Rugby World Cup, the quarter-final draw: Ireland against the All Blacks, France meets South Africa

Now it gets serious. The group stage of the 2023 Rugby World Cup has officially ended with Fiji’s surprising defeat against Portugal: the quarter-final draw is complete. The top two national teams in each group will take part in the direct elimination phase, which will begin on Saturday the 14th and end on the 28th, the date of the final.

THE TEAMS

—

Predictions respected, or almost, in all groups. In group A there were no surprises: only the order in the standings had to be established between France and New Zealand. The hosts are the ones to move up from the seeding, with the All Blacks – defeated in the direct clash – in second place. Similar story in group B: Ireland (first) and South Africa (second) dominated their group, closing the doors to Scotland. The real feat, however, belongs to Fiji, who finished group C in second place to the detriment of Australia, despite the final slip. Wales did better than them and deserved first place. Finally, England and Argentina smile, first and second in group D.

THE PAIRINGS

—

The first quarter-final will be played on Saturday 14 October at 5pm and will see the winner of group C clash with the second place in group D: it will therefore be Wales-Argentina. The program continues at 9pm with a match that seems more like a semi-final: Ireland against New Zealand, first against second of groups B and A. On the afternoon of Sunday 15th, however, it will be the turn of England-Fiji, which will then leave the scene to France -South Africa: second and third in the rankings will compete at 9pm for a place in the top 4 of this World Cup.

THE POSSIBLE SEMIFINALS

—

And then? The tennis scoreboard predicts that the winners of quarters 1 and 2 will meet in the first semi-final, while the second will be made up of the national teams emerging from quarters 3 and 4. The winner of the super match between Ireland and the All Blacks will therefore have to deal with one between Wales and Argentina to reach the final. On the other hand, one of South Africa and France – two of the main favorites to win the final – will be immediately eliminated; the winner will then face England or Fiji, the true outsiders of the tournament.

THE BOARD

—

1st QUARTER FINAL: Wales-Argentina. Saturday 14 October, 5pm, Stade de Marseille (Marseille);

2nd QUARTER-FINAL: Ireland-New Zealand. Saturday 14 October, 9pm, Stade de France (Saint-Denis);

3rd QUARTER FINAL: England-Fiji. Sunday 15 October, 5pm, Stade de Marseille (Marseille);

4TH QUARTER FINAL: France-South Africa. Sunday 15 October, 9pm. Stade de France (Saint-Denis).

SEMI-FINAL 1: QF1 Winner-QF2 Winner. Friday 20 October, 9pm, Stade de Marseille (Marseille);

SEMI-FINAL 2: QF3 Winner-QF4 Winner. Saturday 21 October, 9pm, Stade de France (Saint-Denis).