"I think many people wrote we wouldn't get out of the group. Maybe some of them are here tonight."
England head coach Steve Borthwick makes a point to the journalists assembled at the media conference following England's win over Fiji

"We play for the nation, it's not about us on this field any more, it's about the people back home and that's what's driving us. Win or lose they will see this kind of fight that you saw out there today."
South Africa captain Siya Kolisi, speaking after the Boks knocked hosts France out of the competition, explains what motivates the team

"We're disappointed and despondent tonight. That's sport.”
France full-back Thomas Ramos on his team's exit from their home Rugby World Cup

"We’re going to try to find something positive by saying that we have a lot of young players, a fine generation. But the reality is that today we failed to get out of the quarter-finals of a home World Cup. That’s going to be hard to accept."
Matthieu Jalibert, France fly-half

"It's the end of the adventure for us. It's a shame for this group, who deserved to go further - we’ll never play another World Cup in France. It’s tough to end like this."
François Cros, France back-rower

'One of the greatest clashes I’ve ever seen'

"We have 60 million South Africans who support us all the way and I think for now that will do but if the French want to support us, they're more than welcome."
Springboks hooker Bongi Mbonambi on whether French fans might now support South Africa

"The Fijians are great, aren’t they? I think that's the beauty of rugby, you can scrap it out and then it's pretty chilled afterwards. I was a bit worried for a second but it's all good afterwards."
England flanker Tom Curry on his off-the-ball tete-a-tete with Fiji's Levani Botia

"We wanted to get him back. We knew he would get his role right. The team got around him. His brothers were over here to present his jersey which was a really touching moment. It’s more than a team, it really is a family and I think we will have a bond for the rest of our lives.”
Fiji head coach Simon Raiwalui on hooker Sam Matavesi whose father passed away recently

"I don’t care. They’re both getting it."
Tom Curry again, on whether he would prefer France or South Africa as England's opponent in their semi-final

"One of the greatest clashes I’ve ever seen. It embodied everything we know about rugby: great tries, the toughness of the tackles and the defence was unbelievable. New Zealand just showed that under-your-finger-nails sort of stuff, having been here before."
South Africa's World Cup-winning back-row Bobby Skinstad reflects on the magnificent Rugby World Cup 2023 quarter-final in which the All Blacks defeated Ireland

"It wasn't a derogatory comment at all. 'Cut-and-paste' meant that they just kept running the same shape, the attack shape. They are one of the best attacking sides in the world."
New Zealand defence coach Scott McLeod clarifies a comment made by All Blacks head coach Ian Foster about's Ireland's 'cut-and-paste' attack