Prepare to spend the next two months glued to your TV – the Rugby World Cup is upon us. With four pools and the knockout stages taking place across September and October, there’ll be hours of action before one team lifts the Webb Ellis Cup.
Wales will start the tournament against Fiji on Sunday, September 10 in the first of four pool matches, but the tournament itself gets started on Friday, September 8. Every game will be televised and we’ve got the full details of where and when to watch them below.
Our reporters are already out in France ready to bring you the latest updates from the Wales camp. You can keep up to date with the goings-on by joining our Rugby WhatsApp community or subscribing to our email newsletter.
What are the Rugby World Cup pools?
As usual, the teams are divided into four pools of five teams. Each team will play every team in their pool once, and the top two in each pool progress to the quarter-finals.
Wales are in Pool C. A total 48 matches will be played over the tournament. These are the pools for 2023:
- Pool A: New Zealand, France, 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
Make sure to pick up your brilliant 48-page guide to the Rugby World Cup here and get the official match programmes for every game here.
Which TV channels are showing Rugby World Cup games and can you stream them online?
ITV is the main English-language broadcaster for the tournament, with coverage of every game starting from up to an hour before kick-off. Most games will be on ITV1 with the exception of eight games on ITV4, and will also be available on ITVX.
Every Wales game will be broadcast live on S4C, too, available to view on S4C, S4C Clic and BBC iPlayer. The Welsh-language broadcaster will also show selected other games – the opening match (France v New Zealand), a quarter-final, a semi-final, the bronze final and the final.
What are the Rugby World Cup fixtures and when is the first match?
Here’s the full fixture list including pools, quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals. All times in BST:
Friday, September 8:
8.15pm: France v New Zealand (Pool A), Stade de France
Saturday, September 9:
12pm: Italy v Namibia (Pool A), Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
2.30pm: Ireland v Romania (Pool B), Stade de Bordeaux
5pm: Australia v Georgia (Pool C), Stade de France
8pm: England v Argentina (Pool D), Stade de Marseilles
Sunday, September 10:
12pm: Japan v Chile (Pool D), Stadium de Toulouse
4.45pm: South Africa v Scotland (Pool B), Stade de Marseille
8pm: Wales v Fiji (Pool C), Stade de Bordeaux
Thursday, September 14:
8pm: France v Uruguay (Pool A), Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Friday, September 15:
8pm: New Zealand v Namibia (Pool A), Stadium de Toulouse
Saturday, September 16:
2pm: Samoa v Chile (Pool D), Stade de Bordeaux
4.45pm: Wales v Portugal (Pool C), Stade de Nice
8pm: Ireland v Tonga (Pool B), Stade de la Beajoire
Sunday, September 17:
2pm: South Africa v Romania (Pool B), Stade de Bordeaux
4.45pm: Australia v Fiji (Pool C), Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
8pm: England v Japan (Pool D), Stade de Nice
Wednesday, September 20:
4.45pm: Italy v Uruguay (Pool A), Stade de Nice
Thursday, September 21:
8pm: France v Namibia (Pool A), Stade de Marseille
Friday, September 22:
4.45pm: Argentina v Samoa (Pool D), Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
Saturday, September 23:
1pm: Georgia v Portugal (Pool C), Stadium de Toulouse
4.45pm: England v Chile (Pool D), Stade Pierre-Mauroy
8pm: South Africa v Ireland (Pool B), Stade de France
Sunday, September 24:
4.45pm: Scotland v Tonga (Pool B), Stade de Nice
8pm: Wales v Australia (Pool C), OL Stadium
Wednesday, September 27:
4.45pm: Uruguay v Namibia (Pool A), OL Stadium
Thursday, September 28:
8pm: Japan v Samoa (Pool D), Stadium de Toulouse
Friday, September 29
8pm: New Zealand v Italy (Pool A), OL Stadium
Saturday, September 30:
2pm: Argentina v Chile (Pool D), Stade de la Beaujoire
4.45pm: Fiji v Georgia (Pool C), Stade de Bordeaux
8pm: Scotland v Romania (Pool B), Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Sunday, October 1:
4.45pm: Australia v Portugal (Pool C), Stade Geoffroy-Guichard
8pm: South Africa v Tonga (Pool B), Stade de Marseille
Thursday, October 5:
8pm: New Zealand v Uruguay (Pool A), OL Stadium
Friday, October 6:
8pm: France v Italy (Pool A), OL Stadium
Saturday, October 7:
2pm: Wales v Georgia (Pool C), Stade de la Beaujoire
4.45pm: England v Samoa (Pool D), Stade Pierre-Mauroy
8pm: Ireland v Scotland (Pool B), Stade de France
Sunday, October 8:
12pm: Japan v Argentina (Pool D), Stade de la Beajoire
4.45pm: Tonga v Romania (Pool B), Stade Pierre-Mauroy
8pm: Fiji v Portugal (Pool C), Stadium de Toulouse
Saturday, October 14:
4pm: Quarter-final 1 (winner Pool C v runner-up Pool D), Stade de Marseilles
8pm: Quarter-final 2 (winner Pool B v runner-up Pool A), Stade de France
Sunday, October 15:
4pm: Quarter-final 3 (winner Pool D v runner-up Pool C), Stade de Marseilles
8pm: Quarter-final 4 (winner Pool A v runner-up Pool B), Stade de France
Friday, October 20:
8pm: Semi-final 1 (winner QF1 v winner QF2), Stade de France
Saturday, October 21:
8pm: Semi-final (winner QF3 v winner QF4), Stade de France
Friday, October 27:
8pm: Bronze final (runner-up SF1 v runner-up SF2), Stade de France
Saturday, October 28:
8pm: Final (winner SF1 v winner SF2), Stade de France
