I n November 1823, something went a little haywire in William Webb Ellis’s head. In a football match that was going badly, this British student took the ball in his hands and dashed madly all the way to the other end of the pitch, carefully avoiding all his opponents as he went. Was this a fit of madness? No, it was the birth of something new: of rugby, whose 200th anniversary we’ll have the pleasure of celebrating in France in 2023, on the occasion of the 10th Rugby World Cup. Rugby is unique in many respects, and the World Cup is the best demonstration of this fact. “The only team combat sport” is also “the only sport where you really get to encounter one another, whereas in other sports you merely cross people’s paths”. A paradox? No, it’s a difference, a unique blend of intensity and meaning that rugby needs to maintain. To know where it needs to go, rugby must never forget where it came from. From that field at Rugby School and from William Webb Ellis’s dash of freedom. From that instinctual impulse, that taste for the unexpected, that desire to break free from convention. At the same time, rugby must never forsake its deep-seated intensity, must never let it go, for this is a crucial part of its DNA, what sets it apart. This is one of the goals that Rugby World Cup 2023 has set itself: to return to the founding spirit of rugby and enable the emergence of a whole generation around shared values. All this will be made possible by strong teamwork, by reaching out to new communities and by opening up new horizons. In our world, the collective we assumes its full meaning.

Claude ATCHER CHIEF EXECUTIVE OFFICER RUGBY WORLD CUP FRANCE 2023

 

*Exerpt form the official press kit

 

THE OPENING NIGHT WILL HAPPEN ON SEPTEMBER 08TH 2023 WITH THE FIRST GAME: FRANCE WILL FACE NEW ZEALAND!

THE BIG FINALE WILL BE ON OCTOBER 28TH 2023! AND WE REALLY HOPE FRANCE WILL BE ON THE BILL!!!