Zoom on the Rugby World Cup

France is fortunate to have hosted several of the world’s most prestigious global events. As the Tour de France ended in style and the country geared up for the Olympic Games 2024, while supporting Les Bleues at the Women’s Football World Cup, we turned our focus to the next big sports event of that year: the Rugby Union World Cup.

Zoom on the RWC Rugby World Cup 2023

2023 was the third time France has hosted the Rugby World Cup. The home of Les Tricolores has previously hosted the 2007 Rugby World Cup and the 1991 Rugby World Cup as joint hosts (with England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales). 

The Teams, Who’s Hot & Who’s Not

The Rugby World 2023 started in early September. It consisted of 4 pools, each with 5 teams, for a total of 20 nations competing for the coveted title of Champion du Monde.

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

The defending champions are South Africa, who beat England in the 2019 Rugby World Cup Final. Ireland ranked 1st in the world are a hot favourite, as well as New Zealand, they always are! At the other end, Chile will make their first appearance at the Rugby World Cup. It could be argued that England has pulled one of the easiest groups with Japan, Argentina’s Pumas and Chile.

Countries participating in the World Cup were featured on their websites, along with their teams’ rankings. For detailed information about each national team, visit your specific national rugby website. For the French senior men’s team, it’s L’équipe de France. It’s interesting to see France, the host nation, ranked 3rd, and England 6th, behind Scotland 5th. This is shaping up to be a rugby feast, in the meantime, learn more about French rugby, and why France and le ballon ovale are the perfect match.

48 Matches in 51 days and in 9 Venues

The World Cup kicked off the same week most kids return to school, on the 8th September at 9 PM local time in Paris, that’s 8 PM GMT for the UK. In total, 48 matches will be played across 51 days at the following nine venues and stadia. Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne (central France), Stade de Bordeaux, Stade de France, Saint-Denis, near Paris, Stade de Marseille, Stadium de Toulouse, Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille, Stade de Nice, Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes and the OL Stadium in Lyon. 

Rugby World Cup Finals

From Saturday, 14th October, the competition progressed to the next stage, knockouts. From this date, all games were played in either Marseille or the Stade de France in Paris. The semi-final will take place a week later, on Saturday 21st October at 9 PM French time (8 PM GMT). And the final took place on Saturday, 28th October.

Is Home Advantage a Thing?

We were in France when the football team won the World Cup in 1998; the atmosphere and support were amazing. Les Bleus might feel extra pressure to perform well in front of their home fans, friends, and families. But the growing support for trumpet blowing, drum banging, and Marseillaise chants will no doubt spread onto the pitch and onto the players.

Mr Martin Turner at Manchester University’s research suggests the home advantage theory. The excerpt from this article states that “research has found that there was an overall statistically significant home advantage of 61% for 120 matches played in the Six Nations Rugby Union tournament (2000-07). Evidence supported a home advantage amongst all competing nations, regardless of the team’s quality.” 

A Promising & Tasty Opener

France entered the competition full of confidence after a decent run of results, a rejuvenated team and approach, and better organisation in defence, conceding fewer penalties while making the most of the ones gained, with a high conversion rate. The first game of the tournament followed the opening ceremony at the iconic Stade de France in Paris. The hosts faced the mighty New Zealand for the first time since Les Bleus beat the Kiwis in the autumn of 2021. As well as a guaranteed beastly haka, this opener had all the ingredients for a potential classic, and France won it 27-13!

Find a Base, and a Nice Pub

If you are a rugby fan and support your national team, this was a rare opportunity to travel to one of the most beautiful countries while following your team. The French team was based near Lille, where England played a couple of their early games. The “bigger” and final games were held in Paris and Marseille, in the south of the country. Unless you had tickets purchased in advance, it was nearly impossible to attend any of the games, but you could get close to the experience in the various “rugby villages”.

Instead, we suggested finding a “base” in an area you like or where rugby is popular, for example, southwest France. In September, it should be easier to find cheaper accommodation in the usually packed and in-demand areas. There may be giant screens in some towns and cities, and some bars will be supporting the event. For example, in Lyon, check out Paddy’s Corner, or the House of Parliament if you are in Bordeaux. There are many other English, Irish and Scottish pubs scattered around the country, they’re always fun and great hosts, please support them.
 
In Paris, the Auld Alliance is a must-see for Scots and French fans alike. Staying in Paris, check the following bars: Le Bistrot de l’Ovalie (12 Rue Antoine Bourdelle), Le Rugby (51 Avenue du Docteur Arnold Netter) and Le Comptoir Rugby Bar (354 Rue de Vaugirard) all rugby themed and which broadcast rugby games.

Getting Tickets for the Rugby World Cup

We’ve been told that tickets have been very hard to get hold of because they sold out quickly. A few friends managed to get their hands on some tickets; we’re envious and look forward to seeing the images. There are ticket allocations per country, and we’d expect tickets to become available later, but you’ll need to be ready and a little lucky.

For more information, here’s the link to the International page on the Rugby League website and the website for the French XIII League.