# 2019 Rugby World Cup Pool A

Pool A of the 2019 Rugby World Cup began on 20 September 2019. The pool included hosts Japan, and previous 2015 Rugby World Cup quarter-finalists Ireland and Scotland. They were joined by the European qualifier, Russia, and Samoa, the winner of the European-Oceania Cross-Regional play-off.
Japan won all four of their matches, including surprise victories over both Ireland and Scotland, to finish top of the pool and become the first Asian nation to reach a Rugby World Cup quarter-final. Ireland picked up a bonus point in each of their matches, and their victory over Scotland in their opening pool match proved the difference between the two sides in the hunt for second place. Samoa finished in fourth place, their only win coming against bottom-placed Russia.

## Overview

The opening match of the 2019 Rugby World Cup was played in Pool A with Japan scoring a 30–10 win over Russia. Kotaro Matsushima became the first Japanese player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup. For the Russian side, Kirill Golosnitsky scored the first try of the tournament after four minutes – the fastest try ever scored in the opening match of a World Cup. Two days later, Ireland defeated Scotland 27–3. On 24 September, Samoa played their first match against Russia in Kumagaya. Despite Samoa's being reduced to 13 men after Rey Lee-Lo and Motu Matu'u were sin-binned within two minutes of each other, Russia could not capitalise on their advantage and Samoa went on to win 34–9. Four days later, hosts Japan defeated Ireland 19–12, scoring four out of six penalties. While it was an upset win for Japan, World Rugby later admitted three of the four offside penalties were incorrectly awarded to Japan. Kenki Fukuoka scored a try in the 58th minute to give Japan a two-point lead after Ireland's Garry Ringrose and Rob Kearney had scored the opening two tries. Yu Tamura's conversion and fourth successful penalty kick sealed the result for Japan. Scotland recorded their first victory of the World Cup with a 34–0 whitewash victory over Samoa in muggy conditions in Kobe, with Samoan captain Jack Lam stating that the rugby ball was "a bar of soap."
Three days later, Kobe Misaki Stadium held another match in Pool A – this time it was Ireland, who would whitewash their opponents (Russia) in a 35–0 victory with five different players getting tries for the Irish. The Irish though, did not have everything go right with Jordi Murphy being subbed off in the 27th minute due to a possible rib injury, which added to the Irish back row pain after losing Jack Conan earlier in the tournament. Japan recorded their third victory over Samoa in Toyota with a 85th minute try from Kotaro Matsushima sealing the Japanese a 38–19 bonus point victory. Russia in the final match of the tournament was hammered by Scotland 61–0 with George Horne scoring a hat-trick as the Scots became the first team in World Cup history to not concede a point from two World Cup matches. A red card to Bundee Aki in the 29th minute forced Ireland to go down to 14 men but that was the only blemish with Ireland winning 47–5 over Samoa in Fukuoka. Johnny Sexton scoring two tries for the Irish. Typhoon Hagibis saw the Japan–Scotland match under threat with the Scottish Rugby Union demanding legal action if it was cancelled. But after an inspection deemed the match to go ahead, Japan held their nerve against a fast-finishing Scotland to take home a 28–21 victory with Kenki Fukuoka scoring two tries. The win saw Japan become the first Tier 2 team to qualify since 2007, as they topped the group while Ireland finished in second place.

## Standings

| Pos | Team | Pld | W | D | L | PF | PA | PD | T | B | Pts | Qualification |
| 1 | Japan | 4 | 4 | 0 | 0 | 115 | 62 | +53 | 13 | 3 | 19 | Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup |
| 2 | Ireland | 4 | 3 | 0 | 1 | 121 | 27 | +94 | 18 | 4 | 16 | Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup |
| 3 | Scotland | 4 | 2 | 0 | 2 | 119 | 55 | +64 | 16 | 3 | 11 | Eliminated but qualified for 2023 Rugby World Cup |
| 4 | Samoa | 4 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 58 | 128 | −70 | 8 | 1 | 5 | |
| 5 | Russia | 4 | 0 | 0 | 4 | 19 | 160 | −141 | 1 | 0 | 0 | |

## Matches

All times are local Japan Standard Time (UTC+09)

### Japan vs Russia

* 20 September 2019 19:45 JST (UTC+09)
| (1 BP) Japan | 30–10 | Russia |
| Try: Matsushima (3) 12' m, 39' c, 69' c Labuschagné 47' m Con: Tamura (1/3) 40' Matsuda (1/1) 71' Pen: Tamura (2/2) 44', 64' | Report | Try: Golosnitski 5' c Con: Kushnarev (1/1) 6' Pen: Kushnarev (1/1) 61' |
* Tokyo Stadium, Chōfu Attendance: 45,745 Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)
| Japan | Russia |
| FB | 15 | Will Tupou | 71' |
| RW | 14 | Kotaro Matsushima |
| OC | 13 | Timothy Lafaele |
| IC | 12 | Ryoto Nakamura |
| LW | 11 | Lomano Lemeki |
| FH | 10 | Yu Tamura | 67' |
| SH | 9 | Yutaka Nagare | 61' |
| N8 | 8 | Kazuki Himeno |
| OF | 7 | Lappies Labuschagné |
| BF | 6 | Michael Leitch (c) | 71' |
| RL | 5 | James Moore |
| LL | 4 | Wimpie van der Walt | 61' |
| TP | 3 | Asaeli Ai Valu | 55' |
| HK | 2 | Shota Horie | 75' |
| LP | 1 | Keita Inagaki | 55' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Atsushi Sakate | 75' |
| PR | 17 | Isileli Nakajima | 55' |
| PR | 18 | Koo Ji-won | 55' |
| LK | 19 | Luke Thompson | 60' |
| FL | 20 | Hendrik Tui | 71' |
| SH | 21 | Fumiaki Tanaka | 61' |
| FH | 22 | Rikiya Matsuda | 67' |
| FB | 23 | Ryohei Yamanaka | 71' |
| Coach: ||
| Jamie Joseph ||
| FB | 15 | Vasily Artemyev (c) |
| RW | 14 | German Davydov |
| OC | 13 | Vladimir Ostroushko |
| IC | 12 | Dmitry Gerasimov | 68' |
| LW | 11 | Kirill Golosnitsky |
| FH | 10 | Yuri Kushnarev | 65' |
| SH | 9 | Vasily Dorofeev | 33' | 42' | 74' |
| N8 | 8 | Nikita Vavilin |
| OF | 7 | Tagir Gadzhiev |
| BF | 6 | Vitaly Zhivatov | 65' |
| RL | 5 | Bogdan Fedotko | 61' |
| LL | 4 | Andrei Ostrikov |
| TP | 3 | Kirill Gotovtsev | 68' |
| HK | 2 | Stanislav Sel'skiy | 65' |
| LP | 1 | Valery Morozov | 65' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Evgeny Matveev | 65' |
| PR | 17 | Andrei Polivalov | 65' |
| PR | 18 | Azamat Bitiev | 68' |
| LK | 19 | Andrey Garbuzov | 62' |
| FL | 20 | Anton Sychev | 65' |
| SH | 21 | Dmitry Perov | 33' | 42' | 74' |
| FH | 22 | Ramil Gaisin | 65' |
| WG | 23 | Vladislav Sozonov | 68' |
| Coach: ||
| Lyn Jones ||
* Player of the Match:
* Kotaro Matsushima (Japan)
* Assistant referees:
* Nic Berry (Australia)
* Matthew Carley (England)
* Television match official:
* Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Notes:
* This was the first Rugby World Cup opener not to feature a Tier 1 nation.
* Kotaro Matsushima (Japan) became the first Japanese player to score a hat-trick at a World Cup, and the first player to score one in a Rugby World Cup opener.
* Russia's try was the fastest to be scored in an opening match of a Rugby World Cup.

### Ireland vs Scotland

* 22 September 2019 16:45 JST (UTC+09)
| (1 BP) Ireland | 27–3 | Scotland |
| Try: Ja. Ryan 6' c Best 14' m Furlong 25' c Conway 56' m Con: Sexton (1/2) 8' Murray (1/2) 27' Pen: Carty (1/1) 68' | Report | Pen: Laidlaw (1/1) 21' |
* International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama Attendance: 63,731 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
| Ireland | Scotland |
| FB | 15 | Jordan Larmour |
| RW | 14 | Andrew Conway |
| OC | 13 | Garry Ringrose |
| IC | 12 | Bundee Aki | | 21' |
| LW | 11 | Jacob Stockdale |
| FH | 10 | Johnny Sexton | | 58' |
| SH | 9 | Conor Murray | | 58' |
| N8 | 8 | CJ Stander |
| OF | 7 | Josh van der Flier | | 14' to 22' | 14' to 22' | 74' |
| BF | 6 | Peter O'Mahony | | | | 27' |
| RL | 5 | James Ryan |
| LL | 4 | Iain Henderson | | 58' |
| TP | 3 | Tadhg Furlong | | 50' |
| HK | 2 | Rory Best (c) |
| LP | 1 | Cian Healy | | 50' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Niall Scannell | | | | 74' |
| PR | 17 | Dave Kilcoyne | | 50' |
| PR | 18 | Andrew Porter | | 50' |
| LK | 19 | Tadhg Beirne | 70' | 58' |
| FL | 20 | Jack Conan | | 14' | 22' | 27' |
| SH | 21 | Luke McGrath | | 58' |
| FH | 22 | Jack Carty | | 58' |
| CE | 23 | Chris Farrell | | 21' |
| Coach: ||
| Joe Schmidt ||
| FB | 15 | Stuart Hogg |
| RW | 14 | Tommy Seymour | 58' |
| OC | 13 | Duncan Taylor | 65' |
| IC | 12 | Sam Johnson |
| LW | 11 | Sean Maitland |
| FH | 10 | Finn Russell |
| SH | 9 | Greig Laidlaw | 62' |
| N8 | 8 | Ryan Wilson |
| OF | 7 | Hamish Watson | 38' |
| BF | 6 | John Barclay | 53' |
| RL | 5 | Jonny Gray | 65' |
| LL | 4 | Grant Gilchrist |
| TP | 3 | WP Nel | 53' |
| HK | 2 | Stuart McInally (c) |
| LP | 1 | Allan Dell | 62' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Fraser Brown | 38' |
| PR | 17 | Gordon Reid | 62' |
| PR | 18 | Simon Berghan | 53' |
| LK | 19 | Scott Cummings | 65' |
| FL | 20 | Blade Thomson | 53' |
| SH | 21 | Ali Price | 62' |
| CE | 22 | Chris Harris | 65' |
| WG | 23 | Darcy Graham | 58' |
| Coach: ||
| Gregor Townsend ||
* Player of the Match:
* CJ Stander (Ireland)
* Assistant referees:
* Pascal Gaüzère (France)
* Alexandre Ruiz (France)
* Television match official:
* Graham Hughes (England)
Notes:
* This was the first meeting between the two nations at a neutral venue.

### Russia vs Samoa

* 24 September 2019 19:15 JST (UTC+09)
| Russia | 9–34 | Samoa (1 BP) |
| Pen: Kushnarev (2/2) 19', 26' Drop: Kushnarev (1/1) 48' | Report | Try: Leiua (2) 16' m, 80' m Amosa 45' m Fidow (2) 49' c, 53' c Lee-Lo 63' m Con: Pisi (2/5) 50', 54' |
* Kumagaya Rugby Stadium, Kumagaya Attendance: 22,564 Referee: Romain Poite (France)
| Russia | Samoa |
| FB | 15 | Vasily Artemyev (c) |
| RW | 14 | German Davydov |
| OC | 13 | Vladimir Ostroushko |
| IC | 12 | Dmitry Gerasimov | | 65' |
| LW | 11 | Kirill Golosnitsky |
| FH | 10 | Yuri Kushnarev | | 55' |
| SH | 9 | Vasily Dorofeev | | 55' |
| N8 | 8 | Nikita Vavilin | | 65' |
| OF | 7 | Tagir Gadzhiev |
| BF | 6 | Vitaly Zhivatov |
| RL | 5 | Bogdan Fedotko |
| LL | 4 | Andrei Ostrikov | | 65' |
| TP | 3 | Kirill Gotovtsev | 47' | 71' |
| HK | 2 | Stanislav Sel'skiy | | 57' |
| LP | 1 | Valery Morozov | | 59' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Evgeny Matveev | | 57' |
| PR | 17 | Andrey Polivalov | | 59' |
| PR | 18 | Azamat Bitiev | | 71' |
| LK | 19 | Andrey Garbuzov | | 65' |
| FL | 20 | Anton Sychev | | 21' |
| SH | 21 | Dmitry Perov | | 22' |
| FH | 22 | Ramil Gaisin | | 55' |
| WG | 23 | Vladislav Sozonov | | 65' |
| Coach: ||
| Lyn Jones ||
| FB | 15 | Tim Nanai-Williams | | 65' |
| RW | 14 | Alapati Leiua |
| OC | 13 | Rey Lee-Lo | 29' |
| IC | 12 | Henry Taefu |
| LW | 11 | Ed Fidow |
| FH | 10 | Tusi Pisi | | 65' |
| SH | 9 | Dwayne Polataivao | | 40' |
| N8 | 8 | Afa Amosa | | 33' | 40' | 46' |
| OF | 7 | TJ Ioane |
| BF | 6 | Chris Vui (c) |
| RL | 5 | Kane Le'aupepe |
| LL | 4 | Filo Paulo | | 65' |
| TP | 3 | Michael Alaalatoa | | 55' |
| HK | 2 | Motu Matu'u | 31' | | 40' |
| LP | 1 | Logovi'i Mulipola | | 51' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Ray Niuia | | 33' |
| PR | 17 | Paul Alo-Emile | | 55' |
| PR | 18 | Jordan Lay | | 51' |
| LK | 19 | Senio Toleafoa | | 65' |
| LK | 20 | Josh Tyrell | | | | 46' |
| SH | 21 | Melani Matavao | | 40' |
| FH | 22 | AJ Alatimu | | 65' |
| FH | 23 | UJ Seuteni | | 65' |
| Coach: ||
| Steve Jackson ||
* Player of the Match:
* Alapati Leiua (Samoa)
* Assistant referees:
* Jérôme Garcès (France)
* Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
* Television match official:
* Graham Hughes (England)
Notes:
* This was the first meeting between the two nations.
* Ahsee Tuala was due to start the game, but was replaced with Henry Taefu following injury ahead of kick off.

### Japan vs Ireland

* 28 September 2019 16:15 JST (UTC+09)
| Japan | 19–12 | Ireland (1 BP) |
| Try: Fukuoka 59' c Con: Tamura (1/1) 61' Pen: Tamura (4/6) 18', 34', 40', 72' | Report | Try: Ringrose 14' m Kearney 21' c Con: Carty (1/2) 22' |
* Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi Attendance: 47,813 Referee: Angus Gardner (Australia)
| Japan | Ireland |
| FB | 15 | Ryohei Yamanaka | 50' |
| RW | 14 | Kotaro Matsushima |
| OC | 13 | Timothy Lafaele |
| IC | 12 | Ryoto Nakamura |
| LW | 11 | Lomano Lemeki |
| FH | 10 | Yu Tamura |
| SH | 9 | Yutaka Nagare | 56' |
| N8 | 8 | Amanaki Mafi | 31' |
| OF | 7 | Lappies Labuschagné (c) |
| BF | 6 | Kazuki Himeno |
| RL | 5 | James Moore |
| LL | 4 | Luke Thompson | 64' |
| TP | 3 | Koo Ji-won | 54' |
| HK | 2 | Shota Horie |
| LP | 1 | Keita Inagaki | 64' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Atsushi Sakate |
| PR | 17 | Isileli Nakajima | 64' |
| PR | 18 | Asaeli Ai Valu | 54' |
| LK | 19 | Wimpie van der Walt | 64' |
| FL | 20 | Michael Leitch | 31' |
| SH | 21 | Fumiaki Tanaka | 57' |
| FH | 22 | Rikiya Matsuda |
| WG | 23 | Kenki Fukuoka | 50' |
| Coach: ||
| Jamie Joseph ||
| FB | 15 | Rob Kearney | 68' |
| RW | 14 | Keith Earls |
| OC | 13 | Garry Ringrose |
| IC | 12 | Chris Farrell | 61' |
| LW | 11 | Jacob Stockdale |
| FH | 10 | Jack Carty | 61' |
| SH | 9 | Conor Murray |
| N8 | 8 | CJ Stander |
| OF | 7 | Josh van der Flier |
| BF | 6 | Peter O'Mahony | 55' |
| RL | 5 | James Ryan |
| LL | 4 | Iain Henderson | 66' |
| TP | 3 | Tadhg Furlong | 61' |
| HK | 2 | Rory Best (c) | 61' |
| LP | 1 | Cian Healy | 46' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Seán Cronin | 61' |
| PR | 17 | Dave Kilcoyne | 46' |
| PR | 18 | Andrew Porter | 61' |
| LK | 19 | Tadhg Beirne | 66' |
| FL | 20 | Rhys Ruddock | 53' |
| SH | 21 | Luke McGrath | 66' |
| FH | 22 | Joey Carbery | 61' |
| FB | 23 | Jordan Larmour | 61' |
| Coach: ||
| Joe Schmidt ||
* Player of the Match:
* Shota Horie (Japan)
* Assistant referees:
* Jérôme Garcès (France)
* Matthew Carley (England)
* Television match official:
* Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Notes:
* Will Tupou was due to start the game, but was replaced by Lomano Lemeki due to injury ahead of kick off.
* Iain Henderson (Ireland) earned his 50th test cap.
* This is Japan's first victory over Ireland.
* This is Ireland's first Rugby World Cup pool stage loss since losing 30–15 to Argentina during the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
* This is Ireland's first loss to a Tier 2 nation since losing 40–25 to Samoa in 1996.
* This is the first time that Ireland has failed to score any points in the second half of a match since their match against France in the 2016 Six Nations Championship.

### Scotland vs Samoa

* 30 September 2019 19:15 JST (UTC+09)
| (1 BP) Scotland | 34–0 | Samoa |
| Try: Maitland 30' c Laidlaw 34' c Penalty try (2) 57', 75' Con: Laidlaw (2/2) 31', 36' Pen: Laidlaw (1/1) 9' Drop: Hogg (1/1) 38' | Report | |
* Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe Attendance: 27,586 Referee: Pascal Gaüzère (France)
| Scotland | Samoa |
| FB | 15 | Stuart Hogg |
| RW | 14 | Darcy Graham |
| OC | 13 | Chris Harris |
| IC | 12 | Sam Johnson | 64' |
| LW | 11 | Sean Maitland |
| FH | 10 | Finn Russell | 75' |
| SH | 9 | Greig Laidlaw | 64' |
| N8 | 8 | Blade Thomson |
| OF | 7 | Jamie Ritchie |
| BF | 6 | Magnus Bradbury | 73' |
| RL | 5 | Jonny Gray |
| LL | 4 | Grant Gilchrist | 52' |
| TP | 3 | WP Nel | 58' |
| HK | 2 | Stuart McInally (c) | 52' |
| LP | 1 | Allan Dell | 13' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Fraser Brown | 52' |
| PR | 17 | Gordon Reid | 13' |
| PR | 18 | Zander Fagerson | 58' |
| LK | 19 | Scott Cummings | 52' |
| N8 | 20 | Ryan Wilson | 73' |
| SH | 21 | George Horne | 64' |
| FH | 22 | Adam Hastings | 75' |
| CE | 23 | Duncan Taylor | 64' |
| Coach: ||
| Gregor Townsend ||
| FB | 15 | Tim Nanai-Williams |
| RW | 14 | Belgium Tuatagaloa | | 45' |
| OC | 13 | Alapati Leiua |
| IC | 12 | Henry Taefu |
| LW | 11 | Ed Fidow | 57' 75' |
| FH | 10 | Tusi Pisi | | 54' |
| SH | 9 | Melani Matavao | | 71' |
| N8 | 8 | Jack Lam (c) | | 3' | 14' |
| OF | 7 | TJ Ioane | | | | 66' |
| BF | 6 | Chris Vui |
| RL | 5 | Kane Le'aupepe |
| LL | 4 | Filo Paulo | | 51' | 79' |
| TP | 3 | Michael Alaalatoa | | 44' |
| HK | 2 | Ray Niuia | | 54' |
| LP | 1 | Logovi'i Mulipola | | 44' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Seilala Lam | | 54' |
| PR | 17 | Paul Alo-Emile | | 47' |
| PR | 18 | Jordan Lay | | 44' |
| FL | 19 | Piula Fa'asalele | | 51' | 79' |
| LK | 20 | Josh Tyrell | | 4' | 14' | 66' |
| SH | 21 | Pele Cowley | | 71' |
| FH | 22 | UJ Seuteni | | 54' |
| CE | 23 | Kieron Fonotia | | 45' |
| Coach: ||
| Steve Jackson ||
* Player of the Match:
* Jonny Gray (Scotland)
* Assistant referees:
* Nigel Owens (Wales)
* Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
* Television match official:
* Graham Hughes (England)
Notes:
* This is the first time since beating Italy 29–0 in 2017 that Scotland have kept their opponents scoreless, and the first time ever against Samoa. The last time they did so at a Rugby World Cup was in 2007, when they beat Romania 42–0.
* This is the first time that Samoa has failed to score any points in a Rugby World Cup match.

### Ireland vs Russia

* 3 October 2019 19:15 JST (UTC+09)
| (1 BP) Ireland | 35–0 | Russia |
| Try: Kearney 2' c O'Mahony 13' c Ruddock 35' c Conway 62' c Ringrose 76' c Con: Sexton (3/3) 4', 15', 37' Carty (2/2) 63', 77' | Report | |
* Kobe Misaki Stadium, Kobe Attendance: 26,856 Referee: Jérôme Garcès (France)
| Ireland | Russia |
| FB | 15 | Rob Kearney | 50' |
| RW | 14 | Andrew Conway |
| OC | 13 | Garry Ringrose |
| IC | 12 | Bundee Aki |
| LW | 11 | Keith Earls |
| FH | 10 | Johnny Sexton (c) | 40' |
| SH | 9 | Luke McGrath |
| N8 | 8 | Jordi Murphy | 27' |
| OF | 7 | Peter O'Mahony |
| BF | 6 | Rhys Ruddock |
| RL | 5 | Jean Kleyn | 61' |
| LL | 4 | Tadhg Beirne |
| TP | 3 | John Ryan | 58' |
| HK | 2 | Niall Scannell | 58' |
| LP | 1 | Dave Kilcoyne | 58' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Seán Cronin | 58' |
| PR | 17 | Andrew Porter | 58' |
| PR | 18 | Tadhg Furlong | 58' |
| LK | 19 | Iain Henderson | 61' |
| N8 | 20 | CJ Stander | 27' |
| SH | 21 | Conor Murray |
| FH | 22 | Jack Carty | 40' |
| FB | 23 | Jordan Larmour | 50' |
| Coach: ||
| Joe Schmidt ||
| FB | 15 | Vasily Artemyev (c) |
| RW | 14 | German Davydov |
| OC | 13 | Igor Galinovskiy |
| IC | 12 | Kirill Golosnitsky | | 15' |
| LW | 11 | Denis Simplikevich | | 71' |
| FH | 10 | Ramil Gaisin |
| SH | 9 | Dmitry Perov |
| N8 | 8 | Victor Gresev |
| OF | 7 | Tagir Gadzhiev |
| BF | 6 | Anton Sychev | | 70' |
| RL | 5 | Bogdan Fedotko | 34' | 64' |
| LL | 4 | Andrey Garbuzov | | 50' |
| TP | 3 | Kirill Gotovtsev | | 68' |
| HK | 2 | Evgeny Matveev | | 40' |
| LP | 1 | Andrey Polivalov | | 40' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Stanislav Sel'skiy | | 40' |
| PR | 17 | Valery Morozov | | 40' |
| PR | 18 | Vladimir Podrezov | | 68' |
| LK | 19 | Andrei Ostrikov | 51' | 50' |
| LK | 20 | Evgeny Elgin | | 64' |
| FH | 21 | Sergey Yanyushkin | | 71' |
| FL | 22 | Roman Khodin | | 70' |
| CE | 23 | Vladimir Ostroushko | | 15' |
| Coach: ||
| Lyn Jones ||
* Player of the Match:
* Rhys Ruddock (Ireland)
* Assistant referees:
* Mathieu Raynal (France)
* Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
* Television match official:
* Ben Skeen (New Zealand)
Notes:
* Igor Galinovskiy (Russia) earned his 50th test cap.

### Japan vs Samoa

* 5 October 2019 19:30 JST (UTC+09)
| (1 BP) Japan | 38–19 | Samoa |
| Try: Lafaele 28' c Himeno 53' c Fukuoka 76' m Matsushima 80+5' c Con: Tamura (3/4) 29', 55', 80+7' Pen: Tamura (4/5) 3', 8', 24', 51' | Report | Try: Taefu 73' c Con: Taefu (1/1) 74' Pen: Taefu (4/5) 10', 15', 34', 45' |
* City of Toyota Stadium, Toyota Attendance: 39,695 Referee: Jaco Peyper (South Africa)
| Japan | Samoa |
| FB | 15 | Ryohei Yamanaka | 57' |
| RW | 14 | Kotaro Matsushima |
| OC | 13 | Timothy Lafaele |
| IC | 12 | Ryoto Nakamura | 70' |
| LW | 11 | Lomano Lemeki |
| FH | 10 | Yu Tamura |
| SH | 9 | Yutaka Nagare | 63' |
| N8 | 8 | Kazuki Himeno |
| OF | 7 | Lappies Labuschagné (c) |
| BF | 6 | Michael Leitch | 64' |
| RL | 5 | James Moore |
| LL | 4 | Wimpie van der Walt | 68' |
| TP | 3 | Koo Ji-won | 52' |
| HK | 2 | Atsushi Sakate | 40' |
| LP | 1 | Keita Inagaki | 52' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Shota Horie | 40' |
| PR | 17 | Isileli Nakajima | 52' |
| PR | 18 | Asaeli Ai Valu | 52' |
| LK | 19 | Uwe Helu | 68' |
| FL | 20 | Hendrik Tui | 64' |
| SH | 21 | Fumiaki Tanaka | 63' |
| FH | 22 | Rikiya Matsuda | 70' |
| WG | 23 | Kenki Fukuoka | 57' |
| Coach: ||
| Jamie Joseph ||
| FB | 15 | Tim Nanai-Williams | | 40' |
| RW | 14 | Ahsee Tuala | | 55' |
| OC | 13 | Alapati Leiua |
| IC | 12 | Henry Taefu |
| LW | 11 | Ed Fidow |
| FH | 10 | UJ Seuteni |
| SH | 9 | Dwayne Polataivao | | 66' |
| N8 | 8 | Jack Lam (c) |
| OF | 7 | TJ Ioane | 25' | 70' |
| BF | 6 | Chris Vui |
| RL | 5 | Kane Le'aupepe |
| LL | 4 | Piula Fa'asalele | | 61' |
| TP | 3 | Michael Alaalatoa | | 56' |
| HK | 2 | Seilala Lam | | 56' |
| LP | 1 | Jordan Lay | | 66' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Ray Niuia | | 56' |
| PR | 17 | Paul Alo-Emile | | 66' |
| PR | 18 | James Lay | | 56' |
| LK | 19 | Senio Toleafoa | | 61' |
| LK | 20 | Josh Tyrell | | 70' |
| SH | 21 | Pele Cowley | | 66' |
| FH | 22 | Tusi Pisi | | 55' |
| CE | 23 | Kieron Fonotia | | 40' |
| Coach: ||
| Steve Jackson ||
* Player of the Match:
* Lomano Lemeki (Japan)
* Assistant referees:
* Angus Gardner (Australia)
* Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
* Television match official:
* Graham Hughes (England)
Notes:
* Ben O'Keeffe was due to be part of the officiating team for this game, but swapped with Angus Gardner's appointment between England and Argentina.

### Scotland vs Russia

* 9 October 2019 16:15 JST (UTC+09)
| (1 BP) Scotland | 61–0 | Russia |
| Try: Hastings (2) 14' c, 18' c G. Horne (3) 22' c, 45' c, 59' m Turner 51' c Seymour 56' c Barclay 75' c McInally 78' c Con: Hastings (8/9) 15', 20', 24', 46', 53', 57', 76', 80' | Report | |
* Shizuoka Stadium Ecopa, Fukuroi Attendance: 44,123 Referee: Wayne Barnes (England)
| Scotland | Russia |
| FB | 15 | Blair Kinghorn |
| RW | 14 | Tommy Seymour |
| OC | 13 | Duncan Taylor |
| IC | 12 | Peter Horne |
| LW | 11 | Darcy Graham | 47' |
| FH | 10 | Adam Hastings |
| SH | 9 | George Horne | 65' |
| N8 | 8 | Ryan Wilson |
| OF | 7 | Fraser Brown | 31' |
| BF | 6 | John Barclay (c) |
| RL | 5 | Ben Toolis |
| LL | 4 | Scott Cummings | 61' |
| TP | 3 | Zander Fagerson | 40' |
| HK | 2 | George Turner | 65' |
| LP | 1 | Gordon Reid | 61' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Stuart McInally | 65' |
| PR | 17 | Simon Berghan | 40' |
| PR | 18 | W. P. Nel | 61' |
| LK | 19 | Grant Gilchrist | 61' |
| FL | 20 | Magnus Bradbury | 31' |
| FL | 21 | Jamie Ritchie |
| SH | 22 | Henry Pyrgos | 47' |
| CE | 23 | Chris Harris | 65' |
| Coach: ||
| Gregor Townsend ||
| FB | 15 | Vasily Artemyev (c) | | | 61' |
| RW | 14 | German Davydov |
| OC | 13 | Vladimir Ostroushko | 38' | 40' |
| IC | 12 | Dmitry Gerasimov |
| LW | 11 | Vladislav Sozonov |
| FH | 10 | Ramil Gaisin | 65' |
| SH | 9 | Dmitry Perov |
| N8 | 8 | Nikita Vavilin | 58' |
| OF | 7 | Tagir Gadzhiev |
| BF | 6 | Vitaly Zhivatov |
| RL | 5 | Evgeny Elgin | 50' |
| LL | 4 | Andrei Ostrikov | 69' |
| TP | 3 | Kirill Gotovtsev | 61' |
| HK | 2 | Stanislav Sel'skiy | 61' |
| LP | 1 | Valery Morozov | 61' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Sergey Chernyshev | 61' |
| PR | 17 | Azamat Bitiev | 61' |
| PR | 18 | Vladimir Podrezov | 61' |
| LK | 19 | Bogdan Fedotko | 50' |
| LK | 20 | Andrey Garbuzov | 69' |
| FH | 21 | Sergey Yanyushkin | 65' |
| N8 | 22 | Anton Sychev | 58' |
| FH | 23 | Yuri Kushnarev | 38' | 40' | 61' |
| Coach: ||
| Lyn Jones ||
* Player of the Match:
* Adam Hastings (Scotland)
* Assistant referees:
* Alexandre Ruiz (France)
* Federico Anselmi (Argentina)
* Television match official:
* Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Notes:
* This is the first meeting between the two nations.
* Vladimir Ostroushko (Russia) earned his 50th test cap.
* Scotland became the first team to hold their opponents to nil points more than once in a single World Cup campaign.
* Mathieu Raynal was due to referee this game but withdrew ahead of kick off due to illness – Wayne Barnes stepped up from assistant with Alexandre Ruiz covering the assistant role.

### Ireland vs Samoa

* 12 October 2019 19:45 JST (UTC+09)
| (1 BP) Ireland | 47–5 | Samoa |
| Try: Best 4' c Furlong 10' c Sexton (2) 21' c, 39' m Larmour 48' c Stander 65' c Conway 70' c Con: Sexton (4/5) 5', 11', 23', 50 Carbery (2/2) 67', 72' | Report | Try: J. Lam 26' m |
* Fukuoka Hakatanomori Stadium, Fukuoka Attendance: 17,967 Referee: Nic Berry (Australia)
| Ireland | Samoa |
| FB | 15 | Jordan Larmour |
| RW | 14 | Keith Earls |
| OC | 13 | Robbie Henshaw | | 62' |
| IC | 12 | Bundee Aki | 29' |
| LW | 11 | Jacob Stockdale |
| FH | 10 | Johnny Sexton | | 51' |
| SH | 9 | Conor Murray | | 53' |
| N8 | 8 | CJ Stander |
| OF | 7 | Josh van der Flier |
| BF | 6 | Tadhg Beirne | | 60' |
| RL | 5 | James Ryan | | 57' |
| LL | 4 | Iain Henderson |
| TP | 3 | Tadhg Furlong | | 45' |
| HK | 2 | Rory Best (c) | | 50' |
| LP | 1 | Cian Healy | | 57' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Niall Scannell | | 50' |
| PR | 17 | Dave Kilcoyne | | 57' |
| PR | 18 | Andrew Porter | | 45' |
| LK | 19 | Jean Kleyn | | 57' |
| FL | 20 | Peter O'Mahony | | 60' |
| SH | 21 | Luke McGrath | | 53' |
| FH | 22 | Joey Carbery | | 51' |
| WG | 23 | Andrew Conway | | 62' |
| Coach: ||
| Joe Schmidt ||
| FB | 15 | Tim Nanai-Williams |
| RW | 14 | Ahsee Tuala |
| OC | 13 | Alapati Leiua |
| IC | 12 | Henry Taefu |
| LW | 11 | Ed Fidow | | 50' |
| FH | 10 | UJ Seuteni | | 29' |
| SH | 9 | Dwayne Polataivao | | 70' |
| N8 | 8 | Jack Lam (c) |
| OF | 7 | TJ Ioane | 59' | 70' |
| BF | 6 | Chris Vui |
| RL | 5 | Kane Le'aupepe |
| LL | 4 | Filo Paulo | | 14' | 17' | 54' |
| TP | 3 | Michael Alaalatoa | | 54' |
| HK | 2 | Seilala Lam | 6' | | | 47' |
| LP | 1 | Logovi'i Mulipola | | 47' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Ray Niuia | | 14' | 17' | 47' |
| PR | 17 | Paul Alo-Emile | | 47' |
| PR | 18 | Jordan Lay | | 54' |
| FL | 19 | Piula Faʻasalele | | | | 54' |
| LK | 20 | Josh Tyrell | | 70' |
| SH | 21 | Pele Cowley | | 70' |
| FH | 22 | Tusi Pisi | | 29' |
| CE | 23 | Kieron Fonotia | | 50' |
| Coach: ||
| Steve Jackson ||
* Player of the Match:
* Jordan Larmour (Ireland)
* Assistant referees:
* Romain Poite (France)
* Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)
* Television match official:
* Rowan Kitt (England)

### Japan vs Scotland

* 13 October 2019 19:45 JST (UTC+09)
| (1 BP) Japan | 28–21 | Scotland (1 BP) |
| Try: Matsushima 18' c Inagaki 26' c Fukuoka (2) 40' c, 43' c Con: Tamura (4/4) 20', 27', 40+2', 44' | Report | Try: Russell 7' c Nel 50' c Fagerson 55' c Con: Laidlaw (2/2) 8', 51' Russell (1/1) 56' |
* International Stadium Yokohama, Yokohama Attendance: 67,666 Referee: Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)
| Japan | Scotland |
| FB | 15 | Will Tupou | 51' |
| RW | 14 | Kotaro Matsushima |
| OC | 13 | Timothy Lafaele |
| IC | 12 | Ryoto Nakamura | 75' |
| LW | 11 | Kenki Fukuoka |
| FH | 10 | Yu Tamura |
| SH | 9 | Yutaka Nagare | 51' |
| N8 | 8 | Kazuki Himeno |
| OF | 7 | Lappies Labuschagné |
| BF | 6 | Michael Leitch (c) | 73' |
| RL | 5 | James Moore | 52' |
| LL | 4 | Luke Thompson |
| TP | 3 | Koo Ji-won | 22' |
| HK | 2 | Shota Horie | 73' |
| LP | 1 | Keita Inagaki | 57' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Atsushi Sakate | 73' |
| PR | 17 | Isileli Nakajima | 57' |
| PR | 18 | Asaeli Ai Valu | 22' |
| LK | 19 | Uwe Helu | 52' |
| FL | 20 | Hendrik Tui | 73' |
| SH | 21 | Fumiaki Tanaka | 51' |
| FH | 22 | Rikiya Matsuda | 75' |
| FB | 23 | Ryohei Yamanaka | 51' |
| Coach: ||
| Jamie Joseph ||
| FB | 15 | Stuart Hogg |
| RW | 14 | Tommy Seymour | 52' |
| OC | 13 | Chris Harris |
| IC | 12 | Sam Johnson |
| LW | 11 | Darcy Graham | 60' |
| FH | 10 | Finn Russell |
| SH | 9 | Greig Laidlaw (c) | 52' |
| N8 | 8 | Blade Thomson |
| OF | 7 | Jamie Ritchie |
| BF | 6 | Magnus Bradbury | 66' |
| RL | 5 | Jonny Gray |
| LL | 4 | Grant Gilchrist | 52' |
| TP | 3 | WP Nel | 52' |
| HK | 2 | Fraser Brown | 52' |
| LP | 1 | Allan Dell | 52' |
| Replacements: ||
| HK | 16 | Stuart McInally | 52' |
| PR | 17 | Gordon Reid | 52' |
| PR | 18 | Zander Fagerson | 52' |
| LK | 19 | Scott Cummings | 52' |
| N8 | 20 | Ryan Wilson | 66' |
| SH | 21 | George Horne | 52' |
| CE | 22 | Peter Horne | 61' |
| FB | 23 | Blair Kinghorn | 52' |
| Coach: ||
| Gregor Townsend ||
* Player of the Match:
* Kenki Fukuoka (Japan)
* Assistant referees:
* Mathieu Raynal (France)
* Matthew Carley (England)
* Television match official:
* Marius Jonker (South Africa)
Notes:
* This was Scotland's 700th test match.
* This was Japan's first win over Scotland.
* This was the first time that a Tier 2 nation had defeated two Tier 1 nations in a single World Cup tournament.
* With this win, Japan topped the pool and advanced to the quarter-finals for the first time – the first Asian side to do so.
* Japan became the first Tier 2 nation since Fiji in 2007, and the fourth ever, to advance to the quarter-finals.
* Japan became the first Tier 2 nation to top their pool and win all of their pool games.
* The game was at risk of cancellation due to the after effects of Typhoon Hagibis the previous night. There was a lot of determination that, of all games, this one would be played. During the early hours of that morning a clean up operation was carried out by a large number of local residents. After an appeal put out by stadium management, they had spent the night in the stadium to be sure of being there as soon as the worst of the typhoon had passed. To get the venue match-ready mud had to be cleaned up and the entire pitch was dried by hand with towels. It was passed safe by 1100 and the game went ahead.