When does the Rugby World Cup start: tournament schedule for England, Ireland, Wales, Scotland & more

The 10th edition of the Rugby World Cup is fast approaching and some of the biggest stars in the sport are aiming to write their names into the history books during this year’s tournament in France.

Three-time winners New Zealand enter the competition as favourites, but they are expected to face strong competition from holders South Africa, host nation France, Ireland, Australia and 2019 runners-up England. A total of 20 nations will battle it out for the Webb Ellis trophy and matches will take place in a variety of different locations around France, including capital city Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Lille, Bordeaux, Saint-Etienne, Nice, Nantes and Toulouse.

But when does the Rugby World Cup start and who are the home nations facing on their quest for glory? Here’s everything you need to know.

When does the Rugby World Cup start?

Rugby fans will be treated to a blockbuster opening game between Six Nations winners France and pre-tournament favourites New Zealand.

The curtain raiser will take place at the Stade de France in Paris on Friday 8 September. The venue will also host both semi-finals and the final on Saturday 28 October.

Rugby World Cup schedule

Each nation at the Rugby World Cup has been separated into four pools of five and each team will play every opponent once in a round-robin format. The top two teams from each pool will then earn a place in the quarter-final stage of the competition.

England will begin their World Cup journey on Saturday 9 September against Argentina at the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. Steve Borthwick’s side have been drawn in Pool D for the tournament and their other opponents will be Japan, Samoa and Chile.

Ireland and Scotland have been paired in Pool B where they will be joined by holders South Africa, Tonga and Romania. Wales face the likes of Australia, Fiji, Georgia and Portugal in Pool C.

Here is the full rundown of all the games in each pool of the tournament:

Pool A

• France vs New Zealand - 8 September 
• Italy vs Namibia - 9 September 
• France vs Uruguay - 14 September
• New Zealand vs Namibia - 15 September
• Italy vs Uruguay - 20 September
• France vs Namibia - 21 September
• Uruguay vs Namibia - 27 September
• New Zealand vs Italy - 29 September
• New Zealand vs Uruguay - 5 October
• France vs Italy - 6 October

Pool B

• Ireland vs Romania - 9 September
• South Africa vs Scotland - 10 September
• Ireland vs Tonga - 16 September
• South Africa vs Romania - 17 September
• South Africa vs Ireland - 23 September
• Scotland vs Tonga - 24 September
• Scotland vs Romania - 30 September
• South Africa vs Tonga - 1 October
• Ireland vs Scotland - 7 October
• Tonga vs Belgium - 8 October

Pool C

• Australia vs Georgia - 9 September
• Wales vs Fiji - 10 September
• Wales vs Portugal - 16 September
• Australia vs Fiji - 17 September
• Georgia vs Portugal - 23 September
• Wales vs Australia - 24 September
• Fiji vs Georgia - 30 September
• Australia vs Portugal - 1 October
• Wales vs Georgia - 7 October
• Fiji vs Portugal - 8 October

Pool D

• England vs Argentina - 9 September
• Japan vs Chile - 10 September
• Samoa vs Chile - 16 September
• England vs Japan - 17 September
• Argentina vs Samoa - 22 September
• England vs Chile - 23 September
• Japan vs Samoa - 28 September
• Argentina vs Chile - 30 September
• England vs Samoa - 7 October
• Japan vs Argentina - 8 October

When are the Rugby World Cup quarter-finals?

The quarter-final stage of the Rugby World Cup will be be played on 14 October and 15 October at the Stade Velodrome and Stade de France.

Here is a rundown of all the quarter-final games:

• Winner of Pool C vs Runner-up of Pool D - 14 October
• Winner of Pool B vs Runner-up of Pool A - 14 October
• Winner of Pool D vs Runner-up of Pool C - 15 October
• Winner of Pool A vs Runner-up of Pool B - 15 October

When are the Rugby World Cup semi-finals?

The four successful quarter-finalists will compete for a place in the World Cup final at the Stade de France on 20 October and 21 October.

When is the Rugby World Cup final?

The Stade de France will play host to the Rugby World Cup final for the first time since 2007.

South Africa will have fond memories from the 80,000 stadium and they recorded a 6-15 win over England to ruin their hopes of back-to-back World Cup triumphs.