Rugby World Cup Schedule 2015: Fixtures, Knockout Bracket, Groups and More
The final matchday of the group stages of Rugby World Cup 2015 is upon us, with four matches to be played before the knockout stages can start. The final eight teams have already been decided, but France and Ireland still face a big battle on Sunday, with the winner taking the top spot in Pool D and avoiding a quarter-final meeting with defending champions New Zealand.
Elsewhere, Argentina will rest their starters against Namibia, Italy face Romania and the USA take on Japan. Here's the schedule for Sunday's matches:
| Noon | C | Argentina | Namibia |
| 2:30 p.m. | D | Italy | Romania |
| 4:45 p.m. | D | France | Ireland |
| 8 p.m. | B | USA | Japan |
.jpg?w=256 "Colts Jaguars Football")
The current pool standings:
| 1 | Australia* | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 141 | 35 | 1 | 17 |
| 2 | Wales* | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 111 | 62 | 1 | 13 |
| 3 | England | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 133 | 75 | 3 | 11 |
| 4 | Fiji | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 84 | 101 | 1 | 5 |
| 5 | Uruguay | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 30 | 226 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | South Africa* | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 176 | 56 | 4 | 16 |
| 2 | Scotland* | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 136 | 93 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Japan | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 70 | 82 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | Samoa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 124 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | USA | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 32 | 128 | 0 | 0 |
| 1 | New Zealand* | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 174 | 49 | 3 | 19 |
| 2 | Argentina* | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 115 | 51 | 2 | 10 |
| 3 | Georgia | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 53 | 123 | 0 | 8 |
| 4 | Tonga | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 70 | 130 | 2 | 6 |
| 5 | Namibia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 51 | 110 | 1 | 1 |
| 1 | Ireland* | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 110 | 26 | 2 | 14 |
| 2 | France* | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | 111 | 39 | 2 | 14 |
| 3 | Italy | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 42 | 66 | 1 | 5 |
| 4 | Romania | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 38 | 97 | 0 | 4 |
| 5 | Canada | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 58 | 131 | 2 | 2 |
Teams marked * have qualified for the knockout stages.
Here's a look at the bracket for the knockout stages:
| 17 October | South Africa | vs. | Wales | Twickenham |
| 17 October | New Zealand | vs. | Pool D Runner-Up | Millennium Stadium |
| 18 October | Pool D Winner | vs. | Argentina | Millennium Stadium |
| 18 October | Australia | vs. | Scotland | Twickenham |
| 24 October | SA/WAL | vs. | NZ/Pool D Runner-Up | Twickenham |
| 25 October | Pool D Winner /ARG | vs. | AUS/SCO | Twickenham |
Preview
All eyes will be on the Millennium Stadium in Cardiff on Sunday, as Ireland and France go head-to-head with the top spot in Pool D at stake.
As if bragging rights and momentum heading into the knockout stages wouldn't be enough incentive to win, the winner of the match will go up against Argentina in the quarter-finals, while the loser faces the mighty All Blacks. Rugby star Toby Flood explains why that would be a bad thing:
Ireland were far from their best in their last match, a 16-9 win over Italy, but coach Joe Schmidt made the decision to rest a handful of starters, with Sunday's big clash in the back of his mind. According to Irish Rugby, Jared Payne's World Cup is over, but the Six Nations holders still boast a wealth of talent and should be favourites entering the match against Les Bleus.
Schmidt still tried to put pressure on the French shoulders, however, via the Guardian's Sean Ingle:
"Winning a Test match is a prize worth winning, regardless of where you’re placed in any pool you are in. It is a gilt-edged victory if you can get those two things, a Test victory and that opportunity to maybe play an opponent that is not as difficult.
[…] They’ve got a 10-day lead-in. I think you can build a decent edge in 10 days. We had three and a half hours travelling on Monday, we’ll probably train Wednesday and Friday to try to hone in on what we need to do during those two short windows and try to keep a degree of freshness.
"
Ireland have never beaten the All Blacks, who have looked almost unbeatable since winning the last World Cup and have cruised through the World Cup so far. Kieran Read sounds ready for a real battle in the quarter-finals, and that's something both Ireland and France will look to avoid:
Ireland haven't lost to Les Bleus since the last World Cup, and France haven't looked particularly impressive so far in the tournament. But Philippe Saint-Andre's men have a tendency to play best when it's needed the most, so Sunday's match should be an epic battle.
Wesley Fofana, Mathieu Bastareaud and Noa Nakaitaci have the athletic ability to hurt Ireland in space, so disciplined defending and solid tackling will be key for the Six Nations holders. Set pieces should be a strength, and the lineout could prove to be the difference, as the French looked vulnerable in that area against Canada.
In Saturday's other matches, Argentina have nothing left to play for against Namibia and are expected to take few risks and take some of their key players off earlier than they normally would. Italy are obvious favourites to beat Romania, and Japan hope to underline their impressive World Cup run with a big win over the USA.
.jpg?w=480 "Colts Jaguars Football")
