2023 will see a host of major rugby tournaments take place around the world, and chief among them is the tenth edition of the quadrennial Rugby World Cup. In this article, we’ll talk you through everything that you need to know about the biggest event in world rugby, from the details about when and where it will be played to the biggest contenders.
When and where
The 2023 Rugby World Cup will kick off on the 8th of September and run for close to seven weeks, culminating in the final on the 28th of October. This is a week longer than the duration of World Cups in the past; the extra week ensures that every team will have a rest of at least five teams for each and every game. This change was announced by World Rugby in early 2021, with the intention of improving player welfare.
The tournament will take place in France, marking the third time the tournament has been held there, having previously hosted it in 2007, and shared hosting duties with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in 1991. France will be the first country to host the event on three occasions, and will split the hosting across nine different stadiums in nine different cities. The biggest of these is Stade de France in Saint-Denis just outside of Paris, which has a capacity of over 80,000 people and will play host to two quarter-finals, as well as both semi-finals, the bronze final and the final itself. Other stadiums which will host World Cup games are Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, Parc Olympique Lyonnais in Lyon, Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, Stade Geoffrey-Guichard in Saint-Étienne, Allianz Riviera in Nice, Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, and Stadium Municipal in Toulouse.
Who are the reigning champions?
South Africa will head into the 2023 World Cup as the reigning champions, having foiled New Zealand’s attempt to become the first team in history to win the tournament three times in succession. That win marked the third time that South Africa had won the World Cup, having previously saluted in 1995 and 2007. Alongside New Zealand, that makes them the most successful team in World Cup history; sitting behind them is Australia with two wins, while England have won on a solitary occasion. Interestingly, just one other team side from those four winners has ever even made the final. That team is France, who have fallen at the last hurdle on three occasions.
Who are the favourites?
Despite having never before won the World Cup, France are the current favourites to win this year’s edition of the tournament, albeit only just. If they are able to do so, they would not only be winning the World Cup for the first time in history, but they would just the third team in history to win rugby’s biggest trophy at their home event.
Incidentally, the two sides chasing France for favouritism are the other two to have achieved that feat. The first of these is New Zealand, who won the inaugural Rugby World Cup way back in 1987 in a tournament in which they split hosting duties with Australia. The All Blacks are not as dominant a force as they have been as the past, but nonetheless they will enter this tournament with more than enough talent at their disposal to become the first team in history to win the World Cup on four occasions.
South Africa is the only other team to have won on their home soil, which they did in 1995, and they’re the current third favourites to win the tournament this year and become just the second team in history to win it back-to-back. If they do manage to do so, those consecutive World Cup victories will come immediately after the only other side to do it, with New Zealand having triumphed in both 2011 and 2015.
Rounding out the top five are Ireland and England, who, in terms of favouritism, sit not too far behind the above three sides but comfortably ahead of Australia in sixth. Ireland, as mentioned earlier, have never won the tournament. In fact, never before have they even made it to the semi-finals, but they boast a very good team at present and last year had by far the best points differential in the Six Nations – which includes France and England – so there is every chance that they will put in their best ever performance at the World Cup in 2023.
England, meanwhile, have had much more success at this tournament; they won it in 2003 when Jonny Wilkinson famously broke the hearts of Australia in an extra time win, but they’ve also made the final on three other occasions, including at the most recent incarnation of the event in 2019. Add a semi-final to the mix, and that makes it more than half of the World Cups that they’ve made it to at least the final four. A similar result is easy to envision this time around.
That aside, Australia is the only team given a realistic chance at contending by Australian betting sites – this Playup review gives an example of one of those at which you’ll get some of the best odds. The Aussies are a little bit behind the aforementioned five teams in terms of talent, but they’re a two-time World Cup winner who has made the final on another two occasions, and rarely puts forward a team which isn’t at the least very competitive.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup will be the tenth edition of this famous event, and will be the biggest tournament on the rugby calendar. Set to take place in France for the first time, there are no less than five teams battling it out for favouritism, with Australia not too far behind also capable of causing problems for the top teams. Kicking off on the 8th of September, this looms as a tournament not to miss.
