(Reuters) – Here is what you need to know about the pools, schedule, venues, past winners and betting odds for the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France, which begins on Friday and ends with the Oct. 28 final.
DATES
* The 10th edition of the showpiece event will run from Sept. 8-Oct. 28.
* It begins with host nation France taking on New Zealand.
TEAMS
The Rugby World Cup begins with 20 teams divided into four pools of five.
* POOL A: France (hosts), New Zealand, 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
There are then four quarter-finals, two semi-finals a third-place playoff and the final.
VENUES
* Games are being staged at nine stadiums – Stade de Bordeaux, Stade Pierre-Mauroy, OL Stadium, Stade de Marseille, Stade de la Beaujoire, Stade de Nice, Stade de France, Stade Geoffroy-Guichard and Stadium de Toulouse.
* With a capacity of just over 80,000 seats, Stade de France is the largest of France’s nine World Cup stadiums. It will host the final on Oct. 28.
SCHEDULE (all times GMT)
| DATE | POOL | FIXTURE | TIME | VENUE |
| Sept. 8 | A | France v New Zealand | 1915 | Stade de France |
| Sept. 9 | A | Italy v Namibia | 1100 | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard |
| Sept. 9 | B | Ireland v Romania | 1330 | Stade de Bordeaux |
| Sept. 9 | C | Australia v Georgia | 1600 | Stade de France |
| Sept. 9 | D | England v Argentina | 1900 | Stade de Marseille |
| Sept. 10 | D | Japan v Chile | 1100 | Stadium de Toulouse |
| Sept. 10 | B | South Africa v Scotland | 1545 | Stade de Marseille |
| Sept. 10 | C | Wales v Fiji | 1900 | Stade de Bordeaux |
| Sept. 14 | A | France v Uruguay | 1900 | Stade Pierre-Mauroy |
| Sept. 15 | A | New Zealand v Namibia | 1900 | Stadium de Toulouse |
| Sept. 16 | D | Samoa v Chile | 1300 | Stade de Bordeaux |
| Sept. 16 | C | Wales v Portugal | 1545 | Stade de Nice |
| Sept. 16 | B | Ireland v Tonga | 1900 | Stade de la Beaujoire |
| Sept. 17 | B | South Africa v Romania | 1300 | Stade de Bordeaux |
| Sept. 17 | C | Australia v Fiji | 1545 | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard |
| Sept. 17 | D | England v Japan | 1900 | Stade de Nice |
| Sept. 20 | A | Italy v Uruguay | 1545 | Stade de Nice |
| Sept. 21 | A | France v Namibia | 1900 | Stade de Marseille |
| Sept. 22 | D | Argentina v Samoa | 1545 | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard |
| Sept. 23 | C | Georgia v Portugal | 1200 | Stadium de Toulouse |
| Sept. 23 | D | England v Chile | 1545 | Stade Pierre-Mauroy |
| Sept. 23 | B | South Africa v Ireland | 1900 | Stade de France |
| Sept. 24 | B | Scotland v Tonga | 1545 | Stade de Nice |
| Sept. 24 | C | Wales v Australia | 1900 | OL Stadium |
| Sept. 27 | A | Uruguay v Namibia | 1545 | OL Stadium |
| Sept. 28 | D | Japan v Samoa | 1900 | Stadium de Toulouse |
| Sept. 29 | A | New Zealand v Italy | 1900 | OL Stadium |
| Sept. 30 | D | Argentina v Chile | 1300 | Stade de la Beaujoire |
| Sept. 30 | C | Fiji v Georgia | 1545 | Stade de Bordeaux |
| Sept. 30 | B | Scotland v Romania | 1900 | Stade Pierre-Mauroy |
| Oct. 1 | C | Australia v Portugal | 1545 | Stade Geoffroy-Guichard |
| Oct. 1 | B | South Africa v Tonga | 1900 | Stade de Marseille |
| Oct. 5 | A | New Zealand v Uruguay | 1900 | OL Stadium |
| Oct. 6 | A | France v Italy | 1900 | OL Stadium |
| Oct. 7 | C | Wales v Georgia | 1300 | Stade de la Beaujoire |
| Oct. 7 | D | England v Samoa | 1545 | Stade Pierre-Mauroy |
| Oct. 7 | B | Ireland v Scotland | 1900 | Stade de France |
| Oct. 8 | D | Japan v Argentina | 1100 | Stade de la Beaujoire |
| Oct. 8 | B | Tonga v Romania | 1545 | Stade Pierre-Mauroy |
| Oct. 8 | C | Fiji v Portugal | 1900 | Stadium de Toulouse |
| Oct. 14 | – | Winner Pool C v Runner-up Pool D | 1500 | Stade de Marseille |
| Oct. 14 | – | Winner Pool B v Runner-up Pool A | 1900 | Stade de France |
| Oct. 15 | – | Winner Pool D v Runner-up Pool C | 1500 | Stade de Marseille |
| Oct. 15 | – | Winner Pool A v Runner-up Pool B | 1900 | Stade de France |
| Oct. 20 | – | Winner Quarter-final 1 v Winner Quarter-final 2 | 1900 | Stade de France |
| Oct. 21 | – | Winner Quarter-final 3 v Winner Quarter-final 4 | 1900 | Stade de France |
| Oct. 27 | – | Runner-up Semi-final 1 v Runner-up Semi-final 2 | 1900 | Stade de France |
| Oct. 28 | – | Winner Semi-final 1 v Winner Semi-final 2 | 1900 | Stade de France |
PAST WINNERS
There have been nine previous editions of the Rugby World Cup. New Zealand and South Africa have each won the tournament three times.
1987 New Zealand beat France 29-9
1991 Australia beat England 12-6
1995 South Africa beat New Zealand 15-12
1999 Australia beat France 35-12
2003 England beat Australia 20-17
2007 South Africa beat England 15-6
2011 New Zealand beat France 8-7
2015 New Zealand beat Australia 34-17
2019 South Africa beat England 32-12
WHAT’S NEW
This World Cup will feature a shot clock giving kickers 90 seconds for a conversion and 60 seconds for a penalty. It is also the first tournament to use the TMO bunker system, where a referee can show a yellow card and while the player is in the sin-bin for 10 minutes an off-field official reviews the offence and can upgrade the card to red. The system was used in World Cup warm-up games.
BETTING ODDS
Following are the betting odds for the winners of the 2023 Rugby World Cup:
William Hill
* New Zealand – 11/4
* France – 3/1
* South Africa – 7/2
* Ireland – 9/2
* Australia – 12/1
* England – 16-1
Bet365
* New Zealand – 11/4
* France – 3/1
* South Africa – 10/3
* Ireland – 9/2
* Australia – 11/1
* England – 16/1
BROADCASTERS
The full list of official broadcasters for the Rugby World Cup can be found here.
* Asia Pacific & Oceania: beIN Sports, Stan, Sky NZ, Stuff, Fiji TV
* Europe: ProSieben, Telenet, Sportklub, Viaplay, Sky Italia, Ziggo, Saran Sport, Movistar, TF1
* South Africa & Sub-Sahara: SuperSport
* Middle East & North Africa: STARZPLAY
* North America: NBC
