YOUR RUGBY CALENDAR

Dates f or your oval-ball diar y in September

13th

Individual match tickets for next year’s World Cup, which kicks off on 8 September 2023 with France v New Zealand (below), go on sale to ‘2023 Family’ members this Tuesday. You need to register via tickets. rugbyworldcup. com/en by 11am.

15th

The first midweek Bledisloe Cup match in 28 years takes place this Thursday at Marvel Stadium in Melbourne. Australia (right) haven’t lifted the famous trophy since 2002, so they will be hoping to channel the spirit of 1994, when George Gregan made a late try-saving tackle on All Blacks wing Jeff Wilson to give the Wallabies a 20-16 victory. Watch the match live on Sky Sports.

9th

The best sevens players on the planet are in Cape Town this weekend for the men’s and women’s World Cups. New Zealand (left) did the double in San Francisco four years ago and in Moscow in 2013, so will they make it a hat-trick? Or will there be a new name on the trophy in 2022? Find out more about the tournament with our preview on P74-79.

16th

A new rugby film hits cinemas this Friday. In From The Side is the story of an affair between two players at a fictional gay rugby club. “Rugby has a rich culture that has been under-explored on film,” says Matt Carter, the director.

30th

The theme for this year’s National Sporting Heritage Day is celebrating diversity in sport and fittingly it falls eight days before the start of the women’s World Cup in New Zealand. See sportingheritage.org.uk/NSHD to find out how you can get involved and what events are happening in your area or search #NSHD2022 on social media.