The 2015 Rugby World Cup was an international rugby union tournament held in England and Wales from 18 September until 31 October 2015. 20 national teams competed, each bringing a squad of 31 players to the tournament. Each team had to submit their squad to World Rugby by 31 August 2015. A player could be replaced for medical or compassionate reasons, but would be unable to return to the squad. Any replacement players had an enforced stand-down period of 48 hours before they could take the field.