Rugby World Cup 2023 draw: England, Ireland and Scotland all learn their fate for tournament

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By Nick Sutherland

Published Dec 14, 2020

The pool stages of the next Rugby World Cup will see some big matches after the draw was made this morning in Paris

The 10th edition of the Rugby World Cup will take place in France in 2023. The tournament is scheduled to begin on September 8 and will run until the final is staged at the Stade de France on October 21.

Before any of the teams can even think about that showcase occasion, though, they will need to make sure they qualify from their respective pools.

The tournament will follow the same format as seen in 2019 - with 20 teams split into four pools of five teams each. The top two in each pool then advance to the knockout stages of the competition.

Those pools were drawn on Monday afternoon in Paris - and we are set for several intriguing matches in the first phase of the tournament. It should be noted that the full line-up of all 20 teams is not yet final, as the qualifiers involving some of the lower-ranked nations have yet to be completed.

However, we do know that England will be joined by both Japan and Argentina in Pool D, alongside two qualifiers. Eddie Jones' men will be looking to go one better than their runners-up finish in 2019 - and should have little issue advancing to the later rounds.

Defending champions South Africa head up Pool B, where they will be joined by Ireland and Scotland. The draw means that this will be the second successive World Cup in which Ireland and Scotland have been paired together.

Ireland defeated the Scots to progress to the latter stages of the 2019 tournament - and it looks to be a straight shootout between the two for qualification this time around as well.

Three-time former winners New Zealand have been assigned to Pool A, together with France and Italy. Their meeting in the opening stages of the competition will mark the eighth time that the All Blacks have played France in a World Cup match.

Another match that will be taking place on rugby's biggest stage for the eighth occasion will be Australia vs Wales, after both were drawn in Pool C, with Fiji for company.

There are some fantastic showdowns to look forward to already in just under three years' time.