The Rugby World Cup begins on September 8 with the opening match between the French XV and New Zealand for the first meeting of Pool A. A match which will take place at the Stade de France. A total of 20 teams from four different groups will compete from September 8 to October 8, before the start of the World Cup finals. Europe 1 explains to you how the rest of the competition will take place.
Once the group stages are over (Pool A: New Zealand, France, 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), the teams which finish first and second in their pool will qualify for the 4 quarter-finals.
The first and second of each group qualified
The first two quarter-finals will take place on Saturday October 14. The first from Pool C and the second from Pool D will then compete at 5 p.m., then at 9 p.m. the first from Pool B and the second from Pool A. The rest will take place the next day, with the quarter of final between the first of Pool D and the second of Pool C, then finally the first of Pool A and the second of Pool B.
At the end of these matches, the winner of the first quarter-final and the winner of the second will face each other in the semi-final on October 20 at 9 p.m. The other two outgoing teams will play their semi-final the next day, October 21, at 9 p.m.
After this meeting, the two finalists of the Rugby World Cup will be known. They will meet for the final on October 28 at the Stade de France. The two teams that are beaten in the semi-finals will still have a chance to finish third in the competition during the bronze final on October 27 at 9 p.m.