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With the Rugby World Cup crossing the halfway point of pool play this weekend, things are beginning to heat up in several of the pools. Ireland sent out a warning to the rest of the tournament today by defeating South Africa–can Wales do the same on Sunday against Australia? And what about Tonga, can their returning star ignite their campaign against Scotland?
We breakdown all of today’s matches, detailing the schedule of every fixture, and previewing each clash as well ahead of the first game kicking off this Saturday.
Today’s matches and schedule – Rugby World Cup 24/09/2023
Contents
Here’s an overview of the matches occurring at the Rugby World Cup today, with two clashes taking place across France on Sunday 24/09/2023:
| Match | Time (GMT) | Venue |
| Scotland vs Tonga | 16:45 | Allianz Riviera, Nice |
| Wales vs Australia | 20:00 | Parc Olympique Lyonnais, Lyon |
With both of these clashes having potentially pool-defining impacts this Rugby World Cup, neither of these games are to be missed this Sunday. Here’s a closer look at each of today’s matches.
Scotland vs Tonga – Pool B (16:45 GMT, Allianz Riviera)
In a pool featuring Ireland and South Africa, both Scotland and Tonga will be hard pressed to qualify for the knockout rounds. Nonetheless, they’ll be determined to keep their hopes alive here, as a victory will mean a glimmer of hope remains, while a defeat will shut the door on the 2023 Rugby World Cup campaign.
This is shaping up to be a juicy encounter. Both have played just one match each, and while neither came away victorious, there was a lot to like from each of their defeats. Scotland ran South Africa close for the best part of an hour before the defending champions pulled away to win by 15 points, while Tonga weren’t quite so close on the scoreboard against Ireland, but still showed up the world No 1 side in several areas, around the breakdown and at scrum time.
Expect this to be hard-fought, with Scotland coming out the other side victorious and forcing a fascinating match against Ireland in the final week of pool play.
Scotland v Tonga.#AsOne | #RWC2023 pic.twitter.com/gJoxPawG0I
— Scottish Rugby (@Scotlandteam) September 23, 2023
Wales vs Australia – Pool C (20:00 GMT, Parc Olympique Lyonnais)
Speaking of fascinating matches, this is it. With Australia having lost to Fiji last weekend, they take on Wales in a do-or-die clash in Lyon. Lose, and their campaign is over with a game in hand. Win, and the calculators come out, as each of the top three teams in Pool C will have beaten each other.
This is one of the toughest matches to call in the tournament so far, but on balance, Wales have looked the better side this World Cup. Far from perfect, they did manage to come away with the result against Fiji, and get the job done over Portugal too. Australia, on the other hand, were well and truly exposed by Fiji last week.
Expect this match to be entertaining as well. The last time these two sides met, they were both playing woeful rugby, yet managed to throw the ball around and combine for a 73 point match. Australia will know they require a big win here in order to keep their hopes alive, so there’s every chance they’ll come out playing risky rugby to score tries–opening up opportunities at both ends of the field for points.
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