Rugby World Cup 2023: Match schedule, how to watch, latest news and odds
World Rugby intend to press ahead with plans to use the television match official ‘bunker’ technology at the World Cup next month despite fears it has been undermined by the controversy caused by Owen Farrell’s red card against Wales.
Farrell’s red for his dangerous tackle to the head of Wales back row forward Taine Basham came as a result of the bunker review system, which is being trialled during the World Cup warm-up matches. Farrell was originally shown a yellow card but the incident was then referred to the ‘bunker’ and upgraded to a red card by television match official Brian MacNeice.
The controversial decision by the independent disciplinary panel to downgrade the card to yellow again not only created a sense of outrage but also left national head coaches privately concerned about the potential implications of the bunker process if it is used during the World Cup.
World Rugby have yet to officially confirm it will be used during the tournament in France but it is understood that the decision to appeal the downgrading of Farrell’s red card is in part to demonstrate their support for both their officials and the bunker process.
The tournament begins on Friday, September 8 with France taking on New Zealand. The final will be played on Saturday, October 28.
South Africa were the winners of the last tournament – in Japan in 2019 – when they beat England in the final, and will be among the favourites again this year. New Zealand, as ever, will be the team to beat, especially after their dominant showing at the Rugby Championship.
However, a strong European challenge is expected, not least from France and Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland, who have yet to put their best foot forward at a World Cup but hammered England in a warm-up match.
The 2023 Rugby World Cup will be 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 Velodrome (67,394) - Marseille
- Parc Olympique Lyonnais(59,186) - Lyon
- Stade Pierre-Mauroy(50,186) - Lille
- Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux (42,115) - Bordeaux
- Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (41,965) - Saint-Étienne
- Allianz Riviera (35,624) - Nice
- Stade de la Beaujoire (35,322) - Nantes
- Stadium Municipal (33,150) - Toulouse
ITV have the exclusive broadcast rights in the UK. We will update you with specific channels for each match at the tournament once they are announced by the broadcaster.
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.
Amazon Prime will broadcast England’s first three World Cup warm-up games in August as well as nine other warm-up fixtures featuring other Six Nations teams.
The next warm-up match for England is against Ireland on August 19. Their final match before heading to France, against Fiji at Twickenham the following weekend, is also on Amazon Prime.
In the US, the tournament is being shown on NBC Sports. In South Africa it’s on SuperSport.
A total of 20 teams have qualified for the Rugby World Cup. These teams have been 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).
Pool ANew ZealandFranceItalyUruguay
Namibia
Pool BSouth AfricaIrelandScotlandTonga
Romania
Pool CWalesAustraliaFijiGeorgia
Portugal
Pool DEnglandJapanArgentinaSamoa
