Rugby World Cup Schedule 2015: Updated Fixtures, Live Stream and Viewing Info
Tom Sunderland@@TomSunderland_
Featured ColumnistOctober 7, 2015
Anticipation is at fever pitch as the Rugby World Cup 2015 pool stage reaches its climax, with a final weekend of high-octane drama ready to unfold before finding out which teams will make up the final eight.
Wales, Australia, New Zealand, Ireland and France are already guaranteed to make the quarter-final lineup, but questions remain as to which three sides will be joining them and in what order.
The Wallabies have Wales in their sights this Saturday as both teams look to top the Pool of Death, while Ireland and France will engage in a similarly alluring head-to-head for the Pool D throne.
Make sure you stay up to date with all the latest Rugby World Cup drama by checking out our live stream guide below, along with some of the biggest headlines in the final week of the pool stage.
Live Stream (TV Info): ITV Player (UK, ITV & ITV4), Universal Sports (US), Fox Sports (AUS, Fox Sports 2), Sky Go (NZ, Sky Sport 1), SuperSport (SA, SuperSport 1)
| Remaining Rugby World Cup 2015 Schedule | ||||
| Date | Time (BST) | Home | Away | Venue |
| October 7 | 4:45 p.m. | South Africa | USA | Olympic Stadium, London |
| October 7 | 8 p.m. | Namibia | Georgia | Sandy Park, Exeter |
| October 9 | 8 p.m. | New Zealand | Tonga | St James' Park, Newcastle |
| October 10 | 2:30 p.m. | Samoa | Scotland | St James' Park, Newcastle |
| October 10 | 4:45 p.m. | Australia | Wales | Twickenham, London |
| October 10 | 8 p.m. | England | Uruguay | Manchester City Stadium |
| October 11 | Noon | Argentina | Namibia | Leicester City Stadium, Leicester |
| October 11 | 2:30 p.m. | Italy | Romania | Sandy Park, Exeter |
| October 11 | 4:45 p.m. | France | Ireland | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
| October 11 | 8 p.m. | USA | Japan | Kingsholm Stadium, Gloucester |
| October 17 | 4 p.m. | B1 | A2 | Twickenham, London |
| October 17 | 8 p.m. | C1 | D2 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
| October 18 | 1 p.m. | D1 | C2 | Millennium Stadium, Cardiff |
| October 18 | 4 p.m. | A1 | B2 | Twickenham, London |
| October 24 | 4 p.m. | Winner QF1 | Winner QF2 | Twickenham, London |
| October 25 | 4 p.m. | Winner QF3 | Winner QF4 | Twickenham, London |
| October 30 | 8 p.m. | Loser SF1 | Loser SF2 | Olympic Stadium, London |
| October 31 | 4 p.m. | Winner SF1 | Winner SF2 | Twickenham, London |
| RugbyWorldCup.com | ||||
Pool A Perch on the Line
With tournament hosts England out of the way, Wales and Australia now have only each other to worry about in preparation for a winner-takes-all encounter at Twickenham this Saturday.
The "all" in this case being first place in Pool A, and although the two teams currently sit level on 13 points apiece, the Wallabies have a far superior points difference in the event their clash does end in a draw.
Australia coach Michael Cheika has some difficult decisions ahead, though, after Jared Savage of the New Zealand Herald reported Israel Folau and Rob Horne are among his biggest injury concerns.
Those blows could hurt the back line significantly, and they'd be joining flanker talisman Michael Hooper on the sidelines after he was suspended for one match for a foul on England full-back Mike Brown. Wales will be happy with his absence, but Australia assistant coach Stephen Larkham believes his side have the players needed to fill in, per the Press Association (via ITV):
We have a couple of excellent players waiting for their chance.
Ben McCalman and Sean McMahon have both played really well in the tournament.
In saying that, Michael has been tremendous so far, and in fact the games before the tournament he was the stand-out as well. It is hard to replace someone like that, but the guys are certainly ready to go.
McMahon and McCalman have put their hands up in this tournament. Sean could slot in at seven, or Ben can go to eight and (David) Pocock at seven.
Wales boss Warren Gatland, meanwhile, is in a strangely pleasant place when it comes to squad health after Jon Doel of Wales Online revealed the Dragons have a fully fit selection, including the return of full-back Liam Williams.
The Welsh showed their mettle against all adversity during the historic 28-25 win over England, but Gatland is coming upon greater luck in the build-up to their crunch collision against arguably the World Cup's in-form team.
Boys in Green Have a Case of Les Bleus
Just about every pre-World Cup prediction had Ireland and France as the two teams who would dominate Pool D with some ease, and in that sense, the crystal ball has been spot-on with its foretelling.
What isn't quite so clear is which of the two fanbases can expect their team to top the pool come Sunday. Ireland coach Joe Schmidt was forced to admit his side have been slow in their development following the 16-9 win over Italy last Sunday, per Murray Kinsella of The42.ie:
Sometimes you do have to win ugly, particularly when you’re up against really good teams.
For us I think maybe we got lulled into a false sense of security over the last couple of weeks. We were able to get some scoreboard pressure early in the games and it meant our opponents had to play a little more.
The difference this weekend is that Philippe Saint-Andre's France won't ever have been looked upon as anything other than a mountainous task, a Jekyll-and-Hyde opponent who seldom make for easy prey.
The last time a match between these two teams finished by more than seven points was eight meetings ago all the way back in 2010. Fly-half Johnny Sexton is expecting a physical test, to say the least, per the Rugby World Cup's official Twitter feed:
And Sexton will be one of the chess pieces upon which Irish hopes are hinging, with the team looking to clinch three successive wins over the French for the first time since 1973.
The reigning Six Nations champions were being looked upon as contenders for the World Cup, and topping Pool D (thus avoiding New Zealand in the quarter-finals) would go a long way to prolonging their tournament.