The 20 teams are divided into four pools of five teams. Each pool is a
single round-robin of 10 games, in which each team plays one match against each of the other teams in the same pool. Teams are awarded four league points for a win, two for a draw and none for a defeat. A team scoring four
tries in a match is awarded a bonus point, as is a team that loses by seven points or fewer – both bonus points are awarded if both situations apply. The teams finishing in the top two of each pool advance to the quarter-finals. The top three teams of each pool received automatic qualification to the
2023 Rugby World Cup. ;Tie-breaking criteria If two or more teams are tied on match points, the following tiebreakers apply: • The winner of the match between the two teams • Difference between points scored for and points scored against in all pool matches • Difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all pool matches • Points scored in all pool matches • Most tries scored in all pool matches • Official World Rugby Rankings as of 14 October 2019 If three teams were tied on points, the above criteria would be used to decide first place in the pool and then the criteria would be used again (starting from criterion 1) to decide second place in the pool. Two days later,
Ireland defeated
Scotland 27–3. On 24 September,
Samoa played their first match against Russia in
Kumagaya, 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. 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 consecutive 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. The typhoon 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.
Pool B taking on
Namibia at
Hanazono Rugby Stadium,
Higashiōsaka. Pool B started with
New Zealand beating
South Africa 23–13. New Zealand opened their scoring with two tries in four minutes from
George Bridge and
Scott Barrett giving New Zealand a 17–3 lead at half-time.
Pieter-Steph du Toit scored a converted try to bring the score back to 17–10 but two penalties from
Richie Mo'unga and
Beauden Barrett sealed the result. In
Higashiōsaka,
Italy conceded an early try against
Namibia before running away with a bonus-point victory by 25 points. Italy earned a second bonus-point victory in Fukuoka, scoring seven tries in a 48–7 demolition of
Canada. Over in Toyota, South Africa defeated Namibia by 54 points, scoring nine tries while Namibia could manage only a
Cliven Loubser penalty in the 23rd minute. New Zealand recorded their second victory of the World Cup with a 63–0 victory over Canada at
Ōita Stadium. For New Zealand,
Brad Weber scored his first two tries in international rugby with the Barrett brothers (
Jordie Barrett,
Beauden Barrett and
Scott Barrett) each scoring a try as they became the first trio of brothers to start for New Zealand. New Zealand continued their demolition of their opponents with a 62-point win over Namibia in
Chōfu, with the floodgates opening in the second half after Namibia restricted the All Blacks to 24 points in the first half.
Sevu Reece,
Ben Smith and
Anton Lienert-Brown scoring two tries in the match. Between the two New Zealand games, South Africa romped over Italy with
Cheslin Kolbe scoring two tries as the South Africans won 49–3 in
Fukuroi. This was followed by a 66–7 victory over Canada with
Cobus Reinach scoring the fastest hat-trick in World Cup history, with his three tries being scored in a space of 11 minutes. The final two matches of the group were not played as
Typhoon Hagibis saw the cancellation of the New Zealand–Italy and Namibia–Canada matches. At the end of the pool stage, New Zealand finished on top of the table with South Africa finishing second.
Pool C Pool C's opening match saw
Argentina come back from a 17-point half-time deficit against
France at
Tokyo Stadium, only for France's
Camille Lopez to score a game-winning
drop goal in the 70th minute to win 23–21. In
Sapporo, two tries from
Manu Tuilagi helped
England to a bonus-point victory over
Tonga. England followed that up with a 38-point victory over the
United States, with
Joe Cokanasiga scoring two tries in the victory; however, the match was soured by the first red card of the tournament, shown to the United States'
John Quill for a shoulder charge to the head of England's
Owen Farrell. Argentina bounced back from their defeat by France with a 28–12 victory over Tonga in Higashiōsaka; all of Argentina's scoring happened in the first 28 minutes, including a hat-trick from
Julián Montoya as they raced to a 28-point lead before Tonga brought the margin back to 16 with two tries of their own. After
Typhoon Mitag almost cancelled the match, the French were inconsistent with errors keeping the United States in the match before three late tries in the second half secured a 33–9 win in Fukuoka. In Chōfu, England qualified for the quarter-finals with a 39–10 victory over Argentina with Argentine player
Tomás Lavanini being shown a red card, which forced Argentina down to 14 men as he was forced off due to a high tackle on Owen Farrell's head. France later joined them in qualifying for the knockout stage with a two-point victory over Tonga at
Kumamoto Stadium. After conceding the first 17 points of the match, Tonga came back into the match with tries from
Sonatane Takulua and
Mali Hingano to close the gap to only three points before
Romain Ntamack gave the cushion that France needed with two penalties in eight minutes giving France the victory. Argentina became the first team to finish their matches of the 2019 World Cup, with a 47–17 victory over the United States in Kumagaya.
Joaquín Tuculet and
Juan Cruz Mallia each scored two tries in the meeting, their first since 2003. After the England–France game was cancelled due to Typhoon Hagibis, At the end of the pool stage, it was England winning the group with France finishing in second place.
Wales beat
Georgia 43–14 at
City of Toyota Stadium, after leading 29–0 at half-time and 22–0 after three tries in the first 19 minutes. In
Kamaishi, Fiji scored the opening try against
Uruguay. Two mistakes within eight minutes gave Teros the lead before a try from
Juan Manuel Cat enhanced it to 12 points at half-time. Three Fijian tries in the second half were to no avail as two penalty goals from
Felipe Berchesi gave Uruguay their first win in a World Cup since
2003. In Kumagaya on 29 September, Georgia recorded a 33–7 win over Uruguay. Dominant work by their forwards in the second half laid the foundation for the bonus-point victory. Over in Chōfu,
Dan Biggar scored the fastest
drop goal in World Cup history as Wales led 23–8 at the half. Two second-half tries from Australia brought the scores to within a point but the Welsh held out for a 29–25 win. A second half performance from Fiji at a wet
Hanazono Rugby Stadium saw the Fijians record their first win of their 2019 World Cup campaign as they won 45–10 over Georgia. This was partly due to
Semi Radradra scoring two tries while also aiding in setting up three more tries as Fiji scored seven tries to one in the bonus-point victory. Another slow start for the Australians in their game with Uruguay did not stop them from recording a win over the South Americans, with
Tevita Kuridrani and
Dane Haylett-Petty each getting two tries in the 35-point victory at Ōita Stadium. Four days later at the same stadium, Fiji got off to a 10–0 lead with the tries coming from
Josua Tuisova and
Kini Murimurivalu within eight minutes. Fiji held their lead until the 31st minute when
Josh Adams scored his second try of three for the match. Wales increased their lead from there to win 29–17, qualifying for the quarter-finals with Australia. The penultimate match of Pool D saw Australia outlast a tough Georgia in difficult conditions in Fukuroi, as they won 27–8. Wales finished undefeated with a 35–13 win over Uruguay at Kumamoto Stadium to record a bonus-point victory and set up a quarter-final with France while Australia came in second. ==Knockout stage==