Rugby union in South Africa Rugby union in South Africa Rugby union in South Africa is a very popular team sport, along with cricket and football, and is widely played all over the country. The National team is among the strongest in the world and has been ranked in the top seven of the World Rugby Rankings since its inception in 2003. The country hosted and won the 1995 Rugby World Cup, and won again the 2007 tournament in France. Given South Africa's history, as with much else in South Africa, the organisation and playing of rugby has been entangled with politics, and racial politics
2023 Rugby World Cup host cities were selected. This list was later reduced to 9 cities (excluding Paris, Montpellier and Lens) : The Rugby World Cup may expand from its current 20 teams for the 2023 tournament. A total of 12 teams will have gained automatic qualification to the tournament after finishing in the top three of their pool at the 2019 Rugby World Cup. while France automatically qualifies as host. The below table shows the qualified teams with their World Rankings as of first tournament date (8 September 2023): 2023 Rugby World Cup The 2023 Rugby World Cup, to be hosted by France,