Scotland to get ‘invaluable experience’ ahead of Rugby World Cup

The Scots play World Cup hosts France twice ahead of the tournament as well as facing Italy and Georgia

Pa Sport Staff
Tuesday 10 January 2023 12:37 GMT
Comments
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend pleased with World Cup warm-up plans (Jane Barlow/PA)
Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend pleased with World Cup warm-up plans (Jane Barlow/PA) (PA Wire)

Your support helps us to tell the story

From reproductive rights to climate change to Big Tech, The Independent is on the ground when the story is developing. Whether it's investigating the financials of Elon Musk's pro-Trump PAC or producing our latest documentary, 'The A Word', which shines a light on the American women fighting for reproductive rights, we know how important it is to parse out the facts from the messaging.

At such a critical moment in US history, we need reporters on the ground. Your donation allows us to keep sending journalists to speak to both sides of the story.

The Independent is trusted by Americans across the entire political spectrum. And unlike many other quality news outlets, we choose not to lock Americans out of our reporting and analysis with paywalls. We believe quality journalism should be available to everyone, paid for by those who can afford it.

Your support makes all the difference.

Scotland head coach Gregor Townsend believes four Test matches this summer will provide “invaluable experience” in preparation for the 2023 Rugby World Cup.

Three of the games will take place at Murrayfield, starting with the visit of Italy on Saturday 29 July before the Scots welcome France to Edinburgh a week later.

Scotland will travel to face the World Cup hosts on Saturday 12 August with the venue to be confirmed. They will take on Georgia at Murrayfield on Saturday 26 August, with kick-off times for all games also still to be confirmed.

Townsend said: “2023 is a huge year for our national team and after the Six Nations our focus will quickly turn to the Rugby World Cup.

“All four fixtures will provide invaluable experiences in our preparation for the tournament.

“Having the opportunity to play at home on three occasions before we depart will enable our players to feel the backing of our supporters ahead of setting off for the World Cup.

“The match against France away from home will be very important as we are going to spend time at our training base for the World Cup in Nice prior to the match and replicate the schedule our players will experience during the tournament itself.”

The Rugby World Cup will take place between September 8 and October 28 with Scotland drawn in Pool B alongside defending world champions South Africa, Ireland, Tonga and Romania.

Join our commenting forum

Join thought-provoking conversations, follow other Independent readers and see their replies

Comments

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged inPlease refresh your browser to be logged in