As we head towards the end of another year, it seems an apt time to take a look at what’s to come in the world of rugby union over the next 12 months; a period which will be punctuated by the 2023 Rugby World Cup.
his will be the tenth edition of this quadrennial event, and in this article we’ll take a look at everything that you need to know about the tournament.
When and where will it be played?
The 2023 Rugby World Cup will take kick off on the 8th of September and will culminate with the final on the 28th of October. Typically, the tournament only lasts six weeks, but World Rugby opted to include an additional week to the tournament to allow for an additional rest day between games, meaning teams will have at least five days rest following a match.
The tournament will take place in France, marking the third time that it’s been held there; they previously hosted the event in 2007, while they also split hosting duties with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales back in 1991. In total, the tournament will be held in nine different venues across nine different cities; Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, Nice, Nantes and Toulouse. Of those stadiums, Stade de France is relatively comfortably the biggest, able to cater for over 80,000 spectators, and it’s here that the finals will be played.
Who will compete at the World Cup?
There will be a total of 20 different nations competing at the 2023 World Cup. 12 of those qualified automatically for the event after they finished in the top three of their five-team pool at the last World Cup, while the other eight were forced to battle it out through the qualification stage, with Portugal the last team to qualify as recently as November of 2022.
Those 20 teams will be split into four different pools. The first of these, Pool A, will include New Zealand, France, Italy, Uruguay and Namibia. Pool B will see South Africa compete against Ireland, Scotland, Tonga and Romania, while Pool C will include Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia and Portugal. Finally, Pool D will play host to England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa and Chile.
Who are the defending champions?
The defending champions are South Africa, who won the tournament for the third time in their history – having previously held the trophy aloft in 1995 and 2007 – when they beat England 32-12 in the final. The other semi-finalists were New Zealand and Wales, the latter of whom was beaten by just three points by South Africa in the semi-final.
That win made South Africa the equal most successful team in tournament history with three trophies, joining New Zealand, who won in 1987 and then back-to-back in 2011 and 2015. Only two other teams have ever won the event; Australia in 1991 and 1999, and England in 2003. France, host nation this year, have been the perennial bridesmaid, having made the final in 1987, 1999 and 2011, but never won it.
Who are the favourites?
It’s still many months until the tournament gets underway, but already the major betting sites – take a look at this PlayUp review for an example of one – have put up their odds, with five teams standing comfortably ahead of the pack as favourites.
The first of these is host nation France, looking to at long last break their hoodoo – and in front of what will be a raucous home crowd at that. Right alongside them as favourite is New Zealand; the All Blacks might not be as dominant as they ever have been at the minute, but they’re still a formidable outfit and will give this tournament a shake.
Defending champions in South Africa are next, as they attempt to become just the second side in history to win the event twice in succession after the Kiwis did it in 2011 and 2015. Rounding out the top four is Ireland; they’ll have to defy history to do so having been perennially eliminated in the quarterfinals. They’ve made it to that stage in seven of the nine World Cups to date but never gone any further, but they are a talented side and are more than capable of advancing further than they ever have next year.
England will be attempting to go one better than they did at the latest edition of the event when they lost to South Africa and win the tournament for the second time, and they’ve been installed as the fifth favourites according to the betting odds; albeit not too far behind the top teams and a long way ahead of sixth. That sixth team is Australia, who, while a fair way below the favourites in terms of betting odds, find themselves comfortably ahead of the likes of Wales and Argentina below them as well.
With so many teams capable of challenging, it’s set to be an enthralling edition of the World Cup. It all begins in September of 2023, and as it always is, the tenth edition of the Rugby World Cup will be an event not to be missed.
