United States
United Kingdom
Summary:
- 2023 Rugby World Cup takes place in France from 08 Sep to 28 Oct
- Australia make big changes as they announce Wallabies World Cup squad
- Eddie Jones has appointed a new captain and made surprise selection calls
Rugby fans around the world are looking forward to the 2023 Rugby World Cup which is set to take place in France from 08 Sep to 28 Oct. This will be the 10th edition of the Rugby World Cup and a total of 20 teams will take part across 9 venues in France.
The defending champions are South Africa and some of the other teams to watch out for includes the All Blacks (New Zealand), England and hosts France.
Australia will not be among the favorites as their recent form and player selection has raised multiple questions on their ability to win the World Cup.
Australia Appoint New Captain For World Cup
The Wallabies appointed the experienced Eddie Jones as their new head coach in Jan 2023 with the goal of helping them get better and win the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Jones has had a terrible start so far as Australia are 0-4 under his leadership so far.
The Wallabies announced their World Cup squad this week and there were many surprises, the biggest surprise being a new captain. Australia have tested Michael Hooper, Allan Alaalatoa, James Slipper and recently Tate McDermott with the captaincy but they opted to pick Will Skelton out of the blue.
Skelton who was pictured consoling team mates (pictured) earlier this year in there Bledisloe Cup defeat to the All Blacks was not part of the Wallabies leadership team. Skelton said he was surprised and initially reluctant to accept the position but finally accepted as he trusted Jones and his decision to pick him.
Jones Takes Risk With Uncapped Players
Jones has decided to take a risk by leaving out a number of senior players and bringing in multiple uncapped players for a huge tournament like the 2023 Rugby World Cup. Some of the seniors that will be missing in action include Quade Cooper, Michael Hooper, Len Ikitau and Allan Alaalatoa.
Wallabies fans will get to see uncapped players like Issak Fines-Leleiwasa, 18 year old Max Jorgensen and Blake Schoupp. As many as 16 out of the 33 players are under the age of 25 and 25 out of these 33 players will be playing at their first Rugby World Cup.
