Rugby World Cup format: England’s path to glory in Japan explained
Rugby World Cup 2019 is here but how does the format work? Express Sport is on hand with all the information.
Rugby World Cup: England vs New Zealand match preview
A total of 20 teams will be competing at the Rugby World Cup in Japan.
The teams have been drawn into four pools.
The pool phase will feature a round-robin in which each nation facing each other once.
A win in the pools is worth four points, with two points for a draw and zero for a defeat.
There is also a bonus point awarded for scoring four or more tries and for losing by seven points or less.
The top two teams in each pool will then progress to the quarter-finals.
Rugby World Cup Pools
Pool A: Ireland, Scotland, Japan, Samoa, Russia
Pool B: New Zealand, South Africa, Italy, Namibia, Canada
Pool C: England, France, Argentina, USA, Tonga
Pool D: Australia, Wales, Georgia, Fiji, Uruguay
Rugby World Cup knockout stages
Quarter-final 1 - Winner Pool C vs Runner up Pool D
Quarter-final 2 - Winner Pool B vs Runner up Pool A
Quarter-final 3 - Winner Pool D vs Runner up Pool C
Quarter-final 4 - Winner Pool A vs Runner up Pool B
Semi-final 1 - Winner QF1 vs Winner QF2
Semi-final 2 - Winner QF3 vs Winner QF4
The losing semi-finalists will contest the Bronze final on November 1.
The final will be played on November 2 at the Yokohama International Stadium.