How to watch the 2023 Rugby World Cup on TV – and the 12 best commentators,

The Rugby World Cup starts on Friday (September 8) with France v New Zealand and ends with the final on October 28. 

Across those seven weeks, there are 27 days on which a rugby match is being played. And on most match days there is more than one fixture, with the majority of games taking place at the weekend. 

For the full match list, see our dedicated guide to the tournament schedule. And if a wallchart is what you’re looking for, we’ve got one of those too. Scroll down for our ranking of the 12 best commentators and pundits in the game. 

How to watch the 2023 Rugby World Cup on TV in the UK

In the UK, the tournament is being broadcast only on ITV. 

The lead presenter is Mark Pougatch, who usually helms the channel’s football coverage. Jill Douglas will share presenting duties, from France, alongside David Flatman and Hugh Woozencroft. 

Other pundits on the ITV roster include Jonny Wilkinson, Sam Warburton, Brian O’Driscoll, Bryan Habana, Clive Woodward, Sergio Parisse, Lawrence Dallaglio and Sean Fitzpatrick. 

Lead commentating duties will fall to Nick Mullins, Miles Harrison, Johnnie Hammond, Martin Gillingham and Claire Thomas while ITV’s co-commentating team includes Ben Kay, Shane Williams and Scott Hastings. 

Interviews will be conducted by Gabriel Clarke, Lee McKenzie and Topsy Ojo. 

In the US, the tournament is being shown on NBC Sports. In South Africa the TV coverage is on SuperSport.

How to listen on the radio

Live radio coverage of matches at the 2023 Rugby World Cup is exclusively on the BBC. Matches will be broadcast on BBC Radio 5 Live, 5 Sports Extra and on BBC Sounds.  

Sonja McLaughlan is the main radio presenter. Other BBC Radio pundits and co-commentators include Matt Dawson, Chris Ashton and Ugo Monye.

Which ITV channel are the games on?

All games will be broadcast on ITV1 apart from the following eight matches

• Italy v Uruguay (September 20) – ITV4
• France v Namibia (September 21) – ITV4
• Uruguay v Namibia (September 27) – ITV4
• Japan v Samoa (September 28) – ITV4
• Australia v Portugal (October 1) – ITV4
• New Zealand v Uruguay (October 5) – ITV4
• Tonga v Romania (October 8) – ITV3
• Fiji v Portugal (October 8) – ITV4

By Charles Richardson

As rugby gets ready to welcome an army of casual fans, here’s our guide to the best pundits and commentators working in the sport. 

To avoid a conflict of interest, three Telegraph columnists were deemed ineligible for selection in this list: Brian Moore, Maggie Alphonsi and Sir Ian McGeechan. 

12. Lawrence Dallaglio (ITV)

Prone to a ramble but amid the occasional waffle there can be a great deal of sense. Like his England captain, Johnson (see below), Dallaglio is forthright and not afraid to speak his mind, but knowledge around the laws of the game can often be found wanting. Shrewdness in that area was one of his strengths as a player; not so much as a pundit. Still, an ardent follower of rugby on a weekly basis; he is more in tune than most.

11. Bobby…