2011 Rugby World Cup - Pool Stage

Pool Stage

The first round, or pool stage, saw the twenty teams divided into four pools of five teams using the same format that was used in 2003 and in 2007. Each pool was a round-robin of ten games, where each team played one match against each of the other teams in the same pool. Teams were awarded four points for a win, two points for a draw and none for a defeat. A team scoring four or more tries in one match scored a bonus point, as did a team losing by seven or fewer points.

The teams finishing in the top two of each pool advanced to the quarterfinals. The top three teams of each pool have automatically qualified for the 2015 Rugby World Cup.

If two or more teams were tied on match points, the following tiebreakers would have applied:

1. The winner of the match between the two teams (would not apply if more than two teams were tied);
2. Difference between points scored for and points scored against in all pool matches;
3. Difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all pool matches;
4. Points scored in all pool matches;
5. Most tries scored in all pool matches;
6. Official IRB World Rankings as of 3 October 2011.

Pld = matches played, W = matches won, D = draws, L = losses, TF = tries for, PF = match points for, PA = match points against, +/− = sum total of points for/against, BP = bonus points, Pts = pool points