2023 Rugby World Cup

2023 Rugby World Cup

The 2023 Rugby World Cup (French: Coupe du monde de rugby 2023) was the tenth men's Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for national rugby union teams. It took place in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023 in nine venues across the country. The opening game and the final took place at the Stade de France, north of Paris. The tournament was held in the bicentenary year of the purported invention of the sport by William Webb Ellis.

The tournament was scheduled to last six weeks, but in February 2021 World Rugby added a week to provide additional rest days for player welfare. This meant that teams had a minimum of five days' rest for all matches. It was the fourth time France has hosted the Rugby World Cup, having previously done so in (/wiki/2007RugbyWorldCup) and co-hosted the 1991 Rugby World Cup and 1999 Rugby World Cup with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales. This was the last tournament to feature 20 teams taking part, as the tournament will be expanded to include 24 teams in 2027.

The defending champions were South Africa, who defeated England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup final. South Africa retained their title by defeating New Zealand in the final. In doing so, they became the first team to win the tournament four times and they remain the only team to ever win the World Cup after losing a match in the pool stage, as well as the first team to win successive World Cup titles away from home. The result also marked their second victory over New Zealand in a final (winning 15–12 a.e.t. in (/wiki/1995RugbyWorldCup)), and also their second victory in a final on French soil (defeating England 15–6 in (/wiki/2007RugbyWorldCup)). As well as winning the World Cup after losing a pool game for the second consecutive time, they won each of their knockout games against France, England and New Zealand by a margin of 1 point.

Chile made their first appearance in the tournament. Portugal returned for their second appearance, 16 years after their debut in 2007, also in France.

Host selection

2023 Rugby World Cup

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. 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.

Venues

Stadia

On 17 March 2017, twelve host cities were selected. This list was later reduced to nine cities (excluding Paris, Montpellier, and Lens):

<table><thead><tr><th>Paris (Saint-Denis)</th><th>Marseille</th><th>Lyon (Décines-Charpieu)</th><th>Lille (Villeneuve-d'Ascq)</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Stade de France</td><td>Stade de Marseille</td><td>OL Stadium</td><td>Stade Pierre-Mauroy</td></tr><tr><td>Capacity: 80,698</td><td>Capacity: 67,394</td><td>Capacity: 59,186</td><td>Capacity: 50,186</td></tr><tr><td>Bordeaux</td><td>ParisMarseilleLyonLilleNantesBordeauxSaint-ÉtienneNiceToulouse</td></tr><tr><td>Stade de Bordeaux</td></tr><tr><td>Capacity: 42,115</td></tr><tr><td>Saint-Étienne</td><td>Nice</td><td>Nantes</td><td>Toulouse</td></tr><tr><td>Stade Geoffroy-Guichard</td><td>Stade de Nice</td><td>Stade de la Beaujoire</td><td>Stadium de Toulouse</td></tr><tr><td>Capacity: 41,965</td><td>Capacity: 35,624</td><td>Capacity: 35,322</td><td>Capacity: 33,150</td></tr></tbody></table>

Team base camps

South Africa–Scotland at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, 10 September 2023

<table><thead><tr><th>Team</th><th>City</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td> Argentina</td><td>La Baule-Escoublac, Loire-Atlantique</td></tr><tr><td> Australia</td><td>Saint-Étienne, Loire</td></tr><tr><td> Chile</td><td>Perros-Guirec, Côtes-d'Armor</td></tr><tr><td> England</td><td>Le Touquet, Pas-de-Calais</td></tr><tr><td> Fiji</td><td>Lormont, Gironde</td></tr><tr><td> France</td><td>Rueil-Malmaison, Hauts-de-Seine</td></tr><tr><td> Georgia</td><td>Île de Ré – La Rochelle, Charente-Maritime</td></tr><tr><td> Ireland</td><td>Tours, Indre-et-Loire</td></tr><tr><td> Italy</td><td>Bourgoin-Jallieu, Isère</td></tr><tr><td> Japan</td><td>Toulouse, Haute-Garonne</td></tr><tr><td> Namibia</td><td>Aix-les-Bains, Savoie</td></tr><tr><td> New Zealand</td><td>Lyon, Rhône</td></tr><tr><td> Portugal</td><td>Perpignan, Pyrénées-Orientales</td></tr><tr><td> Romania</td><td>Libourne, Gironde</td></tr><tr><td> Samoa</td><td>Montpellier, Hérault</td></tr><tr><td> Scotland</td><td>Nice, Alpes-Maritimes</td></tr><tr><td> South Africa</td><td>Toulon, Var</td></tr><tr><td> Tonga</td><td>Croissy-sur-Seine, Yvelines</td></tr><tr><td> Uruguay</td><td>Avignon, Vaucluse</td></tr><tr><td> Wales</td><td>Versailles, Yvelines</td></tr></tbody></table>

Teams

Qualification

Qualification status:   Qualified for the 2023 Rugby World Cup   Failed to qualify   Withdrew or suspended

Twenty teams competed. 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.

Two berths were reserved to the European region. 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 behind Georgia, unaffected as Europe 1. Portugal then took Romania's spot in the repechage tournament as Europe 3.

In Oceania and Asia, traditional middle powers emerged, with Samoa claiming the region's place at the World Cup (Fiji, New Zealand and Australia having automatically qualified). Tonga, the second Oceanian team, then won a playoff against Hong Kong, the highest ranked Asian representative, to claim their ninth appearance at a Rugby World Cup. Hong Kong proceeded to the final repechage tournament.

In Africa, Namibia reached their seventh Rugby World Cup as Africa 1, with Kenya moving forward to the final repechage.

The Americas were allocated two qualifying berths through a series of playoff matches spanning both regions. The 2023 Rugby World Cup witnessed historic developments in North and South American rugby. Canada's absence marked the first time in history that the country failed to qualify for the tournament. Similarly, the United States found themselves excluded from the competition for the first time since 1995, representing a notable departure from previous editions. The absence of North American representation significantly shifted the regional dynamic due to unified North and South American qualification matches.

On 18 November 2022, Portugal won the repechage tournament, overcoming Kenya, Hong Kong and the United States to be the last country to qualify for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

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)	2
Namibia	Africa 1	6	Pool stage (six times)	21
Asia	Japan	Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool	9	Quarter-finals (2019)	14
Europe	France	Hosts	9	Runners-up (1987, 1999, 2011)	3
England	Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool	9	Champions (2003)	8
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)	13
Scotland	Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool	9	Fourth place (1991)	5
Wales	Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool	9	Third place (1987)	10
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)	9
Fiji	Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool	8	Quarter-finals (1987, 2007)	7
New Zealand	Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool	9	Champions (1987, 2011, 2015)	4
Samoa	Oceania 1	8	Quarter-finals (1991, 1995)	12
Tonga	Play-off winner	8	Pool stage (eight times)	15
South America and North America Rugby	Argentina	Top 3 in 2019 RWC pool	9	Third place (2007)	6
Uruguay	Americas 1	4	Pool stage (1999, 2003, 2015, 2019)	17
Chile	Americas 2	0	Debut	22

Squads

Each team could submit a squad of 33 players for the tournament, an increase from 31 that was allowed in 2019. The squads were to be submitted to World Rugby by 1 September. If a team needed 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.

Draw

The pool draw took place on 14 December 2020 in Paris. The draw returned to its traditional place of the year following the previous World Cup, after the end-of-year internationals.

The seeding system from previous Rugby World Cups was retained with the 12 automatic qualifiers from 2019 being allocated to their respective bands based on their World Rugby Rankings on 1 January 2020:

• Band 1: The four highest-ranked teams • Band 2: The next four highest-ranked teams • Band 3: The final four directly qualified teams

The remaining two bands were made up of the eight qualifying teams, with allocation to each band being based on the previous Rugby World Cup playing strength:

• Band 4: – Oceania 1, Europe 1, Americas 1, Asia/Pacific 1 • Band 5: – Africa 1, Europe 2, Americas 2, Final Qualifier Winner

This meant the 20 teams, qualified and qualifiers, were seeded thus (world ranking as of 1 January 2020):

Having the draw so early (almost three years before the competition) was criticised. Changes in the World Rugby Rankings had taken place since, meaning that Pool B contained three of the top five teams (Ireland (1), South Africa (2) and Scotland (5)), while Pool A contained France (3) and New Zealand (4). Meanwhile, Pool C's highest-ranked team at the start of the tournament was Fiji (7). World Rugby CEO Alan Gilpin pledged that draws for future World Cups would be better balanced.

Match officials

2023 Rugby World Cup

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.

Amongst the squad, Wayne Barnes officiated at a record fifth Rugby World Cup, while Nika Amashukeli became 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 made their first appearance in a World Cup as a referee and Joy Neville became the first female named on match official panel for a men's Rugby World Cup.

<table><thead><tr><th>Referees</th><th>Assistants</th><th>Television Match Officials</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Nika Amashukeli (Georgia)</td><td>Chris Busby (Ireland)</td><td>Brett Cronan (Australia)</td></tr><tr><td>Wayne Barnes (England)</td><td>Pierre Brousset (France)</td><td>Tom Foley (England)</td></tr><tr><td>Nic Berry (Australia)</td><td>James Doleman (New Zealand)</td><td>Marius Jonker (South Africa)</td></tr><tr><td>Andrew Brace (Ireland)</td><td>Craig Evans (Wales)</td><td>Brian MacNeice (Ireland)</td></tr><tr><td>Matthew Carley (England)</td><td>Andrea Piardi (Italy)</td><td>Joy Neville (Ireland)</td></tr><tr><td>Karl Dickson (England)</td><td>Christophe Ridley (England)</td><td>Brendon Pickerill (New Zealand)</td></tr><tr><td>Angus Gardner (Australia)</td><td>Jordan Way (Australia)</td><td>Ben Whitehouse (Wales)</td></tr><tr><td>Ben O'Keeffe (New Zealand)</td></tr><tr><td>Luke Pearce (England)</td></tr><tr><td>Jaco Peyper (South Africa)</td></tr><tr><td>Mathieu Raynal (France)</td></tr><tr><td>Paul Williams (New Zealand)</td></tr></tbody></table>

Opening ceremony

2023 Rugby World Cup

The opening ceremony, directed and written by Jean Dujardin, Olivier Ferracci and Nora Matthey, took place on 8 September 2023 at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, before the opening match between France and New Zealand.

Pool stage

2023 Rugby World Cup

Competing countries were divided into four pools of five teams (pools A to D). Teams in each pool played one another in a round-robin, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout stage.

Pool A	Pool B	Pool C	Pool D
New Zealand  France  Italy  Uruguay  Namibia	South Africa  Ireland  Scotland  Tonga  Romania	Wales  Australia  Fiji  Georgia  Portugal	England  Japan  Argentina  Samoa  Chile

Inaugural 2023 Rugby World Cup match between France and New Zealand on 8 September.

• Four points are awarded for a win. • Two points are awarded for a draw. • A try bonus point is awarded to teams that score four or more tries in a match. • A losing bonus point is awarded to teams that lose a match by fewer than eight points.

Tie-breaking criteria for pool play
The ranking of tied teams in the pool stage is determined as follows: For clarification, in the case of a tie between three or more Teams at the end of the pool phase, once the highest ranked Team has been determined following the above criteria, to determine the next higher ranked Team the process would repeat, starting at the first criterion.

<table><thead><tr><th>Key to colours in pool tables</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td></td><td>Advanced to the quarter-finals and qualified for the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Eliminated but qualified for 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr></tbody></table>

Pool A

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>PF</th><th>PA</th><th>PD</th><th>TF</th><th>TA</th><th>B</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td> France (H)</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>210</td><td>32</td><td>+178</td><td>27</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>18</td><td>Advance to knockout stage, and qualification to the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td> New Zealand</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>253</td><td>47</td><td>+206</td><td>38</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td> Italy</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>114</td><td>181</td><td>−67</td><td>15</td><td>25</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>Qualification to the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td> Uruguay</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>3</td><td>65</td><td>164</td><td>−99</td><td>9</td><td>21</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td> Namibia</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>4</td><td>37</td><td>255</td><td>−218</td><td>3</td><td>37</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th>8 September 2023</th><th>France </th><th>27–13</th><th> New Zealand</th><th>Stade de France, Saint-Denis</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>9 September 2023</td><td>Italy </td><td>52–8</td><td> Namibia</td><td>Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne</td></tr><tr><td>14 September 2023</td><td>France </td><td>27–12</td><td> Uruguay</td><td>Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq</td></tr><tr><td>15 September 2023</td><td>New Zealand </td><td>71–3</td><td> Namibia</td><td>Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse</td></tr><tr><td>20 September 2023</td><td>Italy </td><td>38–17</td><td> Uruguay</td><td>Stade de Nice, Nice</td></tr><tr><td>21 September 2023</td><td>France </td><td>96–0</td><td> Namibia</td><td>Stade de Marseille, Marseille</td></tr><tr><td>27 September 2023</td><td>Uruguay </td><td>36–26</td><td> Namibia</td><td>Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu</td></tr><tr><td>29 September 2023</td><td>New Zealand </td><td>96–17</td><td> Italy</td><td>Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu</td></tr><tr><td>5 October 2023</td><td>New Zealand </td><td>73–0</td><td> Uruguay</td><td>Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu</td></tr><tr><td>6 October 2023</td><td>France </td><td>60–7</td><td> Italy</td><td>Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu</td></tr></tbody></table>

Pool B

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>PF</th><th>PA</th><th>PD</th><th>TF</th><th>TA</th><th>B</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td> Ireland</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>190</td><td>46</td><td>+144</td><td>27</td><td>5</td><td>3</td><td>19</td><td>Advance to knockout stage, and qualification to the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td> South Africa</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>151</td><td>34</td><td>+117</td><td>22</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>15</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td> Scotland</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>146</td><td>71</td><td>+75</td><td>21</td><td>10</td><td>2</td><td>10</td><td>Qualification to the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td> Tonga</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>3</td><td>96</td><td>177</td><td>−81</td><td>13</td><td>25</td><td>1</td><td>5</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td> Romania</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>4</td><td>32</td><td>287</td><td>−255</td><td>4</td><td>43</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th>9 September 2023</th><th>Ireland </th><th>82–8</th><th> Romania</th><th>Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>10 September 2023</td><td>South Africa </td><td>18–3</td><td> Scotland</td><td>Stade de Marseille, Marseille</td></tr><tr><td>16 September 2023</td><td>Ireland </td><td>59–16</td><td> Tonga</td><td>Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes</td></tr><tr><td>17 September 2023</td><td>South Africa </td><td>76–0</td><td> Romania</td><td>Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux</td></tr><tr><td>23 September 2023</td><td>South Africa </td><td>8–13</td><td> Ireland</td><td>Stade de France, Saint-Denis</td></tr><tr><td>24 September 2023</td><td>Scotland </td><td>45–17</td><td> Tonga</td><td>Stade de Nice, Nice</td></tr><tr><td>30 September 2023</td><td>Scotland </td><td>84–0</td><td> Romania</td><td>Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq</td></tr><tr><td>1 October 2023</td><td>South Africa </td><td>49–18</td><td> Tonga</td><td>Stade de Marseille, Marseille</td></tr><tr><td>7 October 2023</td><td>Ireland </td><td>36–14</td><td> Scotland</td><td>Stade de France, Saint-Denis</td></tr><tr><td>8 October 2023</td><td>Tonga </td><td>45–24</td><td> Romania</td><td>Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq</td></tr></tbody></table>

Pool C

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>PF</th><th>PA</th><th>PD</th><th>TF</th><th>TA</th><th>B</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td> Wales</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>143</td><td>59</td><td>+84</td><td>17</td><td>8</td><td>3</td><td>19</td><td>Advance to knockout stage, and qualification to the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td> Fiji</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>88</td><td>83</td><td>+5</td><td>9</td><td>9</td><td>3</td><td>11</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td> Australia</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>90</td><td>91</td><td>−1</td><td>11</td><td>8</td><td>3</td><td>11</td><td>Qualification to the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td> Portugal</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>1</td><td>2</td><td>64</td><td>103</td><td>−39</td><td>8</td><td>13</td><td>0</td><td>6</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td> Georgia</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>3</td><td>64</td><td>113</td><td>−49</td><td>7</td><td>14</td><td>1</td><td>3</td></tr></tbody></table>

9 September 2023	Australia	35–15	Georgia	Stade de France, Saint-Denis
10 September 2023	Wales	32–26	Fiji	Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux
16 September 2023	Wales	28–8	Portugal	Stade de Nice, Nice
17 September 2023	Australia	15–22	Fiji	Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne
23 September 2023	Georgia	18–18	Portugal	Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse
24 September 2023	Wales	40–6	Australia	Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Décines-Charpieu
30 September 2023	Fiji	17–12	Georgia	Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux
1 October 2023	Australia	34–14	Portugal	Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne
7 October 2023	Wales	43–19	Georgia	Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes
8 October 2023	Fiji	23–24	Portugal	Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse

Pool D

<table><thead><tr><th>Pos</th><th>Team</th><th>Pld</th><th>W</th><th>D</th><th>L</th><th>PF</th><th>PA</th><th>PD</th><th>TF</th><th>TA</th><th>B</th><th>Pts</th><th>Qualification</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>1</td><td> England</td><td>4</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>150</td><td>39</td><td>+111</td><td>17</td><td>3</td><td>2</td><td>18</td><td>Advance to knockout stage, and qualification to the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>2</td><td> Argentina</td><td>4</td><td>3</td><td>0</td><td>1</td><td>127</td><td>69</td><td>+58</td><td>15</td><td>5</td><td>2</td><td>14</td></tr><tr><td>3</td><td> Japan</td><td>4</td><td>2</td><td>0</td><td>2</td><td>109</td><td>107</td><td>+2</td><td>12</td><td>14</td><td>1</td><td>9</td><td>Qualification to the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup</td></tr><tr><td>4</td><td> Samoa</td><td>4</td><td>1</td><td>0</td><td>3</td><td>92</td><td>75</td><td>+17</td><td>11</td><td>7</td><td>3</td><td>7</td><td></td></tr><tr><td>5</td><td> Chile</td><td>4</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>4</td><td>27</td><td>215</td><td>−188</td><td>4</td><td>30</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>

<table><thead><tr><th>9 September 2023</th><th>England </th><th>27–10</th><th> Argentina</th><th>Stade de Marseille, Marseille</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>10 September 2023</td><td>Japan </td><td>42–12</td><td> Chile</td><td>Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse</td></tr><tr><td>16 September 2023</td><td>Samoa </td><td>43–10</td><td> Chile</td><td>Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux, Bordeaux</td></tr><tr><td>17 September 2023</td><td>England </td><td>34–12</td><td> Japan</td><td>Stade de Nice, Nice</td></tr><tr><td>22 September 2023</td><td>Argentina </td><td>19–10</td><td> Samoa</td><td>Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Saint-Étienne</td></tr><tr><td>23 September 2023</td><td>England </td><td>71–0</td><td> Chile</td><td>Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq</td></tr><tr><td>28 September 2023</td><td>Japan </td><td>28–22</td><td> Samoa</td><td>Stadium de Toulouse, Toulouse</td></tr><tr><td>30 September 2023</td><td>Argentina </td><td>59–5</td><td> Chile</td><td>Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes</td></tr><tr><td>7 October 2023</td><td>England </td><td>18–17</td><td> Samoa</td><td>Stade Pierre-Mauroy, Villeneuve-d'Ascq</td></tr><tr><td>8 October 2023</td><td>Japan </td><td>27–39</td><td> Argentina</td><td>Stade de la Beaujoire, Nantes</td></tr></tbody></table>

Knockout stage

2023 Rugby World Cup

The knockout stage consisted of three single-elimination rounds culminating in a final and a third-place playoff. In the case of a tie in regulation time, two 10-minute periods of extra time would be played to determine a winner. If the scores were tied at the end of extra time, an additional 10-minute "sudden death" period would be played, with the first team to score any points being the winner. If the score still remained tied, a kicking competition would ensue.

Bracket

	Quarter-finals		Semi-finals		Final
	14 October – Marseille
	Wales	17
	20 October – Saint-Denis
	Argentina	29
	Argentina	6
	14 October – Saint-Denis
		New Zealand	44
	Ireland	24
		28 October – Saint-Denis
	New Zealand	28
	New Zealand	11
	15 October – Marseille
		South Africa	12
	England	30
	21 October – Saint-Denis
	Fiji	24
	England	15
	15 October – Saint-Denis
		South Africa	16		Bronze final
	France	28
		27 October – Saint-Denis
	South Africa	29
	Argentina	23
	England	26

Statistics

Most points

<table><thead><tr><th>Top 10 points scorers</th></tr></thead><tbody><tr><td>Player</td><td>Team</td><td>Total</td><td>Details</td></tr><tr><td></td><td>Tries</td><td>Conv­ersions</td><td>Penalties</td><td>Drop goals</td></tr><tr><td>Owen Farrell</td><td> England</td><td>75</td><td>0</td><td>12</td><td>15</td><td>2</td></tr><tr><td>Thomas Ramos</td><td> France</td><td>74</td><td>1</td><td>21</td><td>9</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Emiliano Boffelli</td><td> Argentina</td><td>67</td><td>2</td><td>9</td><td>13</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Johnny Sexton</td><td> Ireland</td><td>58</td><td>3</td><td>17</td><td>3</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Richie Mo'unga</td><td> New Zealand</td><td>56</td><td>1</td><td>18</td><td>5</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Damian McKenzie</td><td> New Zealand</td><td>53</td><td>5</td><td>14</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Rikiya Matsuda</td><td> Japan</td><td>46</td><td>0</td><td>11</td><td>8</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>Ben Donaldson</td><td> Australia</td><td>45</td><td>2</td><td>7</td><td>7</td><td>0</td></tr><tr><td>George Ford</td><td> England</td><td>41</td><td>0</td><td>4</td><td>8</td><td>3</td></tr><tr><td>Will Jordan</td><td> New Zealand</td><td>40</td><td>8</td><td>0</td><td>0</td><td>0</td></tr></tbody></table>

Broadcasting rights

2023 Rugby World Cup

Territory	Rights holder	Ref.
Argentina	Star+, ESPN, TVP
Australia	Stan Sport
Nine Network
Austria	ProSieben
Belgium	Play Sports
Bosnia and Herzegovina	Sport Klub
Brazil	ESPN
Bulgaria	BNT
Canada	TSN
Caribbean	ESPN
Chile	Mega
Cook Islands	Cook Islands Television
Croatia	Sport Klub
Czech Republic	Czech Television
Denmark	Viaplay
Estonia	Go3 Sport
Fiji	Fiji Television
Finland	Viaplay
France	TF1
France Télévisions
M6
Georgia	GPB
Germany	ProSieben MAXX
ran.de and Joyn
Iceland	Viaplay
India	FanCode
Indian subcontinent	Sony Sports Network
Ireland	RTÉ
Virgin Media
Israel	Sport1
Italy  San Marino	RAI
Sky Sport
Japan	J Sports
Nippon TV
NHK
Latin America	ESPN
Star+
Latvia	Go3 Sport
Liechtenstein	SRG SSR
Lithuania	Go3 Sport
Malta	PBS
Middle East and North Africa	Starz
Montenegro	Sport Klub
Namibia	NBC
Netherlands	Ziggo Sport
New Zealand	Sky Sport
Sky Open
Stuff
North Macedonia	Sport Klub
Norway	Viaplay
Papua New Guinea	EM TV
Poland	Polsat Sport
Portugal	RTP
Sport TV
Romania	Digi Sport
Orange Sport
Samoa	SBC
Serbia	Sport Klub
Slovenia	Sport Klub
Solomon Islands	TTV
South Africa	SuperSport
South Korea	Coupang Play
Southeast Asia	beIN Sports
Spain  Andorra	Movistar Plus+
Sri Lanka	MTV
Sub-Saharan Africa	SuperSport
New World TV
Sweden	Viaplay
Switzerland	SRG SSR
Tonga	TBC
Turkey	S Sport
United Kingdom	ITV/STV
S4C
United States	NBC Sports
Uruguay	Canal 10
Teledoce
Vanuatu	VBTC