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The 10th men’s Rugby World Cup is arguably the most open in its 36-year history.
France are the primary hosts of the tournament for the second time. They staged the 2007 World Cup and held matches with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales in 1991.
Les Bleus and Ireland are among the favourites to become the second northern hemisphere team to lift the Webb Ellis Cup after England’s victory in Australia in 2003.
South Africa are the reigning champions after equalling the All Blacks’ record of three World Cup titles in Japan four years ago.
Here is a by-the-numbers breakdown ahead of the 2023 World Cup in France. It starts on Saturday and ends with the final in Paris on October 29 (NZ time).
0
Ireland have not played in any World Cup semifinal. Zero. It’s an extraordinary hoodoo.
It will continue to haunt Andy Farrell’s team unless they progress beyond the quarterfinals for the first time in France. They have featured at all nine World Cups.
The boys in green are the reigning world No 1 side and won the Six Nations in March with a sweeping Grand Slam, as well as last year’s historic series triumph over the All Blacks in New Zealand.
Banishing their quarterfinal nightmare won’t be straightforward because they are likely to meet the All Blacks or France in the last eight.
Stu Forster/Getty Images
Robbie Henshaw reacting to Ireland’s quarterfinal exit against the All Blacks in Tokyo in 2019.
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World Rugby’s decision to make the draw based from rankings in 2020 has created a lopsided tournament.
The world’s top four teams – (1st to 4th) Ireland, South Africa, France and New Zealand – are on one side. Only two of them can make the semifinals because all four are likely to meet in the quarterfinals. Scotland, in fifth, are in the same pool as Ireland and South Africa.
The All Blacks and South Africa were in the top four with England and Wales when the draw was made. England and Wales have struggled in recent seasons and plummeted down the rankings to 8th and 10th respectively.
Two teams ranked lower than fourth before the World Cup will contest the semifinals. As well as Scotland, England and Wales, Argentina (6th), Fiji (7th) and Australia (9th) are also in the top 10.
200
The tournament will be played 200 years after rugby’s mythical origin story.
The old tale in the game’s folklore is that English schoolboy William Webb Ellis picked up the ball during a football match at Rugby School in 1823 and started running with it. This has been disputed by historians.
The milestone will nonetheless be recognised in France.
The World Cup trophy was also named after Webb Ellis and his “exploits” are commemorated in stone at Rugby School.
It reads: “William Webb Ellis, who with a fine disregard for the rules of football as played in his time, first took the ball in his arms and ran with it, thus originating the distinctive feature of the rugby game.”
Shaun Botterill/Getty Images
The commemorative stone for William Webb Ellis in Rugby.
50
Rugby World Cups are the longest of sport’s major codes. This year’s edition in France has been extended another week and will last 50 days. The Japan tournament in 2019 was 43 days.
World Rugby said the extension was because of player welfare and ensures teams will have at least five days between pool matches.
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Nine French cities will host matches for the 20 teams (in four pools of five). Chile will make their World Cup debut as the only newcomer when they become the 26th nation to feature at rugby’s showpiece event.
Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, Nice, Nantes and Toulouse will be the venues for the tournament’s 48 matches.
The iconic Stade de France, with a capacity of about 80,000, will host both semifinals and the final, as well as the opener between France and the All Blacks on Saturday (NZ time).
Michel Euler/AP
France welcome the All Blacks to the famous Stade de France on September 9 (NZ time).
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The foul play review system, known as the “bunker”, will be used in France when an official will review a referred incident and consider whether a yellow card should be upgraded to red.
That official will have eight minutes to determine if a player’s yellow was a sufficient punishment. It will be significant at some major moment.
World Rugby has deemed its trials a success after the system was implemented in Super Rugby Pacific and the Rugby Championship.
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Eddie Jones will be coaching at his fifth World Cup and is back with Australia, who have suffered five successive defeats since he replaced Dave Rennie last summer.
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The Webb Ellis Cup has eluded Eddie Jones after World Cup final defeats in 2003 and 2019.
Jones led England to the 2019 final and has been in coaching roles with four nations at the World Cup – Australia (2003 and 2023), South Africa (2007), Japan (2015) and England (2019).
With the Wallabies, he lost the 2003 final against England and Australia haven’t added to their two World Cup titles since.
Men’s Rugby World Cup winners
3: New Zealand (1987, 2011, 2015), South Africa (1995, 2007, 2019)
2: Australia (1991, 1999)
1: England (2003)
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