Rugby World Cup 2023 final preview: Full schedule and how to watch live
Holders South Africa will meet three-time world champions New Zealand in a mouth-watering finale of the global showpiece. Find out how and where to watch the action live.
The Rugby World Cup 2023 in France will come to a dramatic climax when defending champions South Africa take on New Zealand in the final at Stade de France, Saint-Denis on Saturday (28 October).
New Zealand and South Africa are the most successful teams at the tournament boasting three Rugby World Cup titles apiece.
The All Blacks became the first team to retain the Webb Ellis Cup in 2015. South Africa, known as the Springboks, would match that achievement should they prevail.
Considered one of rugby’s great rivalries, the Springboks and the All Blacks will meet in the final for the first time since the 1995 Rugby World Cup in South Africa. The hosts overcame Jonah Lomu and co 15-12 to win the Webb Ellis Cup for the first time.
The victory served as a unifying symbol shortly after the dawn of democracy in the country. The moment the Nelson Mandela presented Springbok captain Francois Pienaar with the Web Ellis Cup is considered one of the most iconic images in sporting history. Wearing a replica of Pienaar’s number-six jersey, Mandela punched the air as Pienaar raised the trophy.
The two sides have since met on four occasions at the Rugby World Cup with the All Blacks coming out on top in three of these encounters. South Africa beat the New Zealanders in the bronze-medal match at the 1999 edition.
New Zealand beat the Springboks in the quarter-finals (29-9) in 2003, and in the semi-finals (20-18) in 2015 en route to winning their second consecutive title. The All Blacks again triumphed over their Southern Hemisphere counterparts in the pool match at the 2019 World Cup in Japan. South Africa brushed off the defeat to become the first nation to lose a pool match and go on to win the title.
Only four nations – England, Australia, New Zealand, and South Africa – have won the coveted Webb Ellis Cup since the Rugby World Cup's inception in 1987.
England and Argentina will meet the previous night, Friday 27 October, to decide who takes third place.
Road to the final
New Zealand got their campaign off to a rocky start with a defeat to hosts France, but quickly found their mojo with runaway victories over Namibia (71-3), Italy (96-17) and Uruguay (73-0) to cruise into the quarter-finals.
The All Blacks triumphed over world number one side Ireland in an epic quarter-final match to set up a semi-final date with Argentina. Demonstrating their ruthless side, the All Blacks steamrolled Los Pumas 44-6 to sound a warning ahead of the World Cup final.
The Springboks had a similar path up to the semi-finals. They were second in their pool, going down to a narrow 13-8 defeat to Ireland but winning all their other group games. In the quarter-finals, the Boks broke French hearts in a match for the ages edging out the hosts 29-28 in a seven-try thriller.
In the semis, they were kept largely subdued by a resolute England side with Owen Farrell booting the 2003 champions into a 15-6 lead early in the second half. But South Africa came back, and RG Snyman's try and Handre Pollard's late penalty saw them prevail 16-15.
How to watch the 2023 Rugby World Cup live
Please check local listings for broadcast schedules in your territories.
Rugby World Cup 2023 will be broadcast live in the following markets:
- Australia - STAN
- Andorra - MOVISTAR+
- Austria: PROSIBEN
- Belgium - TELENET
- Cook Island - Cook Islands Television
- Czechia - Ceska Televize
- Fiji - Fiji TV
- France - France TV, TF1, M6
- Germany - RAN
- Ireland - RTE, VIRGIN
- Italy, San Marino, Vatican - Sky Italia, RAI
- Japan - JSports, NTV, NHK
- Luxembourg - TF1
- Middle East and North Africa - StarzPlay
- Netherlands - ZIGGO
- New Zealand - Sky NZ, STUFF
- Papua New Guinea - Digicel, EMTV
- Portugal - Sport TV
- Samoa - TV1
- Romania - Digisport
- Spain and Andorra - MOVISTAR+
- Solomon Islands - Telekom Television
- South Africa and Sub-Sahara - SuperSport
- Tonga - Digicel, Tonga Broadcasting Commission (TBC)
- Turkey - SSPORT (SARAN)
- United Kingdom - ITV, S4C
- United States of America - NBC
- Vanuatu - Vanuatu Broadcasting & Television Corporation