2023-10-09 18:23:55
And now, it’s time for the quarter-finals of the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The final group matches, Sunday October 8 in the evening, sealed the four posters: two titanic clashes between Ireland and New Zealand, Saturday October 14 October, then between France and South Africa, defending champions, the next day. And two matches with an equally uncertain outcome between teams which have been less impressive so far: Argentina-Wales on Saturday, and England-Fiji on Sunday.
A World Cup with surprises
Ahead of the competition, Bill Beaumont, the president of World Rugby, the organizing body of the competition, had promised: this World Cup will hold surprises. And indeed, although the sporting logic was respected (Scotland, 5th in the world ranking, is the only nation in the top 8 not to reach the quarter-finals), it is clear that this first month of competition has delivered some new features.
As for the big teams, New Zealand, which had never conceded the slightest defeat in the group stage in the history of the World Cup, lost from the start against the Blues (27-13) on September 8. Australia, double world champion, had never been eliminated from the group stage. It is now done for the country which will host the 2027 World Cup.
Among the outsiders, on the contrary, Portugal delighted its supporters with the quality of its game. Beaten without merit by Wales (28-8) and Australia (34-14), then authors of a draw against Georgia (18-18), the “Wolves” achieved the feat of beating Fiji (24-23) in their last match, Sunday October 8 in Toulouse. A first historic success in two participations in the World Cup.
In a rather open Group D, however, Japan was unable to repeat the feat of 2019, where the Japanese team qualified, at home, in the quarter-finals.
The specter of a 24-team World Cup from 2027
Riding on the popular success of this first month of competition, World Rugby has now set itself an objective: to expand the World Cup, starting in 2027. By welcoming no longer 20 but 24 nations, the body wishes to invite to the party other selections which, for the moment, narrowly fail, during the qualifying phases (Spain, United States, Hong Kong, etc.). However, innovation is far from being unanimous, including for certain small nations, tired of the yawning gap that separates them from the favorites.
“In the end, it’s like a show with the clowns on one side and the circus owners on the other”explained on September 23 Pablo Lemoine, coach of Chile, who finished last in group D with zero points. “In four years, it will be the same thing and we will get 60 points against these teams. I hope things will change, because it is not good for our sport or for the fans. »
Comments that need to be qualified, according to former Uruguay captain Mario Sagario. If he recognizes that “the matches are disproportionate”, the former Dax player puts things into perspective: “In 2011, we were only four professionals in the squad, now Uruguay only has professional players, we are growing. We need to meet very big nations more regularly, and not just every four years. »
An “aspiration upwards”
To remedy this, World Rugby has promised resources. For 2023, the body had invested 40 million euros for teams which do not participate in the Six Nations Tournament or the Rugby Championship. An amount allocated to equipment, high-quality support for training, preparation places, etc. Through its communications director, Dominic Rumbles, World Rugby is committed to increasing this investment in the future.
Former RC Toulon player Daniel Herrero is favorable to the prospect of a 24-a-side World Cup. “This year, I have not seen matches that generated humiliation, offense, or a regressive feeling for the small teams. There is room for progress, that’s obvious, but this upward aspiration is necessary for these “little ones” to gain momentum,” believes this tutelary figure of the French oval.
From this group stage, he especially wants to retain the positive. “Across the nine competition venues, euphoria has spread throughout France. All nations felt this fervor. Everything comes together to make this edition one of the most successful. »
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Antoine Dupont returns
The surgeon who operated on Antoine Dupont following his broken jaw against Namibia on September 21 has given the green light for a resumption of collective training, the French Rugby Federation (FFR) announced on Monday.
After being operated on at Purpan hospital in Toulouse, the scrum-half rested for eight days. He was then authorized to meet the group in Aix-en-Provence and resume “directed progressive physical activity”, under the “control of the medical staff of the XV of France”.
From now on, the choice of whether or not to start him for the quarter-final against South Africa on Friday is in the hands of coach Fabien Galthié and the player himself.
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