First Rugby World Cup 2023 ticket packs go on sale

--High demand expected ahead of the first RWC 2023 ticket packs going on real-time-sale

--500,000 people registered for the 2023 Family presale that starts today from 11:00 GMT

--Mastercard is offering its cardholders priority access to the presale (15-17 March)

--Availability on all products is guaranteed on the launch day of all sale phases, including 18 March (for anyone in the 2023 Family) and 6 April (general public)

--Kick-off times confirmed for all 48 matches

Fans who have signed-up to the 2023 Family will be able to purchase City and Follow My Team packs from 11:00 GMT/12:00 CET today as the phased ticket sales process begins for Rugby World Cup 2023 in France.

A record 2.6 million tickets will be made available for the tournament, underscoring its ambition to be the most accessible Rugby World Cup ever. Tickets will go on sale through a real-time phased process, starting with a pre-sale of City and Team packs from 15 March-5 April, before being made available to the general public on 6 April.

2023 FAMILY PRESALE

Fans, regardless of their location, who have signed up the 2023 Family will be able to purchase Follow My Team packs and City packs at 11:00 GMT via the dedicated ticketing site, tickets.rugbyworldcup.com on a first come first served basis.

Rugby World Cup 2023 Worldwide Partner Mastercard is offering its cardholders priority access to the pre-sale (15-17 March), during which time Mastercard will be the sole payment solution accepted on the platform.

Availability of all products is guaranteed when packs become available to the 2023 Family on 18 March at 17:00 GMT and to the general public on 6 April at 17:00 GMT.

HIGH DEMAND ANTICIPATED

With 500,000 people registered to the 2023 Family and tickets sold in real time, demand for rugby’s pinnacle tournament is expected to surpass previous events. In the event of a high volume of fans trying to access tickets.rugbyworldcup.com at the same time, a queue system will be implemented to allow fans who are on the ticketing website the chance to purchase packs easily and without issues.

Rugby enthusiasts waiting to access the platform will have an option to be alerted by email when they reach the front of the queue. Fans also have 48 hours to confirm their selection and can make phased payments.

FOLLOW MY TEAM & CITY PACKS

The Follow My Team Pack includes all four pool matches for a qualified team, with the possibility to purchase a ticket for the team’s quarter-final should it qualifies for the knockout phase. Should the team not make it past the pool phase, ticket holders will receive a full refund for that quarter-final. Twelve Follow My Team packs will be available, one for each qualified nation.

The City Pack includes either three or all pool matches in each of the nine host cities. In the ‘three matches’ City Pack, fans will be able to select two matches of their choice, while a third game will come standard with every pack. For the City pack, rugby fans will be able to attend all pool matches in the host city of their choice, excepting Saint-Denis (Stade de France) as the opening game is not included in that pack.

These packs will be available until September 2022 (subject to availability), time at which individual match tickets will be released. Purchased tickets will be downloadable a few weeks prior to the tournament.

An official re-sale platform will also be launched in 2022. Ticket holders will have the opportunity to resale their tickets to other fans through this secured platform.

KICK-OFF TIMES WITH FANS AT HEART

The France 2023 Organising Committee and World Rugby have also confirmed kick-off times for the competition’s 48 matches played across 10 host cities and 9 stadiums. Kick-off times have been selected to maximise fan attendance and broadcast audience, taking into consideration time zones across different continents. With matches condensed around the end of weeks, kick-off times reflect usual live sports and rugby culture in France with 24 matches being played at (20:00 GMT / 21:00 CET), reflecting a model that was hugely successful at Rugby World Cup 2007 in France.

VIEW ALL RWC 2023 KICK-OFF TIMES >>

World Rugby Chairman, Sir Bill Beaumont said: "Today is the moment fans have been waiting for – the first ticket packs going on sale. We have seen extraordinary levels of excitement with half a million fans joining the 2023 Family, all eager to play a part in rugby’s 200th birthday celebrations."

Claude Atcher, France 2023 CEO added: "There is an incredible amount of anticipation for this Rugby World Cup. Since announcing the match schedule and ticketing programme, hundreds of thousands of fans from across the globe have activated their accounts on our ticketing platform. Bringing together the largest possible audience is a key priority for us. In that sense, our kick-off times will provide European broadcasters with 24 matches in primetime, translating in an exceptional level of exposure."

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