RWC 2019 Semi-finals

And then there were four. The semi-finals of the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2019 take place in Japan this weekend with 2 teams from the southern hemisphere; NZ and South Africa, and two from the northern hemisphere: England and Wales.

See more up to date news on the Japan RWC 2019 here.

RWC 2019 Semifinals

Saturday 26th October 2019: England vs New Zealand

In the quarterfinals, New Zealand and England made easy work of dispatching Ireland and Australia respectively and their matchup will be fiercely contested. They are also ranked as the number one and two sides in the world at the moment.

The last time the two sides met in the Rugby World Cup was in 1999 and the All Blacks won 30-16. The win record for the English has also been poor in more recent years against the ABs but this is knockout rugby and anything can happen.

The English side remains pretty much the same, with Eddie Jones opting for the tried and tested Ford at ten and Farrel at 12. They had no injury concerns.

NZ has dropped Sam Cane to the bench and Scott Barrett starting at 7 as the only shock move. The rest of the team remains the same as that which started the quarterfinal win.

With Welsh referee Nigel Owens in charge, they have arguably the best match official in the world overseeing the match.

• Match Referee: Nigel Owens (Wales)

Sunday 27th October 2019: Wales vs South Africa

Both Wales and the Springboks struggled to semi-final wins over France and Japan respectively. It’s a tough match to call as both teams have not lit the world on fire in Japan but have ground out results when it mattered. Wales remain unbeaten in the tournament while the Boks lost their opening game to NZ in the pool stages.

On recent form, Wales has the upper hand against SA, although most of the games have been played in Wales. Prior to 2014 Wales had only won once in 118 years of rivalry (at the opening of the Millenium Stadium in Wales in 2000) but since then they have beaten SA in five from six matches.

Wales had the very late injury blow of losing Liam Williams (possibly for the remainder of the RWC) while SA lost the services of Cheslin Kolbe on the wing being replaced by Sbu Nkosi. Although South Africa can probably deal with injuries slightly better, it will make the backline reshuffles on both sides interesting.

Much has been made of the referee appointment, mainly by unhappy South African fans. In the past 10 games, Garces has officiated the Boks, they have lost 9 times.

• Match Referee: Jerome Garces (France)

World Rugby Rankings

This is how the teams enter the quarterfinal weekend based on their World Rugby Rankings.

1. New Zealand
2. England
3. Wales
4. South Africa
5. Ireland
6. Australia
7. France
8. Japan

Other reads on Rugby in Asia

• Discover how the RWC 2019 main charitable partner, ChildFund Pass It Back came about, how it is expanding and what the future holds.
• Read more about the best rugby tournaments happening in Asia during the Rugby World Cup 2019.
• These are the best rugby tournaments in Asia this October!
• Want to hear our views on the future of Global Rapid Rugby?