The All Blacks have arrived in Lyon! The countdown is on to the opening match of the Rugby World Cup 2023. Kiwis across Spain are getting together on Friday 8 September to watch the All Blacks take on France. Get in contact with us to find out more about where the Kiwis are meeting near you!
When is the Rugby World Cup 2023?
The rugby tournament begins this Friday, September 8 with France taking on New Zealand. The final will be played on Saturday, October 28, 2023.
South Africa were the winners of the last tournament in Japan in 2019. When they beat England in the final, and will be among the favourites again this year, particularly after hammering New Zealand at Twickenham in their final warm-up match.
A strong European challenge is expected, not least from France, who smashed Australia in a pre-tournament warm-up, and Six Nations Grand Slam winners Ireland, who have yet to put their best foot forward at a World Cup but thrashed England in a warm-up match.
Where is it?
The 2023 Rugby World Cup will be played in France across nine stadiums in nine cities. The final will be played at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis (Paris).
- Stade de France (capacity 80,698) – Saint-Denis, Paris
- Stade de Marseille (67,394) – Marseille
- OL Stadium (59,186) – Lyon
- Stade Pierre-Mauroy (50,186) – Lille
- Stade de Bordeaux (42,115) – Bordeaux
- Stade Geoffroy-Guichard (41,965) – Saint-Étienne
- Stade de Nice (35,624) – Nice
- Stade de la Beaujoire (35,322) – Nantes
- Stade de Toulouse (33,150) – Toulouse
How do I watch the Rugby World Cup?
- https://www.movistarplus.es/
- https://play.stan.com.au/sport/rugby (Use a VPN)
- https://www.itv.com/ (Use a VPN)
- https://www.expressrefer.com/ (Get ExpressVPN)
Movistar have the exclusive broadcast rights in Spain and ITV have the exclusive broadcast rights in the UK.
The radio commentary of every match will be available only on the BBC, across Radio 5 Live, 5 Sports Extra and the BBC Sounds service. The BBC says there will be a “bespoke output” in Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland.
In the US, the tournament is being shown on NBC Sports. In South Africa the TV coverage is on SuperSport.
Amazon Prime broadcast England’s four warm-up fixtures as well as nine other warm-up fixtures featuring other Six Nations teams.
Who is playing?
A total of 20 teams qualified for the Rugby World Cup. These teams were split into four pools of five, with each pool getting one team from five ‘bands’.
Band one featured the four highest-ranked teams from when the draw for the tournament was made back in 2019 (South Africa, New Zealand, England, Wales). Band two comprised the next four highest-ranked teams (Ireland, Australia, France, Japan) and band three the four after that (Scotland, Argentina, Fiji, Italy).
Each side in the first three bands qualified automatically for the tournament owing to their world ranking, while the further two bands comprised the sides who had made it into the tournament via qualifying (Samoa, Georgia, Uruguay, Tonga, Namibia, Romania, Chile, Portugal).
Who is in what pool?
| POOL A | RANKING | RWC PAGE | WEBSITE |
|---|---|---|---|
| NEW ZEALAND | 3 | ALL BLACKS | allblacks.com |
| FRANCE | 2 | LES BLEUS | ffr.fr |
| ITALY | 14 | GLI AZZURRI | federugby.it |
| URUGUAY | 17 | LOS TEROS | uru.org.uy |
| NAMIBIA | 21 | WELWITSCHIAS | namibianrugby.com |
| POOL B | RANKING | RWC PAGE | WEBSITE |
|---|---|---|---|
| SOUTH AFRICA | 4 | SPRINGBOKS | sarugby.co.za |
| IRELAND | 1 | IRU | irishrugby.ie |
| SCOTLAND | 5 | SRU | scottishrugby.org |
| TONGA | 15 | IKALE TAHI | TongaRugbyOfficial |
| ROMANIA | 19 | FRR | rugbyromania.ro |
| POOL C | RANKING | RWC PAGE | WEBSITE |
|---|---|---|---|
| WALES | 9 | WRU | wru.wales |
| AUSTRALIA | 8 | WALLABIES | wallabies.rugby |
| FIJI | 13 | FLYING FIJIANS | fijirugby.com |
| GEORGIA | 11 | THE LELOS | rugby.ge |
| PORTUGAL | 16 | OS LOBOS | fpr.pt |
| POOL D | RANKING | RWC PAGE | WEBSITE |
|---|---|---|---|
| ENGLAND | 6 | RED ROSES | englandrugby.com |
| JAPAN | 10 | CHERRY BLOSSOMS | rugby-japan.jp |
| ARGENTINA | 7 | LOS PUMAS | uar.com.ar |
| SAMOA | 12 | MANU SAMOA | manusamoa.com |
| CHILE | 22 | CONDORS | chile.rugby |
Join Kiwis in Spain for the Rugby World Cup 2023 in France
Kent and Laura have organised a group of Kiwis in Spain to attend the All Blacks RWC match in Lyon against Uruguay. We are looking forward to our long weekend in Lyon, France. If you would like to join us for the long weekend, let Kent know ASAP.
Most tickets are sold out however, we did notice there are still reasonable flights available from most cities in Spain to Lyon. France will play Italy on the Friday 6 October in Lyon, so we will enjoy what Lyon city has to offer! We booked four nights from Thursday 5th to Sunday 8th October. Also check out https://www.rugbyworldcup.com/2023/cities/lyon to find out more about the RWC and Lyon.
Read where to watch rugby in Madrid, Barcelona, Valencia and Malaga.
The Irish Rover Pub Madrid
- Phone: 915 974 811
- Avenida de Brasil, 7, 28020 Madrid
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/iuzpt7QxqMze9NoR7
- https://www.theirishrover.com/
O’Connell S.T Irish Pub Madrid
- Phone: 915 227 509
- Calle de Espoz y Mina, 7, 28012 Madrid
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/LzkgRLbmJTKbRHum6
- https://www.facebook.com/OCONNELLPUB/
Fontana de Oro Irish Pub Madrid
- Phone: 915 310 420
- Calle Victoria, 1, 28012 Madrid (Puerta del sol)
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/jzAGUmBzVco4aabo6
- https://www.fontanadeoro.com/
James Joyce Irish Pub – Madrid
- Phone: 915754901
- Calle de Alcalá, 59, 28014 Madrid
- https://goo.gl/maps/WbTs1FcQBKcY4tHb7
- https://www.jamesjoycemadrid.com/
Collin’s Irish Tavern Madrid
- Phone: 914 470 409
- Calle de Sagasta, 26, 28004 Madrid
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/Wog8NgVFBkfXxPeZ6
- https://www.facebook.com/collinsirishtavern
The Cavern Irish Pub Madrid
- Phone: 628 803 937
- Calle de Santiago, 1, 28013 Madrid
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/EzhM7jfh8hdcM2Z99
- https://irishcavern.negocio.site/
Elcano Tavern Irish Pub Madrid
- Phone: 635 918 453
- Calle de Alonso Cano, 57, 28003 Madrid
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/s6g7YGQVKbnFpiF48
- https://www.facebook.com/canotavern/
Pub The Irish Corner
- Phone: 913 774 251
- Calle de Arturo Soria, 6, 28027 Madrid
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/qgB7qqS4Ge891T1F8
- https://www.irishcorner.es/
Watch All Blacks Rugby Best Pubs in Barcelona
Michael Collins Irish Pub Barcelona
- Phone: 934 591 964
- Plaça Sagrada Família, 4, 08013 Barcelona
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/75LEF1oZ6svyPH7m7
- https://www.facebook.com/groups/2911852906/
Watch All Blacks Rugby Best Pubs in Valencia
Finnegans of Dublin Irish Pub in Valencia
- Phone: 674 290 737
- Plaça de la Reina, 19, 46003 València
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/enysiyXQGYhdUpgE8
- https://finnegansofdublin.com/
Watch All Blacks Rugby Best Pubs in Alicante
Murphy’s Irish Pub Alicante
- Phone: 601 168 253
- Rbla. de Méndez Núñez, 39, 03002 Alicante
- https://maps.app.goo.gl/SaqkJyBTLyaWco8K9
Watch All Blacks Rugby Best Pubs in Malaga
Kiwi House of Beer in Malaga
- Phone: +34 744 741 328
- Website: https://www.kiwihouseofbeer.com/
- Address: Calle Juan de Padilla, 24, Distrito Centro, 29008 Málaga.
- Google Maps Place: https://maps.app.goo.gl/svtC7vaVLQKwdKYV9
Morrissey’s Irish Pub in Malaga
- Phone: 952608687
- Address: Calle Méndez Núñez, 5, 29008 Málaga
- Directions: https://goo.gl/maps/exUKxhWjHRboZ6AY9
- https://www.facebook.com/PubMorris
Contact Kiwis in Spain
If you have any questions, don’t hesitate to message Kent or stay connected via our Facebook and Instagram pages.
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