Unless you have been living under a rock, you will be well aware that the Rugby World Cup is currently well underway in France — with defending champions South Africa hoping to hold on to the Webb Ellis Cup for at least another four years but there’s very little to separate the Springboks, Ireland, Les Bleus and New Zealand in the rugby union betting odds.
France are no strangers to hosting major sporting events, and that applied to the Rugby World Cup — as this is the third time the prestigious tournament has been played on their soil. The first was in 1991, when they co-hosted alongside England, Ireland, Scotland and Wales, while France had the entire tournament to themselves for the first time in 2007.
So, as we prepare to enter the business end of the 2023 renewal of the Rugby World Cup, let’s take a look at some of the stadia being used to host games.
Stade de France
Where better to start than with the ground set to host the final? The list of big games that have been held at this venue is second to none, with the 1998 FIFA World Cup final, Euro 2016 final, three Champions League finals and the 2007 Rugby World Cup final when South Africa beat England 15-6 some of the standouts.
The 80,000-seater stadium also hosted the opening game of this year’s Rugby World Cup, with France securing a historic 27-13 victory over three-time winners New Zealand on the outskirts of Paris. The Stade de France will also host two quarter-finals and both semi-finals.
Stade Velodrome
The second biggest stadium on the list is the Stade Velodrome in Marseille. The venue holds 67,847 spectators and is the home to French Ligue 1 side Olympique de Marseille. Opened 86 years ago in 1937, the Stade Velodrome has hosted FIFA World Cup, European Championship and Rugby World Cup matches.
This year, the Marseille-based venue has been awarded four pool matches — which included England vs Argentina and South Africa vs Scotland — and two quarter-final fixtures.
Parc Olympique Lyonnais
One of the newest stadiums on this list, Parc Olympique Lyonnais was only opened seven years ago, as it was purpose-built for France hosting Euro 2016. As the name suggests, it is now the home to Ligue 1 side Olympique Lyonnais. The 58,883-seater was given five pool games, including Wales vs Australia and two All Blacks fixtures.
Stade Pierre-Mauroy
Opened in 2012, Stade Pierre-Mauroy in Lille was also used for Euro 2016 — with Ireland’s memorable win over Italy taking place at the 50,096-seater venue. Home to LOSC Lille, it has been allocated five pool fixtures as well, with France beating Uruguay 27-12 here in their second match.
Stade de Bordeaux
The Rugby World Cup can often produce one-sided results, as the top sides in the world wipe the follow with a minnow and the Stade de Bordeaux played host to a couple of loop-sided games this year. Romania were on the receiving end of both, losing 82-8 to Ireland and 76-0 to South Africa. The 42,115-seater venue also had five pool games.
Stadium de Toulouse is another stadium that was allocated five pool games, while Stade Geoffroy Guichard, Stade de Nice and Stade de la Beaujoire each had four.
