Fiji first for Wales in World Cup
TOM COLEMAN tom.coleman@walesonline.co.uk
WALES will start their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign against Pool C rivals Fiji in Bordeaux on Sunday, September 10.
Wayne Pivac’s side will be eager to better their performance in Japan in 2019, where they were agonisingly knocked out in the semi-finals at the hands of eventual winners South Africa.
They take on Fiji in the pool stages for the fifth consecutive World Cup, and will also lock horns with Australia, a side they’ve similarly come up against in the pool stages in four of the last five tournaments.
They take on the Wallabies in Lyon on Sunday, September 24, eight days after playing a qualifier winner winner in Nice.
They then end the pool stages in Nantes against a Europe 1 side, which is most likely to be Georgia.
France and New Zealand will kick off the tournament when they face each other at the Stade de France on September 8.
Scotland will play defending champions South Africa in their first match of the 2023 Rugby World Cup in France on September 10.
England’s opening match of the tournament will be against Argentina on the previous day, September 9.
Ireland’s potentially crucial Pool B meeting with Scotland will take place at the 80,000-seater Stade de France on Saturday, October 7.
England’s and Scotland’s opening games will be played in Marseille’s Stade Velodrome on successive days as part of the organisers’ plan of bringing fans together for ‘doubleheader weekends’ in host cities.
Wales and Ireland will both begin their campaigns in Bordeaux on the same weekend.
Should Wales win their pool, they will face the runner-up in Pool D, which would most likely be Argentina or Japan in Marseille on Saturday, October 14, while a quarter-final against England at the same venue the next day is perhaps the most likely outcome if Wales finish their pool in second place.
The two semi-finals will be held at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis on October 20 and 21, 2023, with the bronze medal match at the same stadium happening on Friday, October 27. Saint-Denis will also host the final on Saturday, October 28.
Wales’ 2023 Rugby World Cup schedule in full:
Sunday, September 10 (Bordeaux)
- Wales v Fiji
Saturday, September 16 (Nice) - Wales v Qualifier winner
Sunday, September 24 (Lyon) - Wales v Australia
Saturday, October 7 (Nantes) - Wales v Europe 1
Quarter final 1 - Saturday, October 14 (Marseille)
Quarter final 3 - Sunday, October
15 (Marseille)
Semi-final 1 - Friday, October 20
(Saint-Denis)
Semi-final 2 - Saturday, October 21
(Saint-Denis)
Bronze final - Friday, October 27
(Saint-Denis)
Final - Saturday, October 28 (Saint Denis)