Rugby World Cup 2023 final and kick-off time confirmed

Jared Wright 21 Oct 2023 6:22 PM

All Blacks captain Sam Cane and Springboks captain Siya Kolisi during the Rugby World Cup.

The Rugby World Cup 2023 final and bronze final have been confirmed, with New Zealand battling South Africa for William Webb Ellis Cup glory while Argentina and England face off in the third-place play-off.

Both matches will take place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, with losing semi-finalists Los Pumas and England colliding on Friday evening before the main event sees the All Blacks and Springboks decide the tournament’s victor.

Semi-final action

The All Blacks were the first side to reach the final, doing so for the fifth time in the tournament‘s history.

New Zealand first reached the showpiece event in 1987, becoming the first team to win the World Cup. They had to wait until 1995 to reach the final again but were beaten by the Springboks in South Africa. The All Blacks would reach back-to-back finals in 2011 and 2015, becoming the first team in the tournament’s history to win the competition on three occasions and the first to defend their title.

This time around, they qualified for the knockouts in second place after losing their opening pool game to hosts France. They bounced back and defeated Ireland in the quarter-finals before facing Argentina in the semis.

This year was the third time in Argentina’s history that they had reached the tournament’s semi-finals, having done so in 2007 and 2015. However, the final was just a step too far as the All Blacks produced a dominant display, thrashing Los Pumas 44-6 to progress to the tournament’s finale.

South Africa also finished second in their pool and knocked out hosts France in the quarter-final. In an enthralling semi-final against England, South Africa went into the lead in the 77th minute through a Handre Pollard penalty to win the match 16-15, to reach back-to-back finals.

For viewers in New Zealand, the final takes place on the morning of Sunday, October 29, at 8 am with the third-four place play-off taking place 24 hours before.