2023 Rugby World Cup: England face Argentina, Scotland take on South Africa, Wales play Fiji, Ireland face qualifier in opening games
Hosts France will take on New Zealand in the opening match on September 8 at the Stade de France in Paris; Ireland's quest to progress beyond the quarter-finals for the first time will start against a European qualifier in Bordeaux on September 9; Wales face Fiji on September 10
Friday 26 February 2021 13:09, UK
England will begin their 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign against Argentina on September 9 in Marseille while Scotland will kick-off against defending champions South Africa a day later in the same city.
Ireland's quest to progress beyond the quarter-finals for the first time will start against a European qualifier in Bordeaux on September 9 and Wales face Fiji, also in Bordeaux, on September 10.
Hosts France will take on three-time winners New Zealand in the opening match on September 8 at the Stade de France in Paris and the tournament is set to conclude on October 28.
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England will stay in the south after their Pool D opener - with their second game against Japan in Nice scheduled for September 17 - before back-to-back games in Lille against qualifiers from the Americas and Oceania on September 23 and October 7 respectively.
Wales, meanwhile, continue their Pool C campaign on September 16 against a qualifier before facing two-time champions Australia in Lyon on September 24 and another qualifier in Nantes on October 7.
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Ireland face the champion Springboks in Paris on September 23 after taking on a qualifier on September 16 and will then return to the Stade de France to complete their Pool B games against Scotland on October 7.
Scotland face back-to-back qualifiers before their meeting with Andy Farrell's side to conclude their Pool fixtures.
'It's going to be a massive occasion'
France and New Zealand have a rich history in the World Cup, with Les Bleus causing a major upset in a 43-31 victory in the 1999 semi-final after being 17-0 down at half-time, and the All Blacks winning the 2011 title with an 8-7 win in the final.
"It's going to be a massive occasion playing France in the opening match of the tournament," New Zealand's Sam Cane said.
"Matches between our two sides have been some of the most celebrated games in our history, so it'll be fantastic to meet them once again."
France captain Charles Ollivon said of the clash with the All Blacks: "Everyone who likes rugby dreams of seeing this game. Kicking off our World Cup against the All Blacks, there's no equivalent."
