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.
Overview
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.
Place | Nation | Games | Points | Bonus points |
Table points | |||||
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Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | For | Against | Difference | ||||
1 | South Africa | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 189 | 47 | +142 | 3 | 19 |
2 | England | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 108 | 88 | +20 | 2 | 14 |
3 | Tonga | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 89 | 96 | −7 | 1 | 9 |
4 | Samoa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 69 | 143 | −74 | 1 | 5 |
5 | United States | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 61 | 142 | −81 | 1 | 1 |
All times local (UTC+2)
England vs United States
8 September 2007 18:00 |
England | 28–10 | United States |
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Tries: Robinson 35' m Barkley 40+' c Rees 49' c Con: Barkley (2/3) Pen: Barkley (3/3) 7', 22', 31' |
Report | Tries: Moeakiola 74' c Con: Hercus (1/1) Pen: Hercus (1/1) 9' |
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South Africa vs Samoa
9 September 2007 16:00 |
South Africa | 59–7 | Samoa |
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Tries: 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) |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2007 Rugby World Cup South Africa vs Samoa. |
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United States vs Tonga
12 September 2007 14:00 |
United States | 15–25 | Tonga |
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Tries: MacDonald 47' m Stanfill 67' c Con: Hercus (1/2) Pen: Hercus (1/2) 33' |
Report | Tries: Maka 2' c Vaka 59' m Vaki 70' c Con: Hola (2/3) Pen: Hola (2/2) 7', 26' |
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England vs South Africa
14 September 2007 21:00 |
England | 0–36 | South Africa |
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Report | Tries: 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' |
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Wikimedia Commons has media related to 2007 Rugby World Cup South Africa vs England. |
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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
16 September 2007 16:00 |
Samoa | 15–19 | Tonga |
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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' |
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South Africa vs Tonga
22 September 2007 14:00 |
South Africa | 30–25 | Tonga |
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Tries: 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 | Tries: Pulu 44' c Hufanga 70' m Vaki 72' c Con: Hola (2/3) Pen: Hola (2/3) 9', 78' |
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Notes
- Percy Montgomery earns his 90th cap, surpassing Joost van der Westhuizen as the most-capped Springbok.
England vs Samoa
22 September 2007 16:00 |
England | 44–22 | Samoa |
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Tries: 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' |
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Samoa vs United States
26 September 2007 20:00 |
Samoa | 25–21 | United States |
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Tries: Fa'atau 5' m Tuilagi 9' c Thompson 37' c Con: Crichton (2/3) Pen: Crichton (2/2) 30', 72' |
Report | Tries: Ngwenya 53' c Stanfill 79' m Con: Hercus (1/2) Pen: Hercus (3/4) 32', 65', 75' |
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England vs Tonga
28 September 2007 21:00 |
England | 36–20 | Tonga |
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Tries: 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 | Tries: Hufanga 17' c Pole 80' c Con: Hola (2/2) Pen: Hola (2/2) 11', 55' |
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South Africa vs United States
30 September 2007 20:00 |
South Africa | 64–15 | United States |
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Tries: 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 | Tries: Ngwenya 39' c Wyles 51' m Con: Hercus (1/2) Pen: Hercus (1/1) 20' |
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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]
Notes and references
- Rugby News Service (2007-10-21). "Habana named IRB Player of the Year". International Rugby Board. Archived from the original on 2007-10-23. Retrieved 2007-10-21.
- Fitzpatrick, Joel (2007-09-05). "Thretton takes milestone in his stride". Rugby News Service. Rugby World Cup. Archived from the original on 30 September 2007. Retrieved 2007-10-19.