Rugby World Cup 2007 Tournament Rules

The following are the Tournament Rules for Rugby World Cup 2007.

Pool phase

The 20 Teams will be allocated to four pools of five Teams each in accordance with the RWC 2007 draw. The pool phase will consist of a round robin in which each Team shall play each other Team within the pool once. There shall be 10 Matches played in each pool, for a total of 40 Matches in the pool phase of the Tournament.

Match points system

The following number of match points will be awarded for each pool phase match:

Win: 4 points
Draw: 2 points
4 or more tries: 1 point
Loss by 7 points or less: 1 point

No match points will be awarded to a team which has been expelled from the Tournament, refuses to play a Match or abandons a Match in progress, without direction from Match Officials or the RWC Match Commissioner, subject to the provisions of the Terms of  Participation.

When no match points are awarded to a Team for a given Match, its opponent in that Match shall be awarded a win and therefore four match points.

Where a Team is expelled from the Tournament, it shall forfeit all match points previously awarded, and its opponents in each Match previously played shall be awarded four match points (which shall replace any match points previously awarded from the particular Match). All points scored for and against in these Matches shall be discounted in the official pool rankings and Team records used for Tournament purposes.

Rankings at the completion of the pool phase

At the completion of the pool phase, the Teams in a pool are ranked one through five based on their cumulative Match points, and identified respectively as winner, runner up, third, fourth and fifth.

If at the completion of the pool phase two or more Teams are level on Match points, then the following criteria shall be used in the following order until one of the Teams can be determined as the higher ranked:

i. The winner of the Match in which the two tied Teams have played each other shall be the higher ranked;

ii. The Team which has the best difference between points scored for and points scored against in all its pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;

iii. The Team which has the best difference between tries scored for and tries scored against in all its pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;

iv. The Team which has scored most points in all its pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;

v. The Team which has scored most tries in all its pool Matches shall be the higher ranked;

vi. Should the tie be unresolved at the conclusion of steps (i) through (v), the Team that is higher ranked in the updated Official IRB World Rankings on October 1, 2007.

Qualification / elimination at the conclusion of the pool phase

The winner and runner-up in each pool shall be qualified for the quarter-finals. Teams ranked third, fourth and fifth shall be eliminated from the Tournament.

Knockout Matches

Quarter-finals

The first two Teams in each pool will progress to the quarter-final round, which will be contested by knockout Matches. The quarter-final Matches will be determined as follows:

QF 1 – Winner pool B v Runner up pool A
QF 2 – Winner pool C v Runner up pool D
QF 3 – Winner pool A v Runner up pool B
QF 4 – Winner pool D v Runner up pool C

Teams winning quarter-final Matches shall qualify for the semi-finals, and Teams losing quarter-final Matches shall be eliminated from the Tournament.

Semi-finals

The semi-final Matches will be contested by knockout Matches, as follows:

SF 1 – Winner QF1 v Winner QF2
SF 2 – Winner QF3 v Winner QF4

The winners of the semi-final Matches shall qualify for the Final, and the losers of the semi-final Matches shall contest the Bronze Final.

Tied Matches

Pool phase

If Teams are tied at fulltime, the Match will be deemed a draw and the respective Match points shall be awarded to each Team.

Knockout Matches

For quarter final Matches, semi-final Matches, the Bronze Final and the Final, if Teams are tied at fulltime, then the winner shall be determined through the following sequential criteria;

i. Extra time – following an interval of 5 minutes, extra time of 10 minutes each way (with an interval of 5 minutes) shall be played;

ii. Sudden death – if the scores are tied at the conclusion of extra time, and following an interval of 5 minutes, then a further extra time of 10 minutes maximum shall be played. During this period the first Team to score any points shall be declared the winner (sudden death);

iii. Kicking competition – if after this sudden death period no winner can be declared, a kicking competition will be organised between the two Teams as described in the section below. The winner of that competition shall be declared the winner of the Match.

Kicking competition

If at the end of a knockout Match, after extra time and sudden death periods of play have been completed, the Teams remain tied, then the referee will conduct a placekicking competition to determine the winner of the Match, according to the following procedures:

1. All players and Match Officials will remain on the playing enclosure. The referee will call the captains of the two Teams to the centre circle and will conduct a coin toss. The winner of the coin toss then may either choose which Team kicks first (in which case the loser chooses the end at which all kicks will be taken) or choose the end at which all kicks will be taken (in which case the loser chooses which Team kicks first).

2. Only players on the playing enclosure at the time of the completion of the sudden death period may take part in the kicking competition. No injured, substituted or dismissed player may take part at any time. The order in which the players kick does not have to be predetermined.

3. The Match Officials and Team Members will assemble on the halfway line. Team Members must remain behind the halfway line in the side of the playing area not used. No one except the referee, two touch judges and two ball boys is allowed in the part of the playing area being used for the competition.

4. The five players from each Team will place kick from three different areas, all on the 22 metre line, as follows:

First area: directly in front of the posts
Second area: on the 15 metre line on the left hand side facing the posts
Third area: on the 15 metre line on the right hand side facing the posts

5. The referee will start the competition by calling the first player selected from the Team kicking first to the first kicking point. Once the player has taken the kick, the referee calls a player from the opposing Team to kick from the same area.

6. The next two players (one from each Team) will kick from the second area in turn. This will continue until all five players from each Team have kicked (the next players kicking respectively from the third area, first area and finally the second area), or until one Team is unable to equal the score of the other Team within the remaining number of kicks.

7. If there are an equal number of successful kicks once each Team has completed its five kicks, the competition continues on a “sudden death” basis, following the same order of kickers used in the first five kicks.

8. The competition will continue two kicks at a time (one from each side), going progressively through the three kicking areas stated above (and repeating the process if necessary) until one player succeeds with a kick and the player from the other side taking the same kick misses it. Once this occurs, the Team of the player who succeeded with the kick will be declared the winner.

9. Throughout the kicking competition:
9.1 Once a player has been handed the ball on the kicking area, he must take the kick within one minute. Should he take longer, the referee shall declare the kick void and therefore a miss.
9.2 After each kick, the referee records the number of the player and whether or not the attempt was successful. The RWC Match Commissioner will record the same details on the official Match Report.
9.3 Whether or not a goal is scored from each attempt is the sole decision of the referee, who may at his sole discretion rely on the assistance of his touch judges. The referee’s decision shall be final and binding.
9.4 Once a player has completed their kick, they shall return to stand with their Team behind the halfway line in the side of the playing area not used.

Injury replacement rules at RWC

Once a country has announced its squad for the World Cup and once it is at the World Cup, it is allowed replacements for two reasons.

Rules for replacement of players during the tournament or after the team announcement on 14 August are the same. Replacements are made only for medical or compassionate reasons.

To effect a change the team seeking a replacement completes a form and sends it to Rugby World Cup along with a medical certificate where appropriate. Once signed off, a replacement is not allowed to play for 48 hours and the replacement is permanent.

There are also regulations governing the expulsion of a team.

No match points will be awarded to a team which has been expelled from the tournament, refuses to play a match or abandons a match in progress, without direction from match officials or the RWC match Commissioner, subject to the provisions of the Terms of Participation.

When no match points are awarded to a team for a given match, its opponent in that match shall be awarded a win and therefore four match points.

Where a team is expelled from the tournament, it shall forfeit all match points previously awarded, and its opponents in each match previously played shall be awarded four match points (which shall replace any match points previously awarded from the particular match).

All points scored for and against in these matches shall be discounted in the official pool rankings and team records used for tournament purposes.