#2023 rugby world cup

[mapsontheweb]

Countries qualified to the Rugby World Cup 2023.

by themapmaster

[defensefilms]

South African Rugby Champions Go Back-To-Back

I'll admit off the bat, that I am the most casual rugby fan in the world, and by many fans standards, I am the worst type of fan because I am a Springboks supporter.

Don't let that take away from what this South African team just accomplished though, and to help you understand the context under which this team is representing the country, is a task that can't be accomplished in one blog post.

South Africa is a country with an economy that is dying and the gap in wealth inequality is getting bigger and bigger, with an infastructure that is falling apart, and a government unable to manage the administrative, financial headaches of governance.

Basically, these Springboks are the only good thing happening in South Africa.

Packed in to the pre-meal, and way before any of these current players was ever a Springbok, is the history of South Africa itself and what the Springboks represented for the ruling Apartheid government pre-1994, and the liberation of Black South Africans since.

This is not a piece to sway people in to believing in the Springboks as a story of racial intergration and tranformation.

Rather something to help you understand the kind of hurdles every player on the team deals with, and the amount of personal discipline it takes to always put the team and winning first.

In the years to come, books will be written about how these guys had to pull together even in the most trying of times, and Siya Kholisi as the captain of a team that has accomplished the greatest feat in the sport's history.

To help you understand what this team has accomplished, South Africa came in to the 2023 Rugby World Cup as defending champions after winning the 2019 World Cup, only lost 1 game the entire tournament, and won our last 3 games all by 1 point margins.

This is not a Rugby team. This is sporting greatness and excellence. They'll go down as legends of the sport. All of them, every member of both the 2019 and 2023 squads.

Every one of these players had big moments in big games and situations where we absolutely needed it.

Handre Pollard's cool headedness was evident throughout the tournament, with his kick to win the semi-final against England being his most immense.

Eben Etzebeth setting the tone with physicality, always promptly followed by Mbongeni Mbonambi, Franco Mostert and Duane Vermeulen, Ox Nche, Deon Fourie and Kwagga Smith, and this group changed the game in that semi-final.

Pieter-Steph Du Toit's man of the match performance in the final was arguably the best any Springbok has ever played in a final. Cheslin Kolbe's charge down and block against France. Manie Libbok's sublime no-look kick against Scotland.

Everyone had big moments or big performances at key times.

I have grown attached to this team in a way I have never been attached to a Rugby team.

South Africa's 1995 World Cup victory represented the intention to change with the inclusion of the legendary Chester Williams. In 2007 it was a story of how that change had bred a new generation of winners represented by Byran Habana. The 2019 World Cup in Japan represented a transformation complete with the champions being captained by a Black player for the first time.

This however is not a chapter of the story that needs a transformation narrative.

As a group these players have transcended that. They represent the pinnacle of the sport. The highest level of achievement possible, and our heach coach Rassie Erasmus, the man who masteminded both our victories, all the while challenging the sports's conventions, pushing boundraries, and always keeping the Boks one step ahead.

Growing up Bryan Habana was the most recognisable player in the sport, and I even have a photograph I took of him on my Instagram, but this group, and this captain, with those forwards and those wings, yeah they've now surpassed any South African team, and that's no easy thing to do.

Even more difficult than that is restoring some feeling of national pride at a time when it's becoming harder to create reasons for that.

Thank you to the Boks, they will never be forgotten.

[tibsnews]

South Africa win a record-breaking fourth Rugby World Cup after beating New Zealand 12-11 - who had captain Sam Cane sent off

New Zealand captain Sam Cane became the first player to be sent off in a World Cup final as South Africa retained their title with a nail-biting 12-11 victory at Stade de France. Cane was shown a red card for in the 28th minute for a dangerous tackle on Jesse Kriel but the All Blacks responded with character and resilience to take the champions to the wire on a wet Paris night. Beauden Barrett…

[razorroy]

Thoughts on the 2023 Rugby World Cup

If you look at the 2023 rugby world cup group draw. This has to be the easiest bettors selection for who's moving on to the knockout stage.

Group A: France, New Zealand 

Group B: Ireland, South Africa

Group C: Wales, Australia

Group D: England, Argentina

Predicted group winners listed first.

It's all chalk!

And this marks the first time at the rugby world cup, that a country from North America is not represented.

Well done, U.S.A. & Canada!

[seumascowan]

[halfmanhalfbizkit]

Simply sublime 🏉

Go Bokke!!! 🇿🇦

[mellaithwen]

Wales rugby fans bring Marseille street to a standstill as stunning World Cup moment thrills locals (@ WalesOnline)

Image ID: video of a large crowd of Welsh rugby fans in Marseille singing the Welsh National Anthem, followed by Hymns and Arias, before the World Cup quarter final against Argentina today.

hello I’m crying :’)

[sunshineandlyrics]

The crowd sound amazing

Ireland beat South Africa 13-8 at Rugby World Cup, 24 September 2023.

[fidjiefidjie]

"Au rugby (...) tout le monde regarde l'équipe, personne ne regarde le ballon. Or l'important, c'est le ballon, c'est lui qui fait l'équipe."

Michel Serres

Gif BD :Calvin et Hobbes

Bon Match ! 🏉

[cowboykakashi]

When u get knocked out in the quarter finals but ur the host nation :/

[thewales-family]

The Princess of Wales attends the Rugby World Cup France 2023 Quarter Final match between England and Fiji at Stade Velodrome in Marseille, France -October 15th 2023.

[princesscatherineblog]

The Princess of Wales at the Stade de Marseille supporting England in their Rugby World Cup quarter final match against Fiji on 15th October 2023.

[behindfairytales]