The preliminary groups of the Rugby World Cup in France are over. Which teams will face each other in the quarter-finals?

The Rugby World Cup has a playoff on the schedule after a month-long group stage. How did the battles in the various preliminary groups go and who will face who in the quarter-finals of the tenth championship, held in France?

Group A

The duel of the favourites of Group A of the entire World Cup 2023 kicked off on Friday 8 September. The clash between the French and the New Zealanders at a packed Stade de France was also a clash between teams that are among the main aspirants for the title. The home team made a better start to the tournament, winning 27:13 against the All Blacks.

Both teams secured their qualification places with victories over the other three members of the group. For example, France’s 96:0 win over Namibia is the highest ever in this year’s championship.

By the way, at the Rugby World Cup, each national team can score points not only for the result of the match itself. A win means four points, a draw two and a loss zero. For a defeat by less than seven points, a team scores a bonus point in the table, as well as for four or more laid fives.

Group B

The highlight of the Group B programme was the match between the Irish selection, which includes rugby players from Northern Ireland, and the defending champions from South Africa. The island side, who currently dominate the world rankings, were the more successful team on Saturday 23 September. They won 13: 8, also thanks to the fact that the South Africans were not very good at converting penalty kicks.

Among other things, the Irish beat their rivals from Scotland 36:14 and dominated the group standings. Apart from the Scots, the representatives of Tonga and Romania did not qualify for the quarter-finals.

Group C

The biggest surprises came in Group C. Australia, which had twice won the World Cup in the 1990s and was one of the biggest favourites this year, finished in third place. The Wallabies, after an unexpected 15:22 loss to Fiji, also lost 6:40 to the Welsh.

In the end Wales did not falter even once and took the first place. Ironically, the Fijians clinched promotion with a 23:24 defeat to Portugal on Sunday. Given the close score difference, they needed just one point to leapfrog the Australians thanks to a better record.

The Portuguese celebrated their first ever Rugby World Cup victory. Their 18:18 draw with Georgia is the only one ever at this year’s championship.

Group D

England, finalists at the last World Cup, did not allow a surprise exit. With wins over Argentina, Japan, Chile and Samoa, they can still hope to emulate the overall triumph of their predecessors in 2003.

The Argentinians and the Japanese, who managed to reach the quarter-finals at home four years ago, were tied for second place in Group D on Sunday 8 October. This time, the South Americans were among the top eight teams at the World Cup after a 39:17 victory.

Quarter-finals

The quarter-finals will kick off on Saturday 14 October with Wales playing Argentina from 5pm. The islanders will be slight favourites in Marseille. The winner of this match will find out their semi-final opponent on the same evening.

At the Stade de France in the Paris suburb of Saint-Denis, Ireland and New Zealand will face each other in an attractive contest. The All Blacks will therefore face perhaps their toughest obstacle to date on their quest for a fourth world title.

A day later, at 5pm, Fiji’s rugby team will try to create a sensation at the Stade Vélodrome in Marseille. However, their eventual progress over England may not be so unrealistic.

The South Africans, the reigning champions, will face the strong and motivated French in the quarter-finals. Kick-off for the Springboks against Les Bleus is scheduled for 9pm on Sunday evening at the Stade de France. Live coverage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup will be broadcast by CT Sport or CT Sport Plus.

Source: Rugby World Cup