2023 Rugby World Cup 'wide open', says renowned coach

Former England coach Stuart Lancaster will have a close-up view as the Rugby World Cup unfurls in France with 11 players from his new club, Racing 92, among those potentially in action.

"I think it's wide open," he told AFP adding that "France will embrace it and bring it to life."

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Lancaster, a former Scotland youth international, joined the club in the Paris suburbs this European summer after seven years with Leinster in Ireland.

Racing kick off their campaign, shorn of 11 World Cup players, against Bordeaux-Begles on Saturday, the first of three Top 14 rounds before the league shuts down until 29 October.

France, Wales, England, South Africa, Fiji and Georgia all have Racing players in their squads.

They include several members of Racing's latest star-studded set of summer recruits, including South Africa's 2019 World Cup winning captain Siya Kolisi, who is just returning from injury.

Lancaster is a realist about the likely attrition during the competition, saying that France flyhalf Romain Ntamack, ruled out with a knee injury on Monday, "will not be the only one".

"Depth and quality of depth will be a big factor toward the end of the tournament," Lancaster said.

The former England coach, who lost his job after his side failed to qualify from their pool in the home 2015 edition, was cautious about picking a favourite, though he started with the nation he represented.

"Scotland will be really hard to beat," he said. "They're playing well at the moment."

"Ireland, having worked with a lot of the players, they're in a strong position from the northern hemisphere teams as well as France as the home nation."

"The southern