The tournament kicks off on Friday 8 September and runs until Saturday, 28 October 2023. The defending RWC champions and current top-ranked team on the World Rugby rankings had a selection of three potential bases in the south of France.
Following a thorough inspection of the options by Springbok coach Jacques Nienaber and the team’s head of operations Charles Wessels at the conclusion of the Boks’ November tour to the UK in 2021, a decision was made to select the city on the Mediterranean coast as their preferred base for the international extravaganza.
The Springboks will launch their title defence against Scotland (10 September) at Stade Vélodrome in Marseille, before lining up against Spain at Stade de Bordeaux (17 September), Ireland at Stade de France in Saint-Denis (23 September) and the top qualifier from the Asia/Pacific region in Marseille (1 October) in the pool stages.
The Boks will use Toulon Rugby Club’s RCT campus as their main training field for the matches against Scotland, Spain and the qualifier from Asia/Pacific, with a few training sessions set to be hosted at the Stade Félix Mayol, while they will be based in Paris for the week in the build-up to their match against Ireland.
The Springboks will spend 28 days in Toulon setting up base at Grand Hotel Des Sablettes-Page, which is a swift 24 minute journey from the RCT training base.
Pending their progress in the global spectacle, the Boks will switch their base to Paris for the remainder of the tournament, as two quarter-finals, the semi-finals and final will play out nearby at Stade de France.
Rugby World Cup 2023 Pools:
Pool A: New Zealand, France, Italy, Uruguay, Africa 1
Pool B: South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, Spain, Asia/Pacific 1 qualifier
Pool C: Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, Final qualifier winner
Pool D: England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, Americas 2
