2023 Rugby World Cup

New player welfare principles announced for 2023 World Cup

The measures have been introduced following discussions between the Rugby World Cup Board, the World Rugby Executive Committee, the France 2023 organising committee and International Rugby Players representatives.

The new measures will see all teams have at least five rest days before fixtures, in a bid to aid recovery and preparation. As a result, the pool phase will be extended by a week. The tournament will now kick-off on September 8 2023, with the final taking place on October 28.