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After four years of waiting, the Rugby World Cup 2023 is well and truly under way, with the tournament in its third week already. As 48 matches unfold over 51 days, there’s plenty of action to keep up with. Below, we break down all the latest Rugby World Cup results, and outline the current Rugby World Cup standings on a group by group basis.
Rugby World Cup standings
To determine which countries qualify for the Rugby World Cup 2023 quarter-finals, teams are first split into four pools. Within these pools, each nation will play four matches against each other, with the top two teams moving through to the quarter-finals. Here’s how the Rugby World Cup standings are looking in each group right now, as of 24/09/2023:
Pool A
Headlining Pool A are two of the heavyweights in this World Cup, home team France and three-time champions New Zealand. After six matches in this group, here’s how the Rugby World Cup standings are looking so far:
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | PD | Points |
| 1 | France | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +125 | 13 |
| 2 | Italy | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +65 | 10 |
| 3 | New Zealand | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +54 | 5 |
| 4 | Uruguay | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -36 | 0 |
| 5 | Namibia | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -208 | 0 |
After six Rugby World Cup results in Pool A, the contenders are beginning to shape up already. France have one foot in the quarter-finals with three wins from three games, and would require some delicate mathematics for the host nation not to progress from here.
Italy are also looking good, making their match against New Zealand a virtual knockout clash, with the winner moving through to join France in the quarter-finals. Uruguay and Namibia, on the other hand, are both winless and have seen their chances of making the quarter-finals extinguished, but will play a much anticipated clash against each other this coming Wednesday to determine who walks away with bragging rights.
Pool B
It’s another group of heavyweights in Pool B, with defending champions South Africa paired with world No 1 Ireland–oh, and the fifth best team in the world, Scotland, are thrown in there for good measure as well.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | PD | Points |
| 1 | Ireland | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +122 | 14 |
| 2 | South Africa | 3 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +86 | 10 |
| 3 | Scotland | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -15 | 0 |
| 4 | Tonga | 1 | 0 | 0 | 1 | -43 | 0 |
| 5 | Romania | 2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -150 | 0 |
There have been five Rugby World Cup results so far in Pool B, with Ireland trouncing both Romania and Tonga, putting on a collective 141 points across their first two outings. South Africa also won their first two matches, seeing off a tough 18-3 challenge from Scotland, before putting a mountain of hurt on Romania as well.
The biggest fixture of the tournament by far played out this weekend, however, as Ireland and South Africa collided in a match that would likely determine who finishes top of the pool. As expected, it was an absolute arm wrestle, and came down to the last minute, with Ireland squeezing out a gritty 13-8 victory to all but seal their spot in the quarter-finals.
Pool C
While Pool C might be a bit light on heavyweights, that doesn’t mean it isn’t fiercely competitive, with Australia, Fiji and Wales all lumped in together.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | PD | Points |
| 1 | Wales | 2 | 2 | 0 | 0 | +26 | 10 |
| 2 | Australia | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | +13 | 6 |
| 3 | Fiji | 2 | 2 | 0 | 1 | +1 | 6 |
| 4 | Georgia | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -20 | 2 |
| 5 | Portugal | 1 | 0 | 1 | 1 | -20 | 2 |
Last weekend’s Rugby World Cup result in Pool C blew the group wide open, as Fiji defeated Australia on Sunday for the first time in 69 years, upsetting their big brothers in the Pacific 22-15. This means Wales sit top of the pool having defeated Fiji and Portugal so far, while Australia and Fiji are level on six points, having suffered a win and a loss each. In a pool that could come down to bonus points, some huge matches loom over the coming weeks, none less than Australia vs Wales this Sunday.
In the most recent match from Pool C, Portugal and Georgia played out a brilliant 18-18 draw, with Portugal missing a penalty after the hooter to fall painfully short of what would have been a first Rugby World Cup victory for the ever-improving side.
Pool D
Similar to Pool C, we have a more level pool here, with England, Argentina, Japan and even Samoa all a chance at topping the Rugby World Cup standings in this group.
| Position | Team | Played | Won | Drawn | Lost | PD | Points |
| 1 | England | 3 | 3 | 0 | 0 | +110 | 14 |
| 2 | Samoa | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +24 | 5 |
| 3 | Japan | 2 | 1 | 0 | 0 | +8 | 5 |
| 4 | Argentina | 2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | -8 | 4 |
| 5 | Chile | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | -134 | 0 |
In one of the more remarkable Rugby World Cup results, England defeated Argentina in the first Pool D fixture played, winning by a whopping 27-10 margin despite having only 14 men for 77 minutes, and failing to score a try all game. It was a vintage performance from a desperate English side, who are suddenly looking much, much more dangerous this tournament. Since then, England have seen off a spirited effort from Japan, before cutting loose and putting 10 tries on Chile in an impressive 71-0 showing.
Japan also beat newcomers Chile by a healthy 42-12 score line earlier in the tournament, while Samoa joined in on the fun, putting 43 points on Chile as well, winning 43-10. Earlier this weekend, Argentina returned some semblance of order to Pool D earlier this weekend, defeating Samoa to ensure they remain a chance of making the quarter-finals.
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