TUDOR, OFFICIAL TIMEKEEPER
FOR RUGBY WORLD CUP 2023™ IN FRANCE
As part of its longstanding partnership with World Rugby™, TUDOR is the Official Timekeeper for Rugby World Cup 2023™, which will take place in France from 8 September to 28 October. Rugby is an uncompromising sport with bold values, a true reflection of the spirit that has driven this watchmaking brand since its inception.
With 30 players operating at peak performance on the field each battling to score a try against their opponents, rugby is the ultimate team sport. Requiring speed, power and daringness, it also demands a unified spirit. Faced with increasingly well-organised defences, direct contact is not always the right approach, which is where a more free-flowing style comes into its own. And although the sport has become more popular globally over the past 20 years, it has lost none of its authenticity. Whether in terms of respect for your opponent or for the referee, both on and off the pitch, rugby has managed to maintain its tradition of teamwork and camaraderie.
It was these noble values and the sport’s daring image – which together reflect the uncompromising watchmaking philosophy that has defined TUDOR since 1926 – that led the Swiss brand to join forces with World Rugby™ in 2017 as part of its #BornToDare campaign. In addition to the men’s and women’s Rugby World Cup™ and World Cup Sevens, TUDOR also supports the annual U20 World Cups, which provide an international platform to the sport’s future stars. TUDOR has also partnered with World Rugby™ Awards, which recognises the season’s best teams, players and officials every year. Finally, TUDOR supports the Rugby Hall of Fame – an institution established in the town of Rugby in the UK where the sport was born in the 1820s – celebrating those who have contributed towards its reputation.
A FOURTH RUGBY WORLD CUP™ FOR THE ALL BLACKS?
The 10th edition of the Rugby World Cup™ – the world’s third largest sporting event, held every four years – will take place in France for the first time since 2007 and is set to be the best one yet. A total of 48 matches will be contested by 20 teams at nine venues across nine cities, with TUDOR as Official Timekeeper. Rugby World Cup 2023™ takes place in the year that the sport celebrates 200 years since Rugby School pupil William Webb Ellis was credited with inventing the game of rugby football.
The competing teams include the famous All Blacks, proudly representing New Zealand as three-time World Champions (1987, 2011, 2015), and looking to lift the Webb Ellis Cup again. TUDOR is the Official Timekeeper for both the tournament and the All Blacks team, whose history extends back more than a century. They are one of the most successful and legendary teams in world sport with a winning Test record of more than 77 percent. As a group, they push the game to new heights, passing on the guardianship of the legend to each new generation of players. The All Blacks show they are ready for anything when they perform the haka, the world-famous, awe-inspiring Māori war dance before every Test match.
THE WORLD IS WAITING
The iconic Stade de France in the country’s capital city, Paris, is the stage for the tournament’s pinnacle events, including the opening game and the Final. On 8 September, France take on New Zealand in a mouth-watering opening clash which would surely be a fitting final were the same two teams to meet at the same venue 51 days later.
The world is waiting with bated breath to see the hosts tackle the All Blacks in their first Rugby World Cup™ meeting since 2015 when New Zealand ran in nine tries to humble Les Bleus 62-13 in Cardiff, Wales, on their way to another victorious World Cup campaign.
Since then, France has re-emerged as one of the most powerful forces in World Rugby™ and will be one of the favourites to win the tournament and claim a maiden Rugby World Cup™ triumph on home soil. However, in multiple winners New Zealand, they could not face a tougher test to begin their bid.
