The 2023 Rugby World Cup is already shaping up to be the most enthralling, intriguing, entertaining tournament we have ever had – and there’s plenty more to come.
New Zealand overcame Namibia 71-3 in Toulouse with a ruthless display of attacking to get off the mark in Pool A of the Rugby World Cup.
The All Blacks began their tournament with a defeat to hosts France in Paris but had no such trouble in their second outing as Cam Roigard and Cam McKenzie each scored two tries to help Ian Foster’s side collect a bonus point and move second in the pool.
Namibia remain without a victory in 23 attempts at the World Cup going back to 1999 and never looked strong enough to pose problems for New Zealand – for whom Ethan de Groot was red carded in the final minutes – in a game played largely in torrential rain.
France got the second round of fixtures underway on Thursday and although maintaining their unbeaten record, failed to impress in what was a scrappy 27-12 win over a plucky Uruguay side.
What are this weekend’s matches?
-
Saturday, Sept 16 – Samoa 43 Chile 10
-
Saturday, Sept 16 – Wales 28 Portugal 8
-
Saturday, Sept 16 – Ireland v Tonga LIVE!
-
Sunday, Sept 17 – South Africa v Romania, Stade de Bordeaux, 2pm
-
Sunday, Sept 17 – Australia v Fiji, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, 4.45pm
-
Sunday, Sept 17 – England v Japan, Stade de Nice, 8pm
How do I watch the Rugby World Cup on TV?
ITV have the exclusive broadcast rights in the UK. The channel for each match is listed below (the vast majority are on ITV1). You can read our guide to the 12 best pundits and commentators working at the tournament.
The radio commentary of every match will be available only on the BBC, across Radio 5 Live, 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds service. The BBC says there will be a “bespoke output” in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In the US, the tournament is being shown on NBC Sports. In South Africa the TV coverage is on SuperSport.
Rugby World Cup 2023 full fixtures and schedule
All matches on ITV1 unless specified
Pool matches
-
Friday, Sept 8 – France 27 New Zealand 13
-
Saturday, Sept 9 – Italy 52 Namibia 8
-
Saturday, Sept 9 – Ireland 82 Romania 8
-
Saturday, Sept 9 – Australia 35 Georgia 15
-
Saturday, Sept 9 – England 27 Argentina 10
-
Sunday, Sept 10 – Japan 42 Chile 12
-
Sunday, Sept 10 – South Africa 18 Scotland 3
-
Sunday, Sept 10 – Wales 32 Fiji 26
-
Thursday, Sept 14 – France 27 Uruguay 12
-
Friday, Sept 15 – New Zealand 71 Namibia 3
-
Saturday, Sept 16 – Samoa 43 Chile 10
-
Saturday, Sept 16 – Wales 28 Portugal 8
-
Saturday, Sept 16 – Ireland v Tonga LIVE!
-
Sunday, Sept 17 – South Africa v Romania, Stade de Bordeaux, 2pm
-
Sunday, Sept 17 – Australia v Fiji, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, 4.45pm
-
Sunday, Sept 17 – England v Japan, Stade de Nice, 8pm
-
Wednesday, Sept 20 – Italy v Uruguay, Stade de Nice, 4.45pm – ITV 4
-
Thursday, Sept 21 – France v Namibia, Stade de Marseille, 8pm – ITV 4
-
Friday, Sept 22 – Argentina v Samoa, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, 4.45pm
-
Saturday, Sept 23 – Georgia v Portugal, Stadium de Toulouse, 1pm
-
Saturday, Sept 23 – England v Chile, Stade Pierre-Mauroy, 4.45pm
-
Saturday, Sept 23 – South Africa v Ireland, Stade de France, 8pm
-
Sunday, Sept 24 – Scotland v Tonga, Stade de Nice, 4.45pm
-
Sunday, Sept 24 – Wales v Australia, OL Stadium, 8pm
-
Wednesday, Sept 27 – Uruguay v Namibia, OL Stadium, 4.45pm – ITV 4
-
Thursday, Sept 28 – Japan v Samoa, Stade de Toulouse, 8pm – ITV 4
-
Friday, Sept 29 – New Zealand v Italy, OL Stadium, 8pm
-
Saturday, Sept 30 – Argentina v Chile, Stade de la Beaujoire, 2pm
-
Saturday, Sept 30 – Fiji v Georgia, Stade de Bordeaux, 4.45pm
-
Saturday, Sept 30 – Scotland v Romania, Stade Pierre-Mauroy, 8pm
-
Sunday, Oct 1 – Australia v Portugal, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, 4.45pm – ITV 4
-
Sunday, Oct 1 – South Africa v Tonga, Stade de Marseille, 8pm
-
Thursday, Oct 5 – New Zealand v Uruguay, OL Stadium, 8pm – ITV 4
-
Friday, Oct 6 – France v Italy, OL Stadium, 8pm
-
Saturday, Oct 7 – Wales v Georgia, Stade de la Beaujoire, 2pm
-
Saturday, Oct 7 – England v Samoa, Stade Pierre-Mauroy, 4.45pm
-
Saturday, Oct 7 – Ireland v Scotland, Stade de France, 8pm
-
Sunday, Oct 8 – Japan v Argentina, Stade de la Beaujoire, 12pm
-
Sunday, Oct 8 – Tonga v Romania, Stade Pierre-Mauroy, 4.45pm – ITV 3
-
Sunday, Oct 8 – Fiji v Portugal, Stade de Toulouse, 8pm – ITV 4
Quarter-finals
-
Saturday, Oct 14 – Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D, Stade de Marseille, 4pm
-
Saturday, Oct 14 – Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A, Stade de France, 8pm
-
Sunday, Oct 15 – Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C, Stade de Marseille, 4pm
-
Sunday, Oct 15 – Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B, Stade de France, 8pm
Semi-finals
-
Friday, Oct 20 – Winner QF 1 v Winner QF 2, Stade de France, 8pm
-
Saturday, Oct 21 – Winner QF 3 v Winner QF 4, Stade de France, 8pm
Bronze medal match
-
Friday, Oct 27 – Runner-up SF 1 v Runner-up SF 2, Stade de France, 8pm
Final
Who is in what pool?
Where is the Rugby World Cup taking place?
The 2023 Rugby World Cup is being played in France across nine stadiums in nine cities. The final will be played at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Paris).
-
Stade de France (capacity 80,698) – Saint-Denis, Paris
-
Stade de Marseille (67,394) – Marseille
-
OL Stadium (59,186) – Lyon
-
Stade Pierre-Mauroy (50,186) – Lille
-
Stade de Bordeaux (42,115) – Bordeaux
-
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (41,965) – Saint-Étienne
-
Stade de Nice (35,624) – Nice
-
Stade de la Beaujoire (35,322) – Nantes
-
Stade de Toulouse (33,150) – Toulouse
Who is playing?
A total of 20 teams qualified for the Rugby World Cup. These teams were split into four pools of five, with each pool getting one team from five ‘bands’.
Band one featured the four highest-ranked teams from when the draw for the tournament was made back in 2019 (South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales). Band two comprised the next four highest-ranked teams (Ireland, Australia, France, Japan) and band three the four after that (Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, Italy).
Each side in the first three bands qualified automatically for the tournament owing to their world ranking, while the further two bands comprised the sides who had made it into the tournament via qualifying (Samoa, Georgia, Uruguay, Tonga, Namibia, Romania, Chile, Portugal).
South Africa are the defending champions. They beat England in the final in 2019.
England’s World Cup squad
England’s squad selection for the Rugby World Cup was severely disrupted by injuries and suspensions. Steve Borthwick named his 33-man squad on August 7. But after that date:
Forwards (19)
Ollie Chessum (Leicester Tigers)
Dan Cole (Leicester Tigers)***
Tom Curry (Sale Sharks)*
Theo Dan (Saracens)
Ben Earl (Saracens)
Ellis Genge (Bristol Bears)*
Jamie George (Saracens)**
Maro Itoje (Saracens)*
Courtney Lawes (Northampton Saints)***
Lewis Ludlam (Northampton Saints)*
Joe Marler (Harlequins)**
George Martin (Leicester Tigers)
David Ribbans (Toulon)
Bevan Rodd (Sale Sharks)
Kyle Sinckler (Bristol Bears)*
Will Stuart (Bath Rugby)
Billy Vunipola (Saracens) **
Jack Walker (Harlequins)
Jack Willis (Toulouse)
Backs (14)
Henry Arundell (Racing 92)
Danny Care (Harlequins)*
Elliot Daly (Saracens)*
Owen Farrell (Saracens)**
George Ford (Sale Sharks)**
Ollie Lawrence (Bath Rugby)
Max Malins (Bristol Bears)
Joe Marchant (Stade Francais)
Alex Mitchell (Northampton Saints)
Marcus Smith (Harlequins)
Freddie Steward (Leicester Tigers)
Manu Tuilagi (Sale Sharks)**
Jonny May (Gloucester)**
Ben Youngs (Leicester Tigers)***
*denotes number of Rugby World Cup tournaments played
Recommended
Will Greenwood’s guide to the England squad
Latest odds
France: 3/1
New Zealand: 4/1
South Africa: 11/4
Ireland: 5/1
England: 10/1
Australia: 12/1
Argentina: 33/1
Wales: 33/1
Scotland: 66/1
Having a punt? First take a look at these Rugby World Cup free bets and betting offers.