The Rugby World Cup in France in 2023 has advanced to the semifinal round, with the remaining teams needing two victories to win the Webb Ellis Cup.
Only England is left of the teams from the global North following four quarterfinal matches that featured matches between Northern and Southern Hemisphere countries.
Three-time champions New Zealand will face Argentina in the opening semi-final.
In the quarterfinals, the Pumas overcame a deficit to upset Wales, and the All Blacks defeated world-number one Ireland to go to the semifinals for the fourth time in a row.
A rematch of the 2019 final between South Africa and England will take place in the second semifinal.
The holders, England, just edged the hosts, France, to advance to the semi-finals by holding off a spirited comeback from Fiji.
The only remaining team without a World Cup championship is Argentina.
SF1: Argentina vs New Zealand (Stade de France)
New Zealand enters this match as the heavy favourite following their thrilling victory over Ireland, and their opener loss to France is now a distant memory.
The All Blacks defence survived a rigorous test from the top-ranked team in the world, but Argentina’s forwards should give them a plenty to think about and will be fired up after their win over Wales.
Argentina defeated New Zealand in their first Test match in November 2020, and they repeated the feat in August of the previous year after 28 losses and one draw.
However, the three-time champions have prevailed in 33 of their previous 36 matches and will be well favoured to reach their third final in the previous four tournaments.
SF2: England vs. South Africa, (Stade de France)
In the quarterfinals, Fiji put everything at England, but in the end, the 2003 world winners advanced thanks to Owen Farrell’s reliable boot.
After the South Africa Springboks defeated France 29-28 in the Stade de France, they now face their toughest test.
The only unbeaten team left in the competition, England, and South Africa, each had one victory since their last World Cup Final meeting.
In November 2021, England defeated South Africa 27-26 at Twickenham, but the following year, South Africa won easily 27-13, which led to the appointment of Steve Borthwick as England coach in lieu of Eddie Jones.
The Boks will enter the game as strong favourites after defeating the hosts.
| Date | Time (UTC) | Match | Fixture | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 20 October | 19:00 | Argentina v New Zealand | Semi-final 1 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis |
| Saturday 21 October | 19:00 | England v South Africa | Semi-final 2 | Stade de France, Saint-Denis |
The Rugby World Cup final, which will take place on Saturday, October 28 at the Stade de France and begin at 21:00 local time (19:00 UTC), will pit the winners of each semi-final match against one another.
The third-place playoff will take place 24 hours earlier at the same location, bringing together the eliminated semifinalists.
| Date | Time (UTC) | Match | Fixture | Location |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Friday 27 October | 19:00 | Losers: SF1 vs SF2 | Third place play-off | Stade de France, Saint-Denis |
| Saturday 28 October | 19:00 | Winners: SF1 vs SF2 | Final | Stade de France, Saint-Denis |
How to watch the 2023 Rugby World Cup live
Please check local listings for broadcast schedules in your territories.
Rugby World Cup 2023 will be broadcast live in the following markets:
- Australia – STAN
- Andorra – MOVISTAR+
- Austria: PROSIBEN
- Belgium – TELENET
- Cook Island – Cook Islands Television
- Czechia – Ceska Televize
- Fiji – Fiji TV
- France – France TV, TF1, M6
- Germany – RAN
- Ireland – RTE, VIRGIN
- Italy, San Marino, Vatican – Sky Italia, RAI
- Japan – JSports, NTV, NHK
- Luxembourg – TF1
- Middle East and North Africa – StarzPlay
- Netherlands – ZIGGO
- New Zealand – Sky NZ, STUFF
- Papua New Guinea – Digicel, EMTV
- Portugal – Sport TV
- Samoa – TV1
- Romania – Digisport
- Spain and Andorra – MOVISTAR+
- Solomon Islands – Telekom Television
- South Africa and Sub-Sahara – SuperSport
- Tonga – Digicel, Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC)
- Turkey – SSPORT (SARAN)
- United Kingdom – ITV, S4C
- United States of America – NBC
- Vanuatu – Vanuatu Broadcasting & Television Corporation