Australian rugby union and rugby league coach, and former rugby union player. He is currently head coach of Argentina in rugby union and Lebanon in rugby league. Cheika was the coach of the Australi ...

Fiji

Fiji named an initial 32-man squad for the tournament on 16 August 2019, before reducing it to the final 31 on 3 September. ¹ On 5 September, prop

Lee Roy Atalifo Lee Roy Atalifo, (born 10 March 1988) is a Fiji professional Rugby union footballer who currently plays for Edinburgh Rugby in the United Rugby Championship. He was part of the Fijian squad at the 2015 Rugby World Cup. Atalifo works as a fir ...

replaced

Kalivati Tawake Kalivati Tawake (born 16 November 1988) is a Fijian rugby union player who played for the in the Super Rugby competition. His position of choice is prop A prop, formally known as (theatrical) property, is an object used on stage or scre ...

, who suffered a knee injury. Head coach:

John McKee John McKee may refer to: * John McKee (politician) (1771–1832), American politician * John McKee (American football) John Sasser McKee (July 16, 1877 – April 22, 1950) was an American college football coach and physician. He served as the hea ...

Georgia

Georgia Georgia most commonly refers to: * Georgia (country), a country in the Caucasus region of Eurasia * Georgia (U.S. state), a state in the Southeast United States Georgia may also refer to: Places Historical states and entities * Related to t ...

announced their 31-man squad for the tournament on 2 September 2019. Head coach:

Milton Haig Milton Haig (born 6 February 1964) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player. He was the head coach of the Georgian national team that annually competes the European Nations Cup. Playing career Haig, a former half back in his play ...

Uruguay

Uruguay Uruguay (; ), officially the Oriental Republic of Uruguay ( es, República Oriental del Uruguay), is a country in South America. It shares borders with Argentina to its west and southwest and Brazil to its north and northeast; while bordering ...

named their 31-man squad for the tournament on 30 August 2019. Head coach:

Esteban Meneses Professor Esteban Meneses (born 13 September 1972), is a former Argentine rugby union player, now head coach of the Uruguay national rugby union team, Uruguayan national team. Playing Meneses, born in La Plata, played for his local team for mos ...

Wales

Wales Wales ( cy, Cymru ) is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It is bordered by England to the Wales–England border, east, the Irish Sea to the north and west, the Celtic Sea to the south west and the ...

announced their 31-man squad for the tournament on 1 September 2019. ¹ On 24 September 2019 Cory Hill withdrew from the squad having failed to recover from injury and he was replaced by Bradley Davies. ² On 22 October 2019

Josh Navidi Josh Navidi (born 30 December 1990) is a Welsh international rugby union player who plays for the Cardiff Rugby, Wales and British and Irish Lions. He has previously captained Wales U20. Personal life Navidi's father is Iranian and his moth ...

withdrew from the squad having failed to recover from injury and he was replaced by

Owen Lane Owen Lane (born 20 December 1997) is a Wales international rugby union player who plays for Cardiff Rugby as a centre or wing. Lane made his debut for Cardiff in 2016 having previously played for their academy. International In April 2019 Lan ...

. Head coach:

Warren Gatland Warren David Gatland (born 17 September 1963) is a New Zealand rugby union coach and former player who is currently in his second spell as the head coach of the Wales national team. As head coach of Wales from 2007 to 2019, he won four Six N ...

Statistics

All statistics relate to the initial 31-man squads named prior to the start of the tournament on 20 September 2019 and do not include players who joined a squad during the tournament. *Five squads included no players based outside their home country: England, France, Ireland, Japan, and New Zealand. *The squads with the fewest players playing domestically are Tonga (zero) and Samoa (one).

Player representation by club

The 620 participating players, 20 players unattached, represent 144 different club sides, the club sides with the most players selected are below:

Players representation by league

* Namibia's Welwitschias most recently played in

2019 Rugby Challenge The 2019 Rugby Challenge – known as the SuperSport Rugby Challenge for sponsorship reasons – was the 2019 season of the Rugby Challenge, the secondary domestic rugby union competition in South Africa. It was the third edition of the competit ...

but do not appear in a regular league as such.

Player representation by nation

Average age of squads

Squad caps

Previous World Cup experience

By matches

By tournaments

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:2019 Rugby World Cup Squads

Squads In military terminology, a squad is among the smallest of military organizations and is led by a non-commissioned officer. NATO and US doctrine define a squad as an organization "larger than a team, but smaller than a section." while US Army doc ...

Rugby World Cup squads