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RWC 2019 is in the history books. The Japan-hosted Rugby World Cup proved the critics wrong as it was a highly successful tournament with excellent attendance as well as strong domestic support.
The next stop will be a familiar one – France. The hosts of RWC 2007 will officially host a second RWC though it is to be a fourth RWC with matches in France. In both RWCs 1991 and 1999 France was allocated pool and play-off’s fixtures.
RWC 2023 will be played from September 08 to October 21 in France. Following the decision to allocated hosting rights to France rather than Ireland or South Africa twelve venues were selected. They are displayed below.
The final confirmation of match venues will not be twelve but nine. Removed from the list are Lens, Montpellier, and Paris. All three had been host venues at RWC 2007 with the USA playing in Lens, and Montpellier and Argentina in Paris.
The decision to remove the three venues has logistical advantages. Montpellier is located close to Marseilles; St. Denis covers all of Greater Paris; and Lens is located close to Lille.
| CITY | VENUE | CAPACITY | RWC 2007? |
| Paris St. Denis | Stade de France | 80,698 | Yes |
| Marseilles | Stade Vélodrome | 67,394 | Yes |
| Lyon | Parque Olympique Lyonnias | 59,186 | No |
| Lille | Stade Pierre-Mauroy | 50,157 | No |
| Bordeaux | Nouveau Stade | 42,115 | No |
| St. Etienne | Stade Geoffrey-Guichard | 41,965 | Yes |
| Nice | Stade de Nice | 35,624 | No |
| Nantes | Stade de la Beaujoire | 35,322 | Yes |
| Toulouse | Stadium de Toulouse | 33,150 | Yes |
The tournament format and qualifiers are soon to be confirmed. World Rugby has thus far announced twelve teams – the top three from the four pools at RWC 2019. The teams thus far confirmed are hosts France in addition to Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, Italy, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, and Wales.
Qualifying places from the Americas are to be confirmed as coming from the Americas Rugby Championship (ARC). This will mark a change as no longer will there be separate qualifiers with North America 1 obtaining Americas 1 without facing a South American opponent.
