We are now just a few months away from the 2023 Rugby World Cup. There might not have been a more exciting build up to a tournament, with it being almost pot luck who wins this tournament.

This article should be the perfect guide to help you understand the tournament coming up, as well as where you can watch the tournament.

Pool A:

France, New Zealand, Italy, Uruguay and Namibia

As the host country, France are the headline name in Pool A. This is certainly one of the groups that seems to have a very clear top two teams, with the All Blacks joining France in Pool A. The other three team’s in the pool are Italy, Uruguay and Namibia.

It seems like it is going to be very difficult for any of those three team’s to cause an upset and get past one of the big two teams. The top two team’s are some of the favourites for the World Cup, but Italy will hope that they can shock the world and cause an unlikely upset against one of the big two teams.

Having two of the World’s top four ranked team’s shows the issue with having the draw for the Rugby World Cup groups three years before the tournament. A lot can change in three years and so now, Pool A looks to be an incredibly difficult pool to get through.

But it will arguably throw up the best game of the group stage. The opening game of the tournament is set to be hosts France against New Zealand. It is a brilliant game to start the tournament and one of the games which you definitely can’t miss out on.

Match of the Pool: France vs New Zealand

Quite frankly, this tournament could not start with a more exciting fixture as hosts France take on the mighty All Blacks, who have claimed this title a joint-record three times. There is so much expectation on Les Bleus, who since their dreadful quarter-final exit in Japan, have been reborn under the guidance of Fabien Galthie. The head coach has helped revitalise French rugby, with both results and performances hugely impressive over the past few seasons. They won their first Grand Slam in 12 years when they defeated England 25-13 in 2022 and have defeated every tier one nation in that time. That includes Friday’s opponents, New Zealand, who were quite simply blown away the last time these teams met in Paris in 2021.

The Frenchmen, led by the imperious Antoine Dupont, look well set for a tilt at the title as they seek to become just the second northern hemisphere outfit to win the World Cup. Galthie’s men have the whole country behind them, but that can also bring an extra layer of pressure. Will they rise to the occasion or will they falter and enable New Zealand to be party poopers on Friday?

Ian Foster’s charges are very much among the leading contenders, but there are still a few doubts over their capabilities, especially following their record loss to the Springboks in their final warm-up match. It has been a turbulent few years under Foster, with the 58-year-old almost losing his job in 2022 after three losses in four games to start the campaign. He managed to stave off the sack, and his team went from strength to strength, going unbeaten until the end of the year and then starting 2023 in fine fashion. New Zealand once again claimed the Rugby Championship title, putting in a statement display against South Africa in Round Two of that competition. Confidence was high going into their final match ahead of the World Cup, but they received a shock as the Boks utterly annihilated them.

Dude Awesome Prediction: France by 4 and win the pool. The All Blacks in second, followed by Italy, Namibia and Urugay.

Pool B:

South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Tonga and Romania

The Pool of Death, Pool B features the numbers 1,2 and 5 teams as well as a Tongan side which is on the up. Pool B shows how bad the draw can look when it is done so long before a tournament.

Ireland and South Africa are two of the favourites for the tournament and so having both of them in the same group is going to make things very interesting. They play each other in the third week of the tournament and this is likely going to be the game which decides who wins the pool.

There is also two other teams in the pool who will be desperate to cause an upset. Scotland are probably the unluckiest team in the entire draw. Despite being the fifth ranked side in the world, they are still having to face two team’s higher ranked than them in the pool. If Scotland were in Pool C or Pool D, there is a very good chance they could make it to the quarter-finals.

But this now seems very unlikely. Tonga are similarly a team to look out for. World Rugby’s change in eligibility rules means Tonga can now call on former All Blacks or Wallabies like Malakai Fekitoa, Charles Piutau, Adam Coleman and Vaea Fifita. Pool B might be the most exciting in the competition.

Match of the Pool: Ireland vs South Africa

Whether they are reigning world champions on a good run of form, or in a rut, the Springboks always arrive at a Rugby World Cup as a side no one wants to play against. And for good reason. South Africa’s record at the World Cup makes it obvious why they are so feared, regardless of form. Since they made their entry to the tournament, in its third instalment in 1995, the Boks have won three titles out of the seven they’ve competed in.

They have played 43 matches at Rugby World Cups and have won 36 for an 84 per cent winning ratio. Only the All Blacks, who have played in every tournament since its inception in 1987, have a better record. New Zealand have also lost seven matches, but have played 57 games for an 86 per cent winning ratio on their way to claiming three titles. To put some further perspective on the Boks’ excellent record, the next best team at World Cups is Australia, who have endured 11 losses and have a 79 per cent winning average. Ireland, who, especially in the last decade, have been one of the better sides going into the tournament, have never advanced beyond the quarter-finals and suffered 16 defeats in 40 matches.

But Ireland have been resurgent and they have beaten the Boks, even under suspicious circumstances, and they are current number 1 ranked team in the world.

Dude Awesome Prediction: South Africa by 7 and win the pool. The Irish in second, followed by Scotland, Tonga and Romenia.

Pool C:

Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia and Portugal

On paper, there are two teams who are much stronger than the rest. If you had not watched rugby for the last four years you might think that Australia and Wales will cruise through this group but that is not going to be the case. Wales in particular are in a terrible place at the moment.

It would not be a shock to anyone if Fiji were to advance through to the Quarter-finals of the world cup for the first time since 2007. Australia seem a bit safer, heading into this World Cup very much like 2003, with Eddie Jones at the wheel.

Georgia will also hope to cause an upset, particularly considering they have also beaten Wales in the last 18 months. So Pool C could be the most even pool in the tournament.

Match of the Pool: Wales vs Australia but probably any game with Fiji in it.

After Fiji disgraced England at Twickenham the excitement around them has been pulpable! Can they hand out another up set? We are backing the Flying Fijians with a resounding yes. Will they beat Australia and Wales? At this point it has to be 50-50. Australia havn’t one a game under Eddie Jones and Wales is in a shambles. This pool is wide open with even Georgia having the capabalities to serving an upset.

Dude Awesome Prediction: Australia by 5 and win the pool. Fiji in second, followed by Wales, Georgia and Portugal.

Pool D:

England, Argentina, Japan, Samoa and Chile

The final group in this tournament, Pool D features four team’s who have all been to the quarter-final stage. It is going to be incredibly interesting, with England expected to go through. But there is a huge amount uncertainty with this English team under new boss Steve Borthwick.

Argentina recently upset England, with Japan and Samoa hoping to do the same. Samoa have similarly benefitted from World Rugby’s eligibility rule changes, so will include stars like Charlie Faumuina, Lima Sopoaga and Jeffrey Toomaga-Allen.

Match of the Pool: England vs Argentina.

This is a case of who we want to win and who we think will win, a head and heart situation. Going on form coming into the World Cup, Argentina has to be seen as favorites. But, England has been known to dig deep during World Cup’s. These two teams are complete polar oposites. Los Pumas has the passion, flair and belief that they can beat any team on the planet on any given day. England has the star power that even though they have been lackluster and completely devoid of any imagination they still need to be handled with respect.

Dude Awesome Prediction: Argentina by 7 and win the pool. England in second, followed by Japan, Samoa and Chile.

This is the first World Cup that there is five true contenders who can go all the way. Then there is the minnows who can upset the big guns if they get complacent. This is going to be pretty much the most exciting Rugby World Cup in the last couple of years and the next 7 weeks are going to be absolutely incredible!