Rugby World Cup 2023 – A Saga of Suspense, Passion, and Victory

It’s time to defy the statutes of football and have delight once again, this time at the RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023!

Do you know that the sport Rugby started when William Webb Ellis, a pupil who defied the regulations of Football, picked up the ball and ran with it?

Sounds Interesting right?

Exploring the Roots:

Growing up, I have always wondered what the sport rugby is all about. 

The only thing I saw and knew back then was its unique style of team’s close contact during the game.

Let’s dig down a bit into its history. 

The Game of Rugby:

Rugby, one of America’s fastest-growing sports is a close-contact sport of two teams with 15 players each. The sport is usually played with an oval-shaped ball 🏈 🏈. It is usually played by both sexes_male and female. With the tournament’s inception in 1987, it is organized by World Rugby, the sport’s international governing body.

The winners are awarded the Webb Ellis Cup, named after its inventor. Rugby has its World Cup tournament contested every 4 years between international teams.

Tournament Evolution:

Countries like South Africa and New Zealand won the tournament thrice while Australia won twice. The tournaments hosted Sixteen teams until 1999 when twenty teams partake in the game. The last Rugby World Cup in 2019 was hosted by Japan with South Africa topping the table.

Tournament Structure:

The tournament usually lasts for six weeks. Two stages are involved, the pool and knockout stages. The qualified twenty teams or nations are divided into the pool stage with five teams each in pools A to D. making. The team’s divisions are usually based on their World ranking.

Four pool games are played by each team competing with their pool members.
After the pool stage, Eight teams qualify for the knockout stage i.e. winner and runner-up from each pool. Quarterfinals, Semi-finals, and finals are in the knockout stage. The winner of each pool will play against runner-ups of different pools in the quarter-finals.

The winner proceeds to the semi-finals to compete with other winners of different pools. Those that lost in the semi-finals will compete for third place (Bronze).

Also Read: Who Is Jasprit Bumrah?

The Thrill of Victory:

The game becomes more interesting just like other sports, if there is a draw between two teams in the finals_ Extra time. If the teams still equalize, the match goes into sudden death and the next team to score any points is the winner.

The team that wins the finals will be awarded the gold medal, while the team that lost will be awarded the silver medal. The winner of the third-place match will receive the bronze medal.

The Upcoming Rugby World Cup 2023:

Rugby World Cup 2023 will take place in France across nine different venues. The tournament will be commencing on 8 September – 28 October 2023. The opening game and Final will take place at Stade de France, North of Paris.

The tournament will feature 24 teams, with the top two from the nine groups advancing to the knockout stage. At the knockout stage, teams will play single-game eliminations, with the winner advancing to the next round. If a match is still tied at the end of regulation, the teams will move into extra time and, if necessary, a penalty shootout to decide the winner.

Pool Lineup:

The Pools Schedule for the tournament is slated as follows ;

Pool A: France, 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.

Conclusion:

Ultimately, the Rugby World Cup is a tournament fans look out for due to its unique rules of the game. Be sure not to miss out on the matches.