The pool stage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup wrapped up on Sunday, leaving just eight teams standing in the knockout round. They include four European nations and four from the southern hemisphere, with Australia missing out on the quarter-finals for the first time in the tournament’s history.
After a full month of action that kicked off on September 8 with France's dazzling defeat of New Zealand, the first phase of the Rugby World Cup drew to a close on Sunday in Toulouse, where Fiji set up a knockout clash with England despite slumping to a historic defeat against Portugal.
