On the evening of October 28, the day of the Rugby World Cup final, which begins on Friday September 8, the identity of the team that will lift the trophy should not come as a surprise. This is true of rugby, a sport that is still far from being globalized: only a handful of countries have a team that can reasonably claim to lift the Webb Ellis trophy. Only four countries have so far shared the nine trophies put into play every four years since 1987, and only five nations have already reached the final.
For the first time, France is moving towards a World Cup at home in the clothes of the favorite. In office since 2019 and the previous World Cup, coach Fabien Galthié has made sure to test as many players as possible. He also gave as much playing time as possible to his best players, so as to face New Zealand, for the opening match, with an indisputable and experienced frame. The boss of the Blues also takes advantage of the rules obliging the clubs to play more of their young French players, as well as an agreement allowing the Blues to have, during the preparation for international matches, a greater number of players on a longer period.
There have been injuries, such as that of Romain Ntamack, kingpin of Fabien Galthié’s team. But the coach won his bet: during his tenure, the France team broke its record for consecutive victories (fourteen) and defeated all the major nations at least once. Almost all the players lined up on the lawn of the Stade de France on Friday have an important common experience. Some are among the best players in the world in their position (Antoine Dupont, Julien Marchand, Thibaud Flament, Grégory Alldritt, Thomas Ramos, Damian Penaud…).
Alongside France, on the way to the Webb Ellis Trophy, is Ireland. The XV of Clover probably even walks a step ahead of the XV of France. He has dominated world rugby for several seasons, has just won the Grand Slam in the Six Nations Tournament and is in first place in the World Rugby rankings. With its well-oiled strategy and its experienced players who, almost all playing year-round in the same Leinster club, know each other by heart, Ireland has a real chance of moving on, for the first time, to the quarter-final stage. final and win the supreme trophy.
If this World Cup seems promised to the northern hemisphere, for the first time since 2003 and the victory of England, South Africa and New Zealand still arrive with serious arguments. The first come to France to defend the title acquired in 2019 in Japan with the same ingredients: brutal, overpowered and unstoppable forwards. The South Africans have even added an ingredient to their palette by equipping themselves with increasingly fast and creative three-quarters.
On the other side of the Pacific, New Zealand seem to have recovered from two seasons in hell. They overcame their rivals in the southern hemisphere this summer by winning the Rugby Championship without trembling and are still considered “the best team in the world”, in the words of Fabien Galthié, despite a worrying defeat, at the end of August, against Africa. from South.
The pools of the 2023 World Cup are very unbalanced: pool A includes France and New Zealand, while Ireland and South Africa find themselves in pool B. Unless surprise, these four teams are called to meet in the quarter-finals.
Conversely, Pools C and D bring together historical strongholds of world rugby that have disappeared from the list of favorites for the World Cup: England, Wales and Australia. Even if some teams present in their pools could cause them difficulties (Fiji, Samoa and Argentina), one or even several of these teams could reach the semi-finals, despite the difficulties in which they are plunged.
The only nation in the Northern Hemisphere to have won the Webb Ellis Cup, England fell to 6th in the world. In the doldrums, the English are even wondering if they will manage to pass the group stage. The sinking at home (10-53) against France during the last Six Nations Tournament revealed gaping flaws, and the catastrophic preparation matches, including a historic defeat (22-30) against Fiji, only showed no improvement.
Double world champion (in 1991 and 1999) and twice finalist, Australia is only a shadow of itself. Falling to 8th place in the world rankings, the Wallabies were dominated, at the end of August, at the Stade de France by the Tricolores. Coach Eddie Jones, who has considerably rejuvenated his group, intends to build a competitive team for the 2027 World Cup, which will take place in Australia. Even if it means sacrificing his (meager) chances of looking good in France.
Former terrors of international rugby, also affected by the financial difficulties of their clubs, the Welsh no longer scare anyone. Aging, the Red Dragons have not been able to renew themselves. The record of the last Six Nations Tournament was bad, with only one victory, and a backstage crisis. Affected by the economic difficulties of the Welsh clubs, the players threatened to go on strike.
