When I came up with the idea of Some Geek Told Me during the first lockdown, one of the main reasons was to discuss different things that interest me, like popular culture, science, salt and vinegar chips, and the list could go on and on.
I’ve discussed many important topics on my blog like my socks, my favourite Saga covers, the order in which children should watch the Star Wars movies, and how my wife is weird. However, there is one topic I have mentioned in passing, but I have never taken the time to enlighten the world on it. This gets corrected this month.
I love rugby. I mean it, I love it. I’m a New Zealander, so I have to by default, but I still love it. Firstly, I know for some strange reason, some people in the world either don’t like rugby or don’t care about it. I’ve said this before, but no one is perfect.1
That being the case, I’m going to talk about the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Few things in this world make me feel fear and excitement like a Rugby World Cup; apart from eating some random chips at a party. Will they be Salt and Vinegar or Sour Cream and Chives or something else? I live on the edge. Aerosmith doesn’t have anything on me.
Every four years relative to their trophy, the world’s best rugby teams compete to be world champions. In 2022, the 2021 Women’s Rugby World Cup was held 2 and the next one will be in 2025. For the men’s trophy, it actually starts next month; with various emotions already flooding into me. Anxiety, hope, fear, happiness, depression, excitement, apathy, and jubilation. They’re fighting for control of my mind because I want my country to win, and I can’t do anything about it.
Host
This year’s tournament will run from 8th September to 28th October 2023, but because of the differences in time zones, it’ll be 9th September to 29th October for me. 3
The host country is France, and they have held the tournament before; 1991 with eight games (co-host), 1999 with eight games (co-host), and 2007 with 42 games as the main host. France will host all 48 games, over 51 days, covering nine cities.
They are:
- Paris: Stade de France. Capacity: 80,023. Will host the second and fourth quarter-finals, both semi-finals, the bronze play-off match, and the final.
- Marseille: Stade Vélodrome. Capacity: 67,847. Will host the first and third quarter-finals,
- Lyon: OL Stadium. Capacity: 58,883.
- Lille: Stade Pierre-Mauroy. Capacity: 50,096.
- Bordeaux: Stade de Bordeaux. Capacity: 42,060.
- Saint-Étienne: Stade Geoffroy-Guichard. Capacity: 42,152.
- Nice: Stade de Nice. Capacity: 35,983.
- Nantes: Stade de la Beaujoire. Capacity: 35,520.
- Toulouse: Stade de Toulouse. Capacity: 33,103.
Teams
There are 20 teams across four pools. The draw looks like this:
Pool A: New Zealand, France, Italy, Uruguay, and Namibia.
Pool B: South Africa (defending world champions), Ireland, Scotland, Tonga, and Romania.
Pool C: Wales, Australia, Fiji, Georgia, and Portugal.
Pool D: England, Japan, Argentina, Samoa, and Chile.
Previous Winners
After the first edition in 1987, there have been only four countries that have won the Rugby World Cup:
New Zealand: 1987, 2011, and 2015
South Africa: 1995, 2007, and 2019
Australia: 1991 and 1999
England: 2003
So why should you care about the Rugby World Cup? Hang on, here’s a better question, why do I care about it?
Nothing, and I mean nothing, brings me more quadrennial stress than the Rugby World Cup! For my elevated stress levels, this event is more dangerous to me than my job, children and my wife combine. This is my wife’s third Rugby World Cup with me, and I’m already annoying her, with only 18 days from the start of the tournament. And it’s slowly going to get worse. I’m terrible.
Why do I do this to myself? Easy, I love rugby, I love my country and I want them to win. But as past World Cups have shown, how you deal with victory, is just as important as how you deal with heartbreak.
Case in point, it’s a life lesson I’ve been explaining to UMC1 and UMC2. With any team sport, and especially World Cups, you want your team to do well because you love them. You support and follow them because they’re your team. When they win, you love them because they’re winning. And if they lose, that’s when you need to love them even more.
I’m an All Blacks fan. I always have been and I always will be. I’ve ridden the highs with them, as well as suffered and stressed about the lows. This Rugby World Cup is going to be extremely competitive and tight; particularly with the phenomenal way Ireland and France are currently playing. Although that is another blog for another week.
Rugby is a wonderful sport, with crazy rules and outstanding players. From the scoring system, the dark arts of the front row, the lexicon, and players’ positions, rugby is simply amazing.
If this is your first Rugby World Cup, then welcome. If you’re a returning fan, then it’s great to see you again. If you’re interested in watching the games, please do so. If nothing else, they will give you an excuse to complain about forward passes, hands in the ruck, collapsing scrums, offsides, head-high tackles, and whether the referee is actually watching the game or not.
I can’t wait, though my blood pressure can. I can feel individual hairs on my head slowly turning grey, just thinking about the Rugby World Cup. Good times.
Will you be watching the Rugby World Cup? Who are you supporting? Who do you think will win? Please let me know. Next week, I’m going to discuss which pool games to look out for, because they will have the biggest impact on the quarter-finals, as well as discussing the scoring system for any rugby novices. This only happens every four years, so I’m making the most of it. Sorry, not sorry.
Thanks once again for reading, following, and subscribing to Some Geek Told Me. I’m also on Twitter and Mastodon, where I post about history, geography, movies, politics, music, sports, comics, and anything else that can hold my attention. Don’t forget to walk your dog, read a banned book, block Elon Musk, and I’ll see you next week.
1.) Dear single people, please remember that.
2.) Thanks COVID-19, once again.
3.) Can any Flat Earther explain time zones?
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