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Tom Bedford

How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2023: stream the live games online or on TV

The Rugby World Cup trophy in Marseille, as part of a trophy tour in 2018.

If the Rugby World Cup's warm-up games have you biting your nails in anxiety (ahem, did your local team just lose to Fiji?) then you'll be keen for the actual event to start, and it does so on Friday, September 8.

Quick links

US: NBC (live TV streaming) | Peacock
UK:
ITV | ITVX
AU:
Stan Sport
Stream anywhere: ExpressVPN

This is one of the last big sports tournaments of the year, with most of the big ones out of the way. The US Open wraps up just days into the Rugby World Cup, and then it's just cricket.

France will host this 20-team championship, coming off of their runner-up position at the Six Nations tournament at the beginning of the year. The warm-up games have been going on for a while now, but the stakes really begin when the tournament itself does.

If you want to watch the matches, whether you're planning to stream the Rugby World Cup or watch it on your TV, this guide will run you through your options. 

We've also included lots of useful information below so you know when the matches take place, who will play, and where the drama will go down.

How to watch the Rugby World Cup 2023 in the US

Thanks to a partnership between World Rugby and NBC Sports, the broadcasting company will be the exclusive home for the Rugby World Cup games.

That means games could be scattered among various NBC channels, but they'll likely be concentrated on the main NBC Sports channel. NBCUniversal-owned streaming service Peacock will likely allow streams of many games too, like it did during the Soccer World Cup and other major sports events, as it's the exclusive streaming home of NBC Sports' rugby coverage.

A full schedule has yet to be confirmed though, and we'll update you when that changes.

How to watch the Rugby World Cup in the UK

In the UK, ITV is the exclusive broadcaster for the 2023 Rugby World Cup, so you'll be able to watch all the games on one of the various ITV-branded channels.

If you don't have a TV, then you'll be able to use ITVX on your computer, phone, tablet or smart TV, as that lets you live stream from ITV channels.

When a full ITV schedule is announced, we'll update this guide with it.

How to watch the Rugby World Cup in Australia

In Australia, you've got two options for watching the Rugby World Cup. Firstly, online streaming service Stan Sport will be showing every single game.

Nine will be showing all of the Australian team's games (and the final, whether or not the Wallabies make it), and will also be streaming it on 9Now.

How to watch the Rugby World Cup everywhere else

Wherever you live, there's a good possibility that a national broadcaster is streaming the Rugby World Cup matches, particularly if your country has a team playing in the tournament.

However, there's a possibility that there's no easy way of watching Six Nation games. Thankfully, you can solve this issue with a Virtual Private Network (a VPN). 

A VPN lets you get around the usual digital barriers by changing your IP address, meaning you can watch events like the World Cup tournament even if it is not directly broadcasting where you are. Our favorite is ExpressVPN, which is the No. 1-rated VPN in the world right now according to our sister site, TechRadar.

Rugby World Cup 2022 fixtures

Group stage

Friday, September 8

Group A: France vs New Zealand

Saturday, September 9

Group A: Italy vs Namibia
Group B: Ireland vs Romania
Group C: Australia vs Georgia
Group D: England vs Argentina

Sunday, September 10

Group B: South Africa vs Scotland
Group C: Wales vs Fiji
Group D: Japan vs Chile

Thursday, September 14

Group A: France vs Uruguay

Friday, September 15

Group A: New Zealand vs Namibia

Saturday, September 16

Group B: Ireland vs Tonga
Group C: Wales vs Portugal
Group D: Samoa vs Chile

Sunday, September 17

Group B: South Africa vs Romania
Group C: Australia vs Fiji
Group D: England vs Japan

Wednesday, September 20

Group A: Italy vs Uruguay

Thursday, September 21

Group A: France vs Namibia

Friday, September 22

Group D: Argentina vs Samoa

Saturday, September 23

Group B: South Africa vs Ireland
Group C: Georgia vs Portugal
Group D: England vs Chile

Sunday, September 24

Group B: Scotland vs Tonga
Group C: Wales vs Australia

Wednesday, September 27

Group A: Uruguay vs Namibia

Thursday, September 28

Group D: Japan vs Samoa

Friday, September 29

Group A: New Zealand vs Italy

Saturday, September 30

Group B: Scotland vs Romania
Group C: Fiji vs Georgia
Group D: Argentina vs Chile

Sunday, October 1

Group B: South Africa vs Tonga
Group C: Australia vs Portugal

Thursday, October 5

Group A: New Zealand vs Uruguay

Friday, October 6

Group A: France vs Italy

Saturday, October 7

Group B: Ireland vs Scotland
Group C: Wales vs Georgia
Group D: England vs Samoa

Sunday, October 8

Group B: Tonga vs Romania
Group C: Fiji vs Portugal
Group D: Japan vs Argentina

Knockout stage

Saturday, October 14

QF1: Group C winner vs Group D runner-up
QF2: Group B winner vs Group A runner-up

Sunday, October 15

QF3: Group D winner vs Group C runner-up
QF4: Group A winner vs Group B runner-up

Friday, October 20

SF1: QF1 winner vs QF2 winner

Saturday, October 21

SF2: QF3 winner vs QF4 winner

Friday, October 27

Bronze Final: SF1 loser vs SF2 loser

Saturday, October 28

Final: SF1 winner vs SF2 winner

Rugby World Cup 2022 questions

Where does the Rugby World Cup take place?

The Rugby World Cup 2023 is being hosted by France, with nine different locations around the country hosting rugby games:

  • Stade de Framce in Saint-Denis, capacity 80,698
  • Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, capacity 67,394
  • Stade Lyon-Décines in Décines-Charpieu, capacity 59,186
  • Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Villeneuve-d'Ascq, capacity 50,186
  • Nouveau Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, capacity 42,115
  • Stade Geoffroy-Guichard in Saint-Étienne, capacity 41,965
  • Stade de Nice in Nice, 35,624
  • Stade de la Beaujoire in Nantes, capacity 35,322
  • Stadium Municipa in Toulouse, capacity 33,150

Which teams are in the Rugby World Cup?

There are 20 teams partaking in the Rugby World Cup, with each split into four groups of five in the first stage of the tournament.

Chile makes its debut to the tournament this year, knocking out the United States and Canada in its successful qualification tournament.

Group A
New Zealand
France
Italy
Uruguay
Namibia

Group B
South Africa
Ireland
Scotland
Tonga
Romania

Group C
Wales
Australia
Fiji
Georgia
Portugal

Group D
England
Japan
Argentina
Samoa
Chile

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