The 2023 Rugby World Cup kicked off in style over weekend with France and New Zealand getting the action underway on Friday night before two Cherry & Whites went head-to-head in the final game of the round last night as Wales faced off with Fiji.

However, it was scrum-half Stephen Varney who was the first Gloucester Rugby player to make their 2023 World Cup bow when his Italian side took on Namibia in the tournament’s second game.  Varney started the game and played 48 minutes of their 52-8 victory in Saint-Etienne.

Next up was Jonny May, Santi Carreras and Mati Alemanno, as the trio locked horns Marseille for England vs Argentina. A late call-up to Head Coach Steve Borthwick’s squad, Jonny May forced his way into the starting line-up in England’s crucial opening pool game. It wasn’t a game to remember for the Pumas despite an early red card for England. Carreras’ yellow card in the 9th minute equalled out the sides temporarily, but his side struggled to get a foothold in the game. Alemanno played for the first-half before being withdrawn with a knock at half-time. England were thankful for the unwavering boot of George Ford who bagged all the points in their 27-10 victory. 

The round finished with Louis Rees-Zammit and Albert Tuisue sharing the field in Bordeaux in the hugely anticipated fixture between Wales and Fiji. The Fijians entered the competition off the back of an impressive win over England and rightly came into the game with their tails up. Despite plenty of pressure from the Fijian side, it looked like Wales were cruising towards victory, especially after Rees-Zammit’s try in the 48th minute extended their lead to 25-14. However, a late surge from Fiji left the game hanging in the balance right down to the final play. As the ball was launched wide, it looked like Fiji were going to take the game down to a conversion to win the game, but the ball didn’t quite stick for Radradra who fell to his haunches on what could’ve been. The game finished 32-26. 

Next Up | Gloucester Rugby representatives

Wales v Portugal (Saturday 16 September, 4:45pm)

Louis Rees-Zammit

Australia v Fiji (Sunday 17 September, 4:45pm)

Albert Tuisue

England v Japan (Sunday 17 September, 8pm)

Jonny May

Italy v Uruguay (Wednesday 20 September, 4:45pm)

Stephen Varney

Argentina v Samoa (Friday 22 September, 4:45pm)

Santi Carreras, Mati Alemanno, Mayco Vivas

Scotland v Tonga (Sunday 24 September, 4:45pm)

Chris Harris