Rugby World Cup 2023 Schedule: Fixtures, Dates & Times

Written by Lincoln Trembley Published: 08/09/2023

Reading time: 6 minutes

If you’re a rugby fan, we’ve assembled everything you need for the 2023 Rugby World Cup! France is hosting this year’s tournament, which features 20 teams. Find out where all the matches are being played, the teams in this year’s cup and the groups for each country. We’ve listed the schedule to help you never miss a game and outlined this year’s favourites. You can also find out where to watch the tournament in New Zealand and where you can place a wager.

Let’s get started with more information about this year’s event venues…

Where is the Rugby World Cup 2023 being played?

The 2023 Rugby World Cup 2023 will begin on Friday, 8 September and run until Saturday, 28 October. All the matches will be played across nine cities in France, with the tournament opener and the final held at Stade de France in Paris.

The stadiums for the event include:

Stade de France, Saint-Denis, Paris: Crowd capacity 80,698
Stade de Marseille, Marseille: Crowd capacity 67,394
OL Stadium, Lyon: Crowd capacity 59,186
Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Lille: Crowd capacity 50,186
Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux: Crowd capacity 42,115
Stade Geoffroy-Guichard, Saint-Étienne: Crowd capacity 41,965
Stade de Nice, Nice: Crowd capacity 35,624
Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes: Crowd capacity 35,322
Stade de Toulouse, Toulouse: Crowd capacity 33,150

What are the Groups?

Four pools will compete in the group stage to see which countries will make it through to the knockout stages.

POOL A

New Zealand 🇳🇿

France 🇫🇷

Italy 🇮🇹

Uruguay 🇺🇾

Namibia 🇳🇦

POOL B

South Africa 🇿🇦

Ireland 🇮🇪

Scotland 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁳󠁣󠁴󠁿

Romania 🇷🇴

Tonga 🇹🇴

POOL C

Wales 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁷󠁬󠁳󠁿

Australia 🇦🇺

Fiji 🇫🇯

Georgia 🇬🇪

Portugal 🇵🇹

POOL D

England 🏴󠁧󠁢󠁥󠁮󠁧󠁿

Japan 🇯🇵

Argentina 🇦🇷

Samoa 🇼🇸

Chile 🇨🇱

Rugby World Cup Fixtures

Group Stages

Each country will play the other team in their pool once in the Rugby World Cup. The top two teams from each pool will make it through to the quarter-finals to compete in a knockout stage.

POOL A – New Zealand, France, Italy, Uruguay, Namibia

Fri 8 Sept: France (27) v New Zealand (13) (9.15pm CEST | 7.15am NZ , Stade de France, Paris)
Sat 9 Sept: Italy (52) v Namibia (8) (1pm CEST | 11pm NZ, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)
Thu 14 Sept: France (27) v Uruguay (12) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Fri 15 Sept: New Zealand (71) v Namibia (3) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)
Wed 20 Sept: Italy (38) v Uruguay (17) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade de Nice, Nice)
Thu 21 Sept: France (96) v Namibia (0) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Wed 27 Sept: Uruguay (36) v Namibia (26) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Parc OL, Lyon)
Fri 29 Sept: New Zealand (96) v Italy (17) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Parc OL, Lyon)
Thu 5 Oct: New Zealand (73) v Uruguay (0) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Parc OL, Lyon)
Fri 6 Oct: France (60) v Italy (7) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Parc OL, Lyon)

POOL B – South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Romania, Tonga

Sat 9 Sept: Ireland (82) v Romania (8) (3.30pm CEST | 1.30am NZ, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sun 10 Sept: South Africa (18) v Scotland (3) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sat 16 Sept: Ireland (59) v Tonga (16) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)
Sun 17 Sept: South Africa (76) v Romania (0) (3pm CEST | 1am NZ, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sat 23 Sept: South Africa (8) v Ireland (13) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de France, Paris)
Sun 24 Sept: Scotland (45) v Tonga (17) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade de Nice, Nice)
Sat 30 Sept: Scotland (84) v Romania (0) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Sun 1 Oct: South Africa (49) v Tonga (18) (9pm | 7am NZ, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sat 7 Oct: Ireland (36) v Scotland (14) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de France, Paris)
Sun 8 Oct: Tonga (45) v Romania (24) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)

POOL C – Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Portugal

Sat 9 Sept: Australia (35) v Georgia (15) (6pm CEST | 4am NZ, Stade de France, Paris)
Sun 10 Sept: Wales (32) v Fiji (26) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sat 16 Sept: Wales (28) v Portugal (8) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade de Nice, Nice)
Sun 17 Sept: Australia (15) v Fiji (22) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)
Sat 23 Sept: Georgia (18) v Portugal (18) (2pm CEST | 12am NZ, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)
Sun 24 Sept: Wales (40) v Australia (6) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Parc OL, Lyon)
Sat 30 Sept: Fiji (17) v Georgia (12) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sun 1 Oct: Australia (34) v Portugal (14) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)
Sat 7 Oct: Wales (43) v Georgia (19) (3pm CEST | 1am NZ, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)
Sun 8 Oct: Fiji (23) v Portugal (24) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)

POOL D – England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, Chile

Sat 9 Sept: England (27) v Argentina (10) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sun 10 Sept: Japan (42) v Chile (12) (1pm CEST | 11pm NZ, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)
Sat 16 Sept: Samoa (43) v Chile (10) (3pm CEST | 1am NZ, Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux)
Sun 17 Sept: England (34) v Japan (12) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de Nice, Nice)
Fri 22 Sept: Argentina (19) v Samoa (10) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne)
Sat 23 Sept: England (71) v Chile (0) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Thu 28 Sept: Japan (28) v Samoa (22) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse)
Sat 30 Sept: Argentina (59) v Chile (5) (3pm CEST | 1am NZ, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)
Sat 7 Oct: England (18) v Samoa (17) (5.45pm CEST | 3.45am NZ, Stade Pierre Mauroy, Lille)
Sun 8 Oct: Japan (27) v Argentina (39) (1pm CEST | 11pm NZ, Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes)

Knockout stages

The knockout stages comprise the quarter and semi-finals before the final is played on Saturday, 28 October.

Quarter-finals

Sat 14 Oct: Wales (17) v Argentina (29) (5pm CEST | 3am NZ, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sat 14 Oct: Ireland (24) v New Zealand (28) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de France, Paris)
Sun 15 Oct: England (30) v Fiji (24) (5pm CEST | 3am NZ, Stade Vélodrome, Marseille)
Sun 15 Oct: France (28) v South Africa (29) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de France, Paris)

Semi-finals

Fri 20 Oct New Zealand (44) v Argentina (6) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de France, Paris)
Sat 21 Oct England (15) v South Africa (16) (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de France, Paris)

Third-place match

Fri 27 Oct Argentina v England (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de France, Paris)

Final

Sat 28 Oct New Zealand v South Africa (9pm CEST | 7am NZ, Stade de France, Paris)

Broadcast Schedule

If you want to catch all the games live in New Zealand, Sky is the official broadcaster. All 48 matches will be broadcast live on Sky Sports.

There is also limited free-to-air coverage available. Prime will show 12 matches, six of which will be live.

Favourites for the Tournament?

Most experts agree hosts France are the number one favourite to win the famous Web Ellis trophy. However, Ireland is a close second and may have been the outright favourite if France wasn’t the host nation.

South Africa and the All Blacks are also contenders, with many bookies putting them just behind the favourites.

The Wallabies, Wales, England, Argentina and Scotland are potential winners if they can play top form. And we may even see an upset with Fiji, Tonga, Italy, and Western Samoa, who can all beat the top teams when they’re playing at their best.

Previous Rugby World Cup Winners

New Zealand and South Africa have won the most Rugby World Cups, with three wins each. South Africa won the last World Cup in 2019. However, the All Blacks are the only team to have won consecutive tournaments in 2011 and 2015.

Australia have won twice, and England has won the tournament once.

Where to Bet on the Matches

New Zealand has many sports betting sites to bet on rugby matches, including big tournaments like the World Cup.

We’ve compiled a list of some of the best rugby betting sites to help you pick the right sportsbook for you. Our expert team has vetted all sites and checked for good odds and a wide range of markets.

The sites on our list also offer regular bonuses and promotions and excellent customer service. All are regulated and licensed, so you can be confident your information is safe and secure.

References

Rugby World “Rugby World Cup Fixtures 2023” https://www.rugbyworld.com/rugby-fixtures/rugby-world-cup-fixtures-2023
Sky NZ “Prime to broadcast free-to-air coverage of Rugby World Cup France 2023”, https://www.sky.co.nz/-/prime-to-broadcast-free-to-air-rwc-france-2023
Rugby World Cup France 2023 “All Matches”, https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2023/matches
Wikipedia. “Rugby World Cup”, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Rugby_World_Cup

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Lincoln Trembley

Betting Expert

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Lincoln is an expert in sports betting. With his skill and passion for trying our new brands in the iGaming industry, he frequently reviews sports betting sites and writes news about sports betting. Being a former sports trader, there’s not much he doesn’t know when it comes to sports betting.