After an unprecedented venture in Asia in 2019, the Rugby World Cup returns to Europe for a marathon 10th edition set to stretch over more than seven weeks.
The home country France is hoping to carry Les Bleus to a maiden title after three final defeats in 1987, 1999 and 2011. England remain the only European nation to have lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in a tournament long dominated by the three Southern Hemisphere heavyweights of New Zealand, South Africa and Australia.
Twenty teams are competing in the World Cup, split into four pools of five. Nine hail from Europe, five from the South Pacific, three from South America, two from Africa and one from Asia.
For the first time in the tournament’s history, there are no representatives from North America – Canada and the United States having both failed to qualify.