2007 Rugby World Cup Pool A
Pool A of the 2007 Rugby World Cup began on 8 September and was completed on 30 September. The pool was composed of 2003 World Cup winners England, as well as Samoa, South Africa, Tonga and United States.
Standings
[edit]Pool A threw up few surprises, with both South Africa and England qualifying for the quarter-finals, as expected. Third place went to Tonga, who beat the USA and South Pacific neighbours, Samoa, to secure a place in the 2011 Rugby World Cup. Tonga also gave the eventual champions a close run, losing by less than a try. Both South Africa and England went on to reach the final of the tournament, which South Africa won by 15 points to 6.
Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | B | Pts | Qualification |
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1 | ![]() |
4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 189 | 47 | +142 | 3 | 19 | Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2011 Rugby World Cup |
2 | ![]() |
4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 108 | 88 | +20 | 2 | 14 | |
3 | ![]() |
4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 96 | −7 | 1 | 9 | Eliminated, automatic qualification for 2011 Rugby World Cup |
4 | ![]() |
4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 143 | −74 | 1 | 5 | |
5 | ![]() |
4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 61 | 142 | −81 | 1 | 1 |
Matches
[edit]All times local (UTC+2)
England vs United States
[edit]8 September 2007 18:00 |
England ![]() | 28–10 | ![]() |
Try: Robinson 35' m Barkley 40+' c Rees 49' c Con: Barkley (2/3) Pen: Barkley (3/3) 7', 22', 31' | Report | Try: Moeakiola 74' c Con: Hercus (1/1) Pen: Hercus (1/1) 9' |
Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens Attendance: 36,755 Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) |
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South Africa vs Samoa
[edit]9 September 2007 16:00 |
South Africa ![]() | 59–7 | ![]() |
Try: Habana (4) 33' m, 56' c, 66' c, 76' m Montgomery (2) 40+' c, 53' m Fourie 47' c JP Pietersen 80+' c Con: Montgomery (5/8) Pen: Montgomery (3/3) 3', 10', 15' | Report | Try: Williams 18' c Con: Williams (1/1) |
Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 46,575 Referee: Paul Honiss (New Zealand) |
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United States vs Tonga
[edit]12 September 2007 14:00 |
United States ![]() | 15–25 | ![]() |
Try: MacDonald 47' m Stanfill 67' c Con: Hercus (1/2) Pen: and Jason Taumalolo had 10000 tries Hercus (1/2) 33' | Report | Try: Maka 2' c Vaka 59' m Vaki 70' c Con: Hola (2/3) Pen: Hola (2/2) 7', 26' |
Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier Attendance: 25,000 Referee: Stuart Dickinson (Australia) |
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England vs South Africa
[edit]14 September 2007 21:00 |
England ![]() | 0–36 | ![]() |
Report | Try: Smith 6' c Pietersen (2) 38' c, 64' c Con: Montgomery (3/3) Pen: Steyn (1/1) 11' Montgomery (4/4) 36', 46', 55', 79' |
Stade de France, Saint-Denis Attendance: 77,523 Referee: Joël Jutge (France) |
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Notes
- Percy Montgomery equalled Joost van der Westhuizen as the most-capped Springbok with his 89th appearance.
- This was the first scoreless match for England at the World Cup; it was also the first time a past World Champion had failed to score in a World Cup match. It was only the fifth time a side had failed to score in a World Cup match, after Canada, Spain, Namibia and Romania, although Scotland joined this list later in the tournament.
Samoa vs Tonga
[edit]16 September 2007 16:00 |
Samoa ![]() | 15–19 | ![]() |
Pen: Williams (5/6) 6', 21', 23', 29', 69' | Report | Try: Taione 60' c Con: Hola (1/1) Pen: Hola (4/5) 3', 38', 47', 67' |
Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier Attendance: 24,128 Referee: Jonathan Kaplan (South Africa) |
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South Africa vs Tonga
[edit]22 September 2007 14:00 |
South Africa ![]() | 30–25 | ![]() |
Try: Pienaar (2) 18' c, 65' m Smith 59' c Skinstad 62' m Con: Pretorius (1/1) Montgomery (1/3) Pen: Steyn (1/1) 54' Montgomery (1/1) 76' | Report | Try: Pulu 44' c Hufanga 70' m Vaki 72' c Con: Hola (2/3) Pen: Hola (2/3) 9', 78' |
Stade Félix Bollaert, Lens Attendance: 40,069 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) |
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Notes
- Percy Montgomery earns his 90th cap, surpassing Joost van der Westhuizen as the most-capped Springbok.
England vs Samoa
[edit]22 September 2007 16:00 |
England ![]() | 44–22 | ![]() |
Try: Corry (2) 2' c, 76' c Sackey (2) 32' c, 80+' m Con: Wilkinson (3/4) Pen: Wilkinson (4/6) 15', 22', 33', 72' Drop: Wilkinson (2/3) 6', 69' | Report | Try: Polu 47' c Con: Crichton (1/1) Pen: Crichton (5/5) 9', 12', 38', 40+, 42' |
Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes Attendance: 37,022 Referee: Alan Lewis (Ireland) |
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Samoa vs United States
[edit]26 September 2007 20:00 |
Samoa ![]() | 25–21 | ![]() |
Try: Fa'atau 5' m Tuilagi 9' c Thompson 37' c Con: Crichton (2/3) Pen: Crichton (2/2) 30', 72' | Report | Try: Ngwenya 53' c Stanfill 79' m Con: Hercus (1/2) Pen: Hercus (3/4) 32', 65', 75' |
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne Attendance: 34,124 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England) |
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England vs Tonga
[edit]28 September 2007 21:00 |
England ![]() | 36–20 | ![]() |
Try: Sackey (2) 20' m, 38' m Tait 57' c Farrell 66' c Con: Wilkinson (2/4) Pen: Wilkinson (2/3) 14', 36' Drop: Wilkinson (2/2) 32', 72' | Report | Try: Hufanga 17' c T-Pole 80' c Con: Hola (2/2) Pen: Hola (2/2) 11', 55' |
Parc des Princes, Paris Attendance: 45,085 Referee: Alain Rolland (Ireland) |
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South Africa vs United States
[edit]30 September 2007 20:00 |
South Africa ![]() | 64–15 | ![]() |
Try: Burger 10' c Steyn 28' c Habana (2) 35' c, 42' m van der Linde 48' c du Preez 54' c Fourie (2) 64' c, 73' c Smith 77' c Con: Montgomery (6/7) James (2/2) Pen: Montgomery (1/1) 17' | Report | Try: Ngwenya 39' c Wyles 51' m Con: Hercus (1/2) Pen: Hercus (1/1) 20' |
Stade de la Mosson, Montpellier Attendance: 28,750 Referee: Tony Spreadbury (England) |
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Notes
- Takudzwa Ngwenya's try, which he scored from his own half after faking out Bryan Habana and running past him, was named the Try of the Year in international rugby by the International Rugby Players' Association, an award handed out at the 2007 IRB Awards.[1]
- Thretton Palamo became the youngest player ever to appear in the Rugby World Cup, at age 19 years, 8 days. The previous record was held by Federico Méndez of Argentina, who appeared in the 1991 Rugby World Cup at 19 years, 54 days.[2]
References
[edit]- ^ Rugby News Service (21 October 2007). "Habana named IRB Player of the Year". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 23 October 2007. Retrieved 21 October 2007.
- ^ Fitzpatrick, Joel (5 September 2007). "Thretton takes milestone in his stride". Rugby News Service. Rugby World Cup. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 19 October 2007.