The 2023 Rugby World Cup will be the tenth men’s Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for rugby union national teams. It is scheduled[2] to take place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country,[3] and is the first Rugby World Cup to take place entirely in France. The opening game and Final will take place at the Stade de France, north of Paris.[4] The tournament will take place in the bicentenary year of the “invention” of the sport by William Webb Ellis.[5]
Originally, the tournament was scheduled to last the usual six weeks, but in February 2021, World Rugby added a week to provide additional rest days for player welfare. This means that teams will have a minimum of five days’ rest for all matches. It will be the third time France has hosted the Rugby World Cup,[6] having previously hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup, as well as the 1991 Rugby World Cup as joint hosts with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. It precedes the 2024 Summer Olympics in Paris and will take place less than a year before the Olympics opening ceremony.
The defending champions are South Africa, who defeated England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final.
Chile will make their first ever appearance at the Rugby World Cup, and Portugal will return for their second appearance, 16 years after their first appearance in the 2007 Rugby World Cup.
Host country selection
World Rugby requested that any members wishing to host the 2023 event were to submit an expression of interest by June 2015. A total of six unions responded. The Italian Rugby Federation were among the members interested, but withdrew from their bid on 28 September 2016. The Argentine Rugby Union and USA Rugby both expressed their interest in hosting the event but ultimately decided against a formal bid.[citation needed] Three bids were officially submitted to World Rugby by the June 2017 deadline.
On 15 November 2017, the French Rugby Federation bid was chosen ahead of bids by the South African Rugby Union and the Irish Rugby Football Union. France had launched its bid on 9 February 2017.[7]
Qualifying
Twenty teams are set to compete. A total of 12 teams gained automatic qualification for the tournament after finishing in the top three of their pool at the 2019 Rugby World Cup, which included France already automatically qualified as host. The remaining eight spaces were decided by regional competitions followed by a few cross-regional play-offs.
Spain originally qualified as Europe 2, but Romania lodged an official complaint that Spain had fielded an ineligible player during the qualifying tournament. After a controversial investigation, it was concluded that the player in question had falsified his passport: Spain received a deduction of 10 points, resulting in them being effectively ejected from the competition, with Romania replacing them as Europe 2 and Portugal taking Romania’s spot in the repechage tournament.[11]
On 18 November 2022, Portugal won the repechage tournament to be the last country to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup. It was the first time that Canada did not qualify for the Rugby World Cup, the first time since 1995 that the United States did not qualify, and the first time three teams from South America qualified. This is the first Rugby World Cup without any participation from North America.
| Region | Team | Qualification method | Previous apps | Previous best result | World Rank¹ |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Africa |  South Africa | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 7 | Champions (1995, 2007, 2019) | 4 |
 Namibia | Africa 1 | 6 | Pool stage (six times) | 21 | |
| Asia |  Japan | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 9 | Quarter-finals (2019) | 12 |
| Europe |  France | Hosts | 9 | Runners-up (1987, 1999, 2011) | 3 |
 England | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 9 | Champions (2003) | 6 | |
 Ireland | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 9 | Quarter-finals (seven times) | 1 | |
 Italy | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 9 | Pool stage (nine times) | 14 | |
 Scotland | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 9 | Fourth place (1991) | 5 | |
 Wales | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 9 | Third place (1987) | 9 | |
 Georgia | Europe 1 | 5 | Pool stage (five times) | 11 | |
 Romania | Europe 2 | 8 | Pool stage (eight times) | 19 | |
 Portugal | Final Qualifier | 1 | Pool stage (2007) | 16 | |
| Oceania |  Australia | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 9 | Champions (1991, 1999) | 8 |
 Fiji | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 8 | Quarter-finals (1987, 2007) | 10 | |
 New Zealand | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 9 | Champions (1987, 2011, 2015) | 2 | |
 Samoa | Oceania 1 | 8 | Quarter-finals (1991, 1995) | 13 | |
 Tonga | Asia/Pacific 1 | 8 | Pool stage (eight times) | 15 | |
| South America |  Argentina | Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool | 9 | Third place (2007) | 7 |
 Uruguay | Americas 1 | 4 | Pool stage (1999, 2003, 2015, 2019) | 17 | |
 Chile | Americas 2 | 0 | Debut | 22 |
Squads
Each team will be able to submit a squad of 33 players[13] for the tournament, an increase from 31 that was allowed in 2019. The squads are to be submitted to World Rugby by the 1 September. In the event a team needs to call-up a new player, a player must first have been withdrawn from the active 33-player squad which is usually as a consequence of a long-term injury.
On 1 May, Wales were the first team to name their extended training squad for the tournament.
Match officials
World Rugby named the following 12 referees, seven assistant referees and for the first time an expanded television match officials team of seven to handle the 48 matches:[14]
Amongst the squad, Wayne Barnes will officiate at a record fifth Rugby World Cup, whilst Nika Amashukeli will become the first Georgian referee in the World Cup and first Tier 2 representative to referee a game since the game turned professional. Matthew Carley, Karl Dickson and Andrew Brace will make their first appearance in a World Cup as a referee and Joy Neville becomes the first female named on match official panel for a men’s Rugby World Cup.
Pool A
| 8 September 2023 | France | v | New Zealand | Stade de France, Saint-Denis |
| 9 September 2023 | Italy | v | Namibia | Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne |
| 14 September 2023 | France | v | Uruguay | Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille |
| 15 September 2023 | New Zealand | v | Namibia | Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse |
| 20 September 2023 | Italy | v | Uruguay | Allianz Riviera, Nice |
| 21 September 2023 | France | v | Namibia | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille |
| 27 September 2023 | Uruguay | v | Namibia | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu |
| 29 September 2023 | New Zealand | v | Italy | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu |
| 5 October 2023 | New Zealand | v | Uruguay | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu |
| 6 October 2023 | France | v | Italy | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu |
Pool B
| 9 September 2023 | Ireland | v | Romania | Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux |
| 10 September 2023 | South Africa | v | Scotland | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille |
| 16 September 2023 | Ireland | v | Tonga | Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes |
| 17 September 2023 | South Africa | v | Romania | Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux |
| 23 September 2023 | South Africa | v | Ireland | Stade de France, Saint-Denis |
| 24 September 2023 | Scotland | v | Tonga | Allianz Riviera, Nice |
| 30 September 2023 | Scotland | v | Romania | Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille |
| 1 October 2023 | South Africa | v | Tonga | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille |
| 7 October 2023 | Ireland | v | Scotland | Stade de France, Saint-Denis |
| 8 October 2023 | Tonga | v | Romania | Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille |
Pool C
| 9 September 2023 | Australia | v | Georgia | Stade de France, Saint-Denis |
| 10 September 2023 | Wales | v | Fiji | Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux |
| 16 September 2023 | Wales | v | Portugal | Allianz Riviera, Nice |
| 17 September 2023 | Australia | v | Fiji | Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne |
| 23 September 2023 | Georgia | v | Portugal | Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse |
| 24 September 2023 | Wales | v | Australia | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu |
| 30 September 2023 | Fiji | v | Georgia | Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux |
| 1 October 2023 | Australia | v | Portugal | Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne |
| 7 October 2023 | Wales | v | Georgia | Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes |
| 8 October 2023 | Fiji | v | Portugal | Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse |
Pool D
| 9 September 2023 | England | v | Argentina | Stade Vélodrome, Marseille |
| 10 September 2023 | Japan | v | Chile | Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse |
| 16 September 2023 | Samoa | v | Chile | Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux |
| 17 September 2023 | England | v | Japan | Allianz Riviera, Nice |
| 22 September 2023 | Argentina | v | Samoa | Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne |
| 23 September 2023 | England | v | Chile | Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille |
| 28 September 2023 | Japan | v | Samoa | Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse |
| 30 September 2023 | Argentina | v | Chile | Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes |
| 7 October 2023 | England | v | Samoa | Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille |
| 8 October 2023 | Japan | v | Argentina | Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes |
Quarter-finals
| 14 October 2023 17:00 |
| Winner of Pool C | QF1 | Runner-up of Pool D |
| 14 October 2023 21:00 |
| Winner of Pool B | QF2 | Runner-up of Pool A |
| 15 October 2023 17:00 |
| Winner of Pool D | QF3 | Runner-up of Pool C |
| 15 October 2023 21:00 |
| Winner of Pool A | QF4 | Runner-up of Pool B |
Semi-finals
| 20 October 2023 21:00 |
| Winner of QF1 | SF1 | Winner of QF2 |
| 21 October 2023 21:00 |
| Winner of QF3 | SF2 | Winner of QF4 |
Bronze final
| 27 October 2023 21:00 |
| Loser of SF1 | v | Loser of SF2 |
Final
See also: 2023 Rugby World Cup Final
| 28 October 2023 21:00 |
| Winner of SF1 | v | Winner of SF2 |
Rugby Klub Bratislava 