Introduction
The 2023 Rugby World Cup was the 10th edition of the men’s Rugby World Cup. It was held in France from 8 September to 28 October 2023, with matches played in 9 venues across the country and both the opening game and the final at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, just north of Paris.
- Champions: 🏆 South Africa (4th title)
- Runners-up: 🇳🇿 New Zealand
- Third place: 🏴 England
- Matches played: 48
- Tries scored: 325 (6.77 per match)
- Total points: 2,610 (54.38 per match)
- Total attendance: 2,437,208 (average 50,775 per match)
- Top points scorer: Owen Farrell (England) – 75 points
- Top try scorer: Will Jordan (New Zealand) – 8 tries
South Africa made history as the first team ever to win four World Cups and the only side to win back-to-back titles away from home. Remarkably, they won all three knockout games — against France, England and New Zealand — by a single point each.
Participating Teams
A total of 20 teams took part, divided into 4 pools of 5:
- Pool A: France (hosts), New Zealand, Italy, Uruguay, Namibia
- Pool B: Ireland, South Africa, Scotland, Tonga, Romania
- Pool C: Wales, Fiji, Australia, Portugal, Georgia
- Pool D: England, Argentina, Japan, Samoa, Chile (making their debut)
Pool Stage – All Groups
Pool A
Final standings:
- France – 18 pts (4 wins)
- New Zealand – 15 pts (3 wins, 1 loss)
- Italy – 10 pts
- Uruguay – 5 pts
- Namibia – 0 pts
Results:
- France 27–13 New Zealand
- Italy 52–8 Namibia
- France 27–12 Uruguay
- New Zealand 71–3 Namibia
- Italy 38–17 Uruguay
- France 96–0 Namibia
- Uruguay 36–26 Namibia
- New Zealand 96–17 Italy
- New Zealand 73–0 Uruguay
- France 60–7 Italy
Pool B
Final standings:
- Ireland – 19 pts (4 wins)
- South Africa – 15 pts (3 wins, 1 loss)
- Scotland – 10 pts
- Tonga – 5 pts
- Romania – 0 pts
Results:
- Ireland 82–8 Romania
- South Africa 18–3 Scotland
- Ireland 59–16 Tonga
- South Africa 76–0 Romania
- South Africa 8–13 Ireland
- Scotland 45–17 Tonga
- Scotland 84–0 Romania
- South Africa 49–18 Tonga
- Ireland 36–14 Scotland
- Tonga 45–24 Romania
Pool C
Final standings:
- Wales – 19 pts (4 wins)
- Fiji – 11 pts
- Australia – 11 pts (Fiji ahead on head-to-head)
- Portugal – 6 pts
- Georgia – 3 pts
Results:
- Australia 35–15 Georgia
- Wales 32–26 Fiji
- Wales 28–8 Portugal
- Australia 15–22 Fiji
- Georgia 18–18 Portugal
- Wales 40–6 Australia
- Fiji 17–12 Georgia
- Australia 34–14 Portugal
- Wales 43–19 Georgia
- Fiji 23–24 Portugal
Pool D
Final standings:
- England – 18 pts (4 wins)
- Argentina – 14 pts
- Japan – 9 pts
- Samoa – 7 pts
- Chile – 0 pts
Results:
- England 27–10 Argentina
- Japan 42–12 Chile
- Samoa 43–10 Chile
- England 34–12 Japan
- Argentina 19–10 Samoa
- England 71–0 Chile
- Japan 28–22 Samoa
- Argentina 59–5 Chile
- England 18–17 Samoa
- Japan 27–39 Argentina
Quarter-final qualifiers:
- From Pool A: France, New Zealand
- From Pool B: Ireland, South Africa
- From Pool C: Wales, Fiji
- From Pool D: England, Argentina
Knockout Stage
Quarter-finals
- Argentina 29–17 Wales
- New Zealand 28–24 Ireland
- England 30–24 Fiji
- South Africa 29–28 France
Four huge games, with tournament favourites Ireland (world number 1) and hosts France both knocked out by narrow margins.
Semi-finals
- New Zealand 44–6 Argentina
- Total domination from the All Blacks, including a hat-trick from Will Jordan.
- South Africa 16–15 England
- Brutal, tactical battle decided by a late Handré Pollard penalty in the 78th minute.
Bronze Final
- England 26–23 Argentina
- England secured third place, driven by the boot of Owen Farrell (two converted tries and four penalties).
Final – New Zealand vs South Africa
Score:
🇳🇿 New Zealand 11–12 South Africa 🇿🇦
Venue: Stade de France, Saint-Denis
Attendance: 80,065
- New Zealand:
- Try: Beauden Barrett
- Penalties: Richie Mo’unga (2)
- South Africa:
- Penalties: Handré Pollard (4/4)
A tense, defence-dominated final, with New Zealand playing a long stretch with 14 men after a red card. South Africa held on under huge pressure to lift their fourth World Cup, and second in a row (2019 & 2023).
Standout Players of Rugby World Cup 2023
Top points and try scorers
- Owen Farrell (England) – 75 points
- Clinical with the boot: penalties, drops and conversions in the most important games.
- Thomas Ramos (France) – 74 points
- Central to France’s attacking game, deadly from the tee.
- Emiliano Boffelli (Argentina) – 67 points
- Key in Argentina’s comeback vs Wales and throughout the knockout run.
- Will Jordan (New Zealand) – 8 tries
- Top try scorer; electric in broken play and prolific in the semi-final.
Other prolific try-scorers included:
- Damian Penaud (France) – 6 tries
- Henry Arundell (England) – 5 tries
- Bundee Aki (Ireland) – 5 tries
- Damian McKenzie & Leicester Fainga’anuku (New Zealand)
- Darcy Graham (Scotland)
- Louis Rees-Zammit (Wales)
Key figures by team
- South Africa:
- Handré Pollard – match-winner with the boot in all three knockout games.
- Siya Kolisi – inspirational captain and emotional leader.
- Eben Etzebeth, Pieter-Steph du Toit – dominant in collisions and line speed.
- New Zealand:
- Will Jordan – the tournament’s most lethal finisher.
- Richie Mo’unga – game control and vital points.
- Ardie Savea – outstanding all-round performance, a strong Player of the Tournament candidate.
- England:
- Owen Farrell – tactical kicking masterclass and composure under pressure.
- Ben Earl – one of the breakout stars, huge work rate in attack and defence.
- George Ford – spectacular opening match against Argentina.
- France:
- Antoine Dupont – even with injury, remained the brain of the team.
- Thomas Ramos & Damian Penaud – constant attacking threat.
- Ireland:
- Johnny Sexton – bowed out with a superb pool stage.
- Bundee Aki – one of the most dominant centres in the tournament.