Main Insights of the Upcoming 2023 Rugby World Cup

soccer players on soccer field during daytime
Photo by Project 290

Rugby World Cup is an iconic competition for any rugby fan. But the recent years have been cruel not only to rugby but to other sports too due to the COVID-19 pandemic. And finally, we can get back to a full-fledged sport event experience with the upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023.

And before the tournament starts, we want to familiarize you with some insights. You will find where the tournament is conducted, its participants, and many other exciting details!

Where to Watch the 2023 Rugby World Cup

The 2023 Rugby World Cup doesn’t share the rights to stream its games with anyone. Thus, you will struggle to find a source to watch RWC games for free. But New Zealand has plenty of TV/Internet services that stream matches; you will just need to purchase a pass. 

For example, Spark Sports is a know internet streaming service with rights for most sports events, including RWC. Using Spark, you will be charged $25 per single game or up to $100 for a prolonged pass. It is very convenient to watch rugby matches through a web browser, as you can always switch a tab and play in a casino online Canada while the match is paused.

Time & Location of the Event

The 2023 Rugby World Cup is scheduled from 8 September to 28 October and will be in France. The event will take us through 8 various venues across the entire country. The first one is Stade de France: a gorgeous national France stadium located in Paris and considered one of the largest stadiums in Europe. This field has been through many world-class events like FIFA and Rugby World Cups, and the 2023 RWC will be an addition to that. The rest of the stadiums to conduct the event are Marseille, Decines Charpieu, Villeneuve-d`Ascq, Bordeaux, Saint Ettiene, Nice, Nantes, and Toulouse. 

A place to conduct the 2023 RWC was selected among six competitors who could place their bids since 2015. Even though France was one of the last countries to place its bid on 9 February 2017, it still won. 

The Qualification Process

brown and black Wilson football
Photo by Dave Adamson

The 2023 Rugby World Cup will classically have 20 competitors from around the globe. As usual, 12 teams are placed into RWC initially after hitting the top 3 in their 2019 RWC pool. At the same time, France is in a safe spot, as it was accepted to the tournament automatically as it is a host. 

The rest eight places in the tournament are defined by the regional competitions, and then, cross-regional play-offs. Also, a final team joined the event as the winner of the repechage tournament in November 2022.

As a result, the eight qualifiers are Namibia, Georgia, Romania, Portugal, Samoa, Tonga, Uruguay, and chile. 

The Pool Draw

To make the gaming pools as fair as possible, the teams are classified by their World Rugby rankings. Thus, the first band consists of South Africa, New Zealand, Wales, and England; the second of Ireland, Australia, France, and Japan; the third of Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, and Italy; the fourth Samoa, Georgia, Uruguay, and Tonga; the fifth of Namibia, Romania, Chile, and Portugal.

The bands look promising, especially the first one, where three of four teams have been victorious in the RWC previously. Thus, it would be exciting to watch a battle between New Zealand and South Africa teams which both have won recently and are in great shape. 

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