The knockout stage of the 2011 Rugby World Cup began on 8 October with a quarter-final between Ireland and Wales and concluded on 23 October with the final at Eden Park in Auckland.

New Zealand were the first team to qualify for the knockout stage, when they beat France 37–17 in their penultimate Pool A game. New Zealand and France re-encountered in the final, that was won by the local team 8–7. This was a rematch of the 1987 final, also in Eden Park and also won by New Zealand. This way, New Zealand got their second title, while France their third final.

For the first time in World Cup history, three teams that finished second in their respective pools qualified for the semi-finals, while South Africa became the second defending champions not to reach the semi-finals after Australia in 1995.

Furthermore, the bottom half of the bracket was entirely composed of the 2012 Rugby Championship teams and the other half was composed of the last four Six Nations champions since the last World Cup.

Bracket

Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final

8 October – Wellington

Ireland	10
		15 October – Auckland
Wales	22
		Wales	8
8 October – Auckland
		France	9
England	12
				23 October – Auckland
France	19
				France	7
9 October – Wellington
				New Zealand	8
South Africa	9
		16 October – Auckland
Australia	11
		Australia	6
9 October – Auckland
		New Zealand	20	Third place
New Zealand	33
				21 October – Auckland
Argentina	10
				Wales	18

				Australia	21

Quarter-finals

Ireland vs Wales

8 October 2011
18:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Ireland	10–22	Wales
Try: Earls 45' c Con: O'Gara (1/1) Pen: O'Gara (1/1) 24'	Report^[1]	Try: Williams 3' c Phillips 51' m J. Davies 64' c Con: Priestland (2/3) Pen: Halfpenny (1/1) 29'

Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 35,787
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)


FB	15	Rob Kearney
RW	14	Tommy Bowe
OC	13	Brian O'Driscoll (c)
IC	12	Gordon D'Arcy
LW	11	Keith Earls	72'
FH	10	Ronan O'Gara	56'
SH	9	Conor Murray	56'
N8	8	Jamie Heaslip	75'
OF	7	Seán O'Brien
BF	6	Stephen Ferris	75'
RL	5	Paul O'Connell
LL	4	Donncha O'Callaghan
TP	3	Mike Ross
HK	2	Rory Best
LP	1	Cian Healy
Replacements:
HK	16	Seán Cronin
PR	17	Tom Court
LK	18	Donnacha Ryan	75'
N8	19	Denis Leamy	75'
SH	20	Eoin Reddan	56'
FH	21	Johnny Sexton	56'
WG	22	Andrew Trimble	72'
Coach:
Declan Kidney


FB	15	Leigh Halfpenny
RW	14	George North
OC	13	Jonathan Davies
IC	12	Jamie Roberts
LW	11	Shane Williams
FH	10	Rhys Priestland	78'
SH	9	Mike Phillips
N8	8	Taulupe Faletau
OF	7	Sam Warburton (c)
BF	6	Dan Lydiate
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones
LL	4	Luke Charteris	41'
TP	3	Adam Jones
HK	2	Huw Bennett
LP	1	Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK	16	Lloyd Burns
PR	17	Paul James
LK	18	Bradley Davies	41'
FL	19	Ryan Jones
SH	20	Lloyd Williams
FH	21	James Hook	78'
CE	22	Scott Williams
Coach:
Warren Gatland

Man of the Match:
Mike Phillips (Wales)

Touch judges:
Wayne Barnes (England)
Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:
Giulio de Santis (Italy)

England vs France

8 October 2011
20:30 NZDT (UTC+13)

England	12–19	France
Try: Foden 55' c Cueto 77' m Con: Wilkinson (1/1)	Report^[2]	Try: Clerc 22' m Médard 31' m Pen: Yachvili (2/3) 11', 16' Drop: Trinh-Duc (1/1) 73'

Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 49,105
Referee: Steve Walsh (Australia)


FB	15	Ben Foden
RW	14	Chris Ashton
OC	13	Manu Tuilagi
IC	12	Toby Flood
LW	11	Mark Cueto
FH	10	Jonny Wilkinson	65'
SH	9	Ben Youngs	65'
N8	8	Nick Easter
OF	7	Lewis Moody (c)	63'
BF	6	Tom Croft	47'
RL	5	Tom Palmer
LL	4	Louis Deacon	50'
TP	3	Dan Cole		63'
HK	2	Steve Thompson	56'
LP	1	Matt Stevens	50'	63'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dylan Hartley	56'
PR	17	Alex Corbisiero	50'
LK	18	Courtney Lawes	47'
LK	19	Simon Shaw	50'
FL	20	James Haskell	63'
SH	21	Richard Wigglesworth	65'
WG	22	Matt Banahan	65'
Coach:
Martin Johnson


FB	15	Maxime Médard
RW	14	Vincent Clerc
OC	13	Aurélien Rougerie	69'
IC	12	Maxime Mermoz	79'
LW	11	Alexis Palisson
FH	10	Morgan Parra
SH	9	Dimitri Yachvili	54'
N8	8	Imanol Harinordoquy	73'
OF	7	Julien Bonnaire
BF	6	Thierry Dusautoir (c)
RL	5	Lionel Nallet
LL	4	Pascal Papé	65'
TP	3	Nicolas Mas
HK	2	William Servat	56'
LP	1	Jean-Baptiste Poux	56'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dimitri Szarzewski	56'
PR	17	Fabien Barcella	56'
LK	18	Julien Pierre	65'
N8	19	Louis Picamoles	73'
FH	20	François Trinh-Duc	54'
CE	21	David Marty	69'
FB	22	Cédric Heymans	79'
Coach:
Marc Lièvremont

Man of the Match:
Imanol Harinordoquy (France)

Touch judges:
Alain Rolland (Ireland)
George Clancy (Ireland)
Television match official:
Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

South Africa vs Australia

9 October 2011
18:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

South Africa	9–11	Australia
Pen: Steyn (2/4) 39', 56' Drop: Steyn (1/1) 60'	Report^[3]	Try: Horwill 11' m Pen: O'Connor (2/2) 17', 72'

Westpac Stadium, Wellington
Attendance: 34,914
Referee: Bryce Lawrence (New Zealand)


FB	15	Patrick Lambie
RW	14	JP Pietersen
OC	13	Jaque Fourie
IC	12	Jean de Villiers
LW	11	Bryan Habana	50'
FH	10	Morné Steyn
SH	9	Fourie du Preez
N8	8	Pierre Spies			64'
BF	7	Schalk Burger	14' to 20'
OF	6	Heinrich Brüssow	20'
RL	5	Victor Matfield
LL	4	Danie Rossouw
TP	3	Jannie du Plessis
HK	2	John Smit (c)	50'
LP	1	Gurthrö Steenkamp
Replacements:
HK	16	Bismarck du Plessis	50'
PR	17	CJ van der Linde
FL	18	Willem Alberts	14'	20'	64'
FL	19	Francois Louw	20'
SH	20	Francois Hougaard	50'
FH	21	Butch James
CT	22	Gio Aplon
Coach:
Peter de Villiers


FB	15	Kurtley Beale	75'
RW	14	James O'Connor
OC	13	Adam Ashley-Cooper
IC	12	Pat McCabe	53'
LW	11	Digby Ioane
FH	10	Quade Cooper
SH	9	Will Genia
N8	8	Radike Samo	73'
OF	7	David Pocock
BF	6	Rocky Elsom
RL	5	James Horwill (c)
LL	4	Dan Vickerman	54'
TP	3	Ben Alexander
HK	2	Stephen Moore	64'
LP	1	Sekope Kepu	69'
Replacements:
HK	16	Tatafu Polota-Nau	64'
PR	17	James Slipper	69'
LK	18	Nathan Sharpe	54'
N8	19	Ben McCalman	73'
SH	20	Luke Burgess
FH	21	Berrick Barnes	53'
CE	22	Anthony Fainga'a	75'
Coach:
Robbie Deans

Man of the Match:
David Pocock (Australia)

Touch judges:
Dave Pearson (England)
Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:
Giulio de Santis (Italy)

New Zealand vs Argentina

9 October 2011
20:30 NZDT (UTC+13)

New Zealand	33–10	Argentina
Try: Read 69' m Thorn 79' c Con: Cruden (1/1) Pen: Weepu (7/7) 13', 26', 36', 40', 50', 59', 73'	Report^[4]	Try: Farías Cabello 32' c Con: Contepomi (1/1) Pen: Bosch (1/1) 46'

Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 57,192
Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)


FB	15	Mils Muliaina	40'
RW	14	Cory Jane
OC	13	Conrad Smith
IC	12	Ma'a Nonu
LW	11	Sonny Bill Williams
FH	10	Colin Slade	33'
SH	9	Piri Weepu	73'
N8	8	Kieran Read
OF	7	Richie McCaw (c)	73'
BF	6	Jerome Kaino
RL	5	Sam Whitelock	63'
LL	4	Brad Thorn
TP	3	Owen Franks	75'
HK	2	Keven Mealamu	66'
LP	1	Tony Woodcock
Replacements:
HK	16	Andrew Hore	66'
PR	17	John Afoa	75'
LK	18	Ali Williams	63'
N8	19	Victor Vito	73'
SH	20	Jimmy Cowan	73'
FH	21	Aaron Cruden	33'
FB	22	Isaia Toeava	40'
Coach:
Graham Henry


FB	15	Martín Rodríguez		69'
RW	14	Gonzalo Camacho
OC	13	Marcelo Bosch
IC	12	Felipe Contepomi (c)
LW	11	Horacio Agulla		50'
FH	10	Santiago Fernández
SH	9	Nicolás Vergallo	58'	49' to 53'
N8	8	Leonardo Senatore
OF	7	Juan Manuel Leguizamón				80'
BF	6	Julio Farías Cabello
RL	5	Patricio Albacete
LL	4	Manuel Carizza		63'
TP	3	Juan Figallo		59'
HK	2	Mario Ledesma		70'
LP	1	Rodrigo Roncero		40'
Replacements:
HK	16	Agustín Creevy		70'
PR	17	Martín Scelzo		59'
PR	18	Marcos Ayerza		40'
FL	19	Alejandro Campos		63'
SH	20	Alfredo Lalanne		49'	53'	80'
FB	21	Lucas González Amorosino		69'
WG	22	Juan Imhoff		50'
Coach:
Santiago Phelan

Man of the Match:
Piri Weepu (New Zealand)

Touch judges:
Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
George Clancy (Ireland)
Television match official:
Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Notes

This was New Zealand fullback Mils Muliaina's 100th test, the second New Zealand player to have reached this milestone.^[5]

Semi-finals

Wales vs France

15 October 2011
21:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Wales	8–9	France
Try: Phillips 58' m Pen: Hook (1/3) 8'	Report^[6]	Pen: Parra (3/3) 22', 35', 51'

Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 58,630
Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland)


FB	15	Leigh Halfpenny
RW	14	George North
OC	13	Jonathan Davies
IC	12	Jamie Roberts
LW	11	Shane Williams
FH	10	James Hook		46'
SH	9	Mike Phillips
N8	8	Taulupe Faletau
OF	7	Sam Warburton (c)	19'
BF	6	Dan Lydiate		56'
RL	5	Alun Wyn Jones		62'
LL	4	Luke Charteris
TP	3	Adam Jones		10'
HK	2	Huw Bennett
LP	1	Gethin Jenkins
Replacements:
HK	16	Lloyd Burns
PR	17	Paul James		10'
LK	18	Bradley Davies		62'
FK	19	Ryan Jones		56'
SH	20	Lloyd Williams
FH	21	Stephen Jones		46'
CE	22	Scott Williams
Coach:
Warren Gatland


FB	15	Maxime Médard
RW	14	Vincent Clerc
OC	13	Aurélien Rougerie
IC	12	Maxime Mermoz
LW	11	Alexis Palisson
FH	10	Morgan Parra
SH	9	Dimitri Yachvili
N8	8	Imanol Harinordoquy
OF	7	Julien Bonnaire	75'
BF	6	Thierry Dusautoir (c)
RL	5	Lionel Nallet
LL	4	Pascal Papé	62'
TP	3	Nicolas Mas
HK	2	William Servat	45'
LP	1	Jean-Baptiste Poux	45'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dimitri Szarzewski	45'
PR	17	Fabien Barcella	45'
LK	18	Julien Pierre	62'
FL	19	Fulgence Ouedraogo	75'
FH	20	François Trinh-Duc
FH	21	Jean-Marc Doussain
FB	22	Cédric Heymans
Coach:
Marc Lièvremont

Man of the Match:
Julien Bonnaire (France)

Touch judges:
Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa)
Wayne Barnes (England)
Television match official:
Giulio De Santis (Italy)

Notes

The Welsh captain was sent off after committing a tip-tackle, releasing the opponent past the horizontal off the ground in the 18th minute.

Australia vs New Zealand

16 October 2011
21:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

Australia	6–20	New Zealand
Pen: O'Connor (1/1) 16' Drop: Cooper (1/1) 32'	Report^[7]	Try: Nonu 6' m Pen: Weepu (4/7) 13', 38', 43', 73' Drop: Cruden (1/1) 22'

Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 60,087
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)


FB	15	Adam Ashley-Cooper
RW	14	James O'Connor
OC	13	Anthony Fainga'a	63'
IC	12	Pat McCabe	35' to 40'		48'
LW	11	Digby Ioane
FH	10	Quade Cooper
SH	9	Will Genia
N8	8	Radike Samo	60'
OF	7	David Pocock
BF	6	Rocky Elsom
RL	5	James Horwill (c)
LL	4	Dan Vickerman	23' to 27'		60'
TP	3	Ben Alexander
HK	2	Stephen Moore	66'
LP	1	Sekope Kepu	21'
Replacements:
HK	16	Tatafu Polota-Nau	66'
PR	17	James Slipper	21'
LK	18	Rob Simmons	23'	27'	60'
N8	19	Ben McCalman	60'
SH	20	Luke Burgess
FH	21	Berrick Barnes	35'	40'	48'
CE	22	Rob Horne	63'
Coach:
Robbie Deans


FB	15	Israel Dagg
RW	14	Cory Jane
OC	13	Conrad Smith
IC	12	Ma'a Nonu		73'
LW	11	Richard Kahui
FH	10	Aaron Cruden
SH	9	Piri Weepu		57'	69'	74'
N8	8	Kieran Read
OF	7	Richie McCaw (c)
BF	6	Jerome Kaino		80'
RL	5	Sam Whitelock		57'
LL	4	Brad Thorn
TP	3	Owen Franks		80'
HK	2	Keven Mealamu		64'
LP	1	Tony Woodcock
Replacements:
HK	16	Andrew Hore		64'
PR	17	Ben Franks		80'
LK	18	Ali Williams		57'
N8	19	Victor Vito		80'
SH	20	Andy Ellis		57'	69' to 74'
FH	21	Stephen Donald
CE	22	Sonny Bill Williams	76'	73'
Coach:
Graham Henry

Man of the Match:
Cory Jane (New Zealand)

Touch judges:
Nigel Owens (Wales)
Romain Poite (France)
Television match official:
Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Bronze final

Wales vs Australia

21 October 2011
20:30 NZDT (UTC+13)

Wales	18–21	Australia
Try: Sh. Williams 50' m Halfpenny 80+' c Con: S. Jones (1/2) Pen: Hook (1/2) 20' S. Jones (1/1) 71'	Tracker	Try: Barnes 12' c McCalman 76' m Con: O'Connor (1/2) Pen: O'Connor (2/4) 54', 58' Drop: Barnes (1/1) 68'

Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 53,014
Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)


FB	15	Leigh Halfpenny
RW	14	George North	33' to 38'
OC	13	Jonathan Davies	71'
IC	12	Jamie Roberts
LW	11	Shane Williams
FH	10	James Hook			51'
SH	9	Mike Phillips	64'
N8	8	Ryan Jones
OF	7	Taulupe Faletau
BF	6	Dan Lydiate	64'
RL	5	Bradley Davies
LL	4	Luke Charteris	53'
TP	3	Paul James	64'
HK	2	Huw Bennett	71'
LP	1	Gethin Jenkins (c)
Replacements:
HK	16	Lloyd Burns	71'
PR	17	Ryan Bevington	64'
LK	18	Alun Wyn Jones	53'
N8	19	Andy Powell	64'
SH	20	Lloyd Williams	64'
FH	21	Stephen Jones	33'	38'	51'
CE	22	Scott Williams	71'
Coach:
Warren Gatland


FB	15	Kurtley Beale	10'
RW	14	James O'Connor
OC	13	Adam Ashley-Cooper
IC	12	Berrick Barnes
LW	11	Digby Ioane
FH	10	Quade Cooper	22'
SH	9	Will Genia	68'
N8	8	Ben McCalman
OF	7	David Pocock
BF	6	Scott Higginbotham	31' to 34'
RL	5	Nathan Sharpe	46'
LL	4	James Horwill (c)			71'
TP	3	Salesi Ma'afu	60'
HK	2	Tatafu Polota-Nau	52'
LP	1	James Slipper
Replacements:
HK	16	Saia Fainga'a	52'
PR	17	Ben Alexander	60'
LK	18	Rob Simmons	46'
N8	19	Radike Samo	31'	34'	71'
SH	20	Luke Burgess	68'
CE	21	Anthony Fainga'a	22'
CE	22	Rob Horne	10'
Coach:
Robbie Deans

Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2011 Rugby World Cup Wales vs Australia.

Man of the Match:
Berrick Barnes (Australia)

Touch judges:
Romain Poite (France)
George Clancy (Ireland)
Television match official:
Shaun Veldsman (South Africa)

Notes

This was Australian lock Nathan Sharpe's 100th test, the fifth Australian to reach the milestone.

Final

France vs New Zealand

Main article: 2011 Rugby World Cup final

23 October 2011
21:00 NZDT (UTC+13)

France	7–8	New Zealand
Try: Dusautoir 47' c Con: Trinh-Duc (1/1)	Report^[8]	Try: Woodcock 15' m Pen: Donald (1/1) 46'

Eden Park, Auckland
Attendance: 61,079^[9]
Referee: Craig Joubert (South Africa)


FB	15	Maxime Médard
RW	14	Vincent Clerc	46'
OC	13	Aurélien Rougerie
IC	12	Maxime Mermoz
LW	11	Alexis Palisson
FH	10	Morgan Parra	12' to 18'		23'
SH	9	Dimitri Yachvili	76'
N8	8	Imanol Harinordoquy
OF	7	Julien Bonnaire
BF	6	Thierry Dusautoir (c)
RL	5	Lionel Nallet
LL	4	Pascal Papé	70'
TP	3	Nicolas Mas
HK	2	William Servat	65'
LP	1	Jean-Baptiste Poux	65'
Replacements:
HK	16	Dimitri Szarzewski	65'
PR	17	Fabien Barcella	65'
LK	18	Julien Pierre	70'
FL	19	Fulgence Ouedraogo
FH	20	Jean-Marc Doussain	76'
FH	21	François Trinh-Duc	12'	18'	23'
FB	22	Damien Traille	46'
Coach:
Marc Lièvremont


FB	15	Israel Dagg
RW	14	Cory Jane
OC	13	Conrad Smith
IC	12	Ma'a Nonu	76'
LW	11	Richard Kahui
FH	10	Aaron Cruden	34'
SH	9	Piri Weepu	50'
N8	8	Kieran Read
OF	7	Richie McCaw (c)
BF	6	Jerome Kaino
RL	5	Sam Whitelock	49'
LL	4	Brad Thorn
TP	3	Owen Franks
HK	2	Keven Mealamu	49'
LP	1	Tony Woodcock
Replacements:
HK	16	Andrew Hore	49'
PR	17	Ben Franks
LK	18	Ali Williams	49'
FL	19	Adam Thomson
SH	20	Andy Ellis	50'
FH	21	Stephen Donald	34'
CE	22	Sonny Bill Williams	76'
Coach:
Graham Henry

Man of the Match:
Thierry Dusautoir (France)

Touch judges:
Alain Rolland (Ireland)^[10]
Nigel Owens (Wales)^[10]
Television match official:
Giulio de Santis (Italy)^[10]

References

^ "Fearless Wales repel Irish battering". rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 10 October 2011.
^ "France secure semi spot with flair and power". rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 9 October 2011.
^ "Pocock at the heart of Wallabies win". rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011.
^ "Weepu proves lethal with the boot". rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 11 October 2011.
^ Harper, Paul (10 October 2011). "All Blacks: Muliaina's celebration cut out". New Zealand Herald. Retrieved 22 October 2011.
^ "Parra punishes 14-man Wales". rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2011.
^ "Awesome All Blacks power to 1987 rematch". rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 17 October 2011.
^ "Donald is New Zealand's unlikely hero". rugbyworldcup.com. Archived from the original on 24 October 2011.
^ Kilpatrick, Mike (October 2011). "World Cup Glory for the All Blacks". Yahoo. Archived from the original on 26 October 2011. Retrieved 24 October 2011.
^ ^a ^b ^c "23 October 2011 - 21:00, Eden Park, Auckland". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 22 October 2011. Retrieved 23 October 2011.

v t e 2011 Rugby World Cup
Stages	Pool A Pool B Pool C Pool D Knockout stage Final
General	Qualifying Squads Statistics Warm-up matches

v t e 2011 Rugby World Cup finalists
Champions	New Zealand
Runner-up	France
Third place	Australia
Fourth place	Wales
Quarter-finals	South Africa, Argentina, Ireland, England
Pool stage	Tonga, Italy, Scotland, Japan, Canada, Georgia, Romania, United States, Russia, Samoa, Fiji, Namibia

v t e Rugby World Cup
Tournaments	Australia / New Zealand 1987 England / France / Ireland / Scotland / Wales 1991 South Africa 1995 Wales 1999 Australia 2003 France 2007 New Zealand 2011 England 2015 Japan 2019 France 2023 Australia 2027 United States 2031
Qualifying	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Knockout stages	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Finals	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Squads	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Statistics	1987 1991 1995 1999 2003 2007 2011 2015 2019 2023 2027 2031
Overview	History Hosts Qualification Theme song Trophy
Overall records	All-time table Hat-tricks Multiple winners Records and statistics Red cards Team appearances Try scorers
Notes: There was no qualification for the 1987 World Cup as places were given by invitation only.