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Rugby World Cup 2023 official discussion thread

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Bienvenue to the official discussion thread for Rugby World Cup 2023!


The men's Rugby World Cup is kicking off on Friday 8th September in France, and coming to an end with the final in Paris on Sunday 28th October!

20 teams from around the world will be taking part in 4 pools of 5, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals and the final. The favourites include France themselves, South Africa, New Zealand and Ireland, but it is also expected to be one of the least predictable world cups ever!

All matches will be live and free-to-air on ITV1 or ITV4 in the UK, with radio commentary on the BBC. If you want to find out more about the 20 teams, the legendary Squidge Rugby on YouTube is putting together a playlist of previews for every team, with history, analysis, and things to watch out for if you're watching their games. The BBC's Rugby Union Weekly/Daily podcast is also a good place to keep up with what's going on and if you want grassroots fan-made podcasts, check out Blood & Mud, Ruck 'n' Roll or Eggchasers on your preferred podcast provider!

Make sure you also sign up for the TSR sweepstake and the predictions competition even if you've never watched rugby before, come and give it a go!


These are the four pools
Pool A: France, New Zealand, Italy, Uruguay, Namibia
Pool B: South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, Romania
Pool C: Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Portugal
Pool D: England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, Chile




Fixture list (UK time)
Pool stage:
Fri 8 Sep, 20:15: France 27-13 New Zealand, Paris
Sat 9 Sep, 12:00: Italy 52-8 Namibia, Saint-Étienne
Sat 9 Sep, 14:30: Ireland 82-8 Romania, Bordeaux
Sat 9 Sep, 17:00: Australia 35-15 Georgia, Paris
Sat 9 Sep, 20:00: England 27-10 Argentina, Marseille
Sun 10 Sep, 12:00: Japan 42-12 Chile, Toulouse
Sun 10 Sep, 16:45: South Africa 18-3 Scotland, Marseille
Sun 10 Sep, 20:00: Wales 32-26 Fiji, Bordeaux

Thu 14 Sep, 20:00: France 27-12 Uruguay, Lille
Fri 15 Sep, 20:00: New Zealand 71-3 Namibia, Toulouse
Sat 16 Sep, 14:00: Samoa 43-10 Chile, Bordeaux
Sat 16 Sep, 16:45: Wales 28-8 Portugal, Nice
Sat 16 Sep, 20:00: Ireland 59-16 Tonga, Nantes
Sun 17 Sep, 14:00: South Africa 76-0 Romania, Bordeaux
Sun 17 Sep, 16:45: Australia 15-22 Fiji, Saint-Étienne
Sun 17 Sep, 20:00: England 34-12 Japan, Nice

Wed 20 Sep, 16:45: Italy 38-17 Uruguay, Nice
Thu 21 Sep, 20:00: France 96-0 Namibia, Marseille
Fri 22 Sep, 20:00: Argentina 19-10 Samoa, Saint-Étienne
Sat 23 Sep, 13:00: Georgia 18-18 Portugal, Toulouse
Sat 23 Sep, 16:45: England 71-0 Chile, Lille
Sat 23 Sep, 20:00: South Africa 8-13 Ireland, Paris
Sun 24 Sep, 16:45: Scotland 45-17 Tonga, Nice
Sun 24 Sep, 20:00: Wales 40-6 Australia, Lyon

Wed 27 Sep, 16:45: Uruguay 36-26 Namibia, Lyon
Thu 28 Sep, 20:00: Japan 28-22 Samoa, Toulouse
Fri 29 Sep, 20:00: New Zealand 96-17 Italy, Lyon
Sat 30 Sep, 14:00: Argentina 59-5 Chile, Nantes
Sat 30 Sep, 16:45: Fiji 17-12 Georgia, Bordeaux
Sat 30 Sep, 20:00: Scotland 84-0 Romania, Lille
Sun 1 Oct, 16:45: Australia 34-14 Portugal, Saint-Étienne
Sun 1 Oct, 20:00: South Africa 49-18 Tonga, Marseille

Thu 5 Oct, 20:00: New Zealand 73-0 Uruguay, Lyon
Fri 6 Oct, 20:00: France 60-7 Italy, Lyon
Sat 7 Oct, 14:00: Wales 43-19 Georgia, Nantes
Sat 7 Oct, 16:45: England 18-17 Samoa, Lille
Sat 7 Oct, 20:00: Ireland 36-14 Scotland, Paris
Sun 8 Oct: 12:00: Japan 27-39 Argentina, Nantes
Sun 9 Oct, 16:45: Tonga 45-24 Romania, Lille
Sun 9 Oct, 20:00: Fiji 23-24 Portugal, Toulouse

Quarter-finals:
Sat 14 Oct, 16:00: Wales 17-29 Argentina, Marseille
Sat 14 Oct, 20:00: Ireland 24-28 New Zealand, Paris
Sun 15 Oct, 16:00: England 30-24 Fiji, Marseille
Sun 15 Oct, 20:00: France 28-29 South Africa, Paris

Semi-finals:
Fri 20 Oct, 20:00: Argentina 6-44 New Zealand, Paris
Sat 21 Oct, 20:00: England 15-16 South Africa, Paris

Third-place playoff:
Fri 27 Oct, 20:00: Argentina 23-26 England, Paris

Final:
Sat 28 Oct, 20:00: New Zealand v South Africa, Paris
(edited 11 months ago)

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Let's gooooo :france:

Highlight of the opening ceremony so far is a guy in a beret and vest cycling round with a bicycle cart full of baguettes :rofl:
Jaminetttttt!! :france:
Big big opening night win over the All Blacks for @CatusStarbright's beloved France! :france:
Vive la France!
Big staff v volunteer clash first up as @04MR17's beloved Italy take on @Evil Homer's beloved Namibia!
Original post by Saracen's Fez
Big staff v volunteer clash first up as @04MR17's beloved Italy take on @Evil Homer's beloved Namibia!


Loser has to moderate relationships forum for a week!
Original post by Saracen's Fez
Big staff v volunteer clash first up as @04MR17's beloved Italy take on @Evil Homer's beloved Namibia!

That is a petty squabble compared to the meetings EH and I have.

There's screaming, blood, and pens go flying out of windows! :zomg:
More cards than Clinton's :eek:
England just won a game of rugby :eek4: :eek3:
Original post by Saracen's Fez
England just won a game of rugby :eek4: :eek3:


Tried hard to lose it at the start. But a fugly win is still a win. Pumas were poor.
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by mqb2766
Tried hard to lose it at the start. But a fugly win is still a win. Pumas were poor.


Felt very much like a match from about 2013, but this is clearly what the Borthwick gameplan is :lol:

England play better with 14 than 15, it seems. Might be worth taking one of the Japanese players' heads off in the warm-up next Sunday for maximum effectiveness.
Original post by Saracen's Fez
Might be worth taking one of the Japanese players' heads off in the warm-up next Sunday for maximum effectiveness.

:lol: I was not expecting you to say this!
Original post by Saracen's Fez
Felt very much like a match from about 2013, but this is clearly what the Borthwick gameplan is :lol:

England play better with 14 than 15, it seems. Might be worth taking one of the Japanese players' heads off in the warm-up next Sunday for maximum effectiveness.

Tbh it felt like a "give it to Wilkinson and hell kick it" plan. Some of the commentators seemed really impressed "epic" on the bbc, but drop goals from the 1/2 way line and all 27 points being kicked in a first group gane was almost using up your Get Out of Jail Card Free on the first match.

Not sure beheading a Japanese player is really allowed in rugby, but havent heard of a rule that disallows it either so ... Could be an unexpected substitute for the haka.
(edited 1 year ago)
Original post by mqb2766
Not sure beheading a Japanese player is really allowed in rugby, but havent heard of a rule that disallows it either so ... Could be an unexpected substitute for the haka.

Not just at the Japanese games either!

Every England match they could just carry out a member of the Japanese squad to execute for good luck.

It'd increase TV audience
(edited 1 year ago)
(To be clear, I was using that expression as a figure of speech :eek: get the high tackle in early)
Exciting lunchtime as we get to see Chile at a world cup for the first time! :woo:

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