With the World Cup over, let's look back at the upsets, surprise victories, and shock losses and the flying tackles, drop goals, and the triumphant tries that came with the flashes of reds and yellows from the recent RWC.

The Rugby World Cup is a tournament hosted every four years. In total, twenty teams compete in four groups of five, with the top two progressing to the knockout stages, and from there, the top four continue to compete in the semi-finals and the final.

This year the host nation was France, and Argentina, Australia, Chile, England, Georgia, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Namibia, New Zealand, Portugal, Romania, Samoa, Scotland, South Africa, Tonga, Uruguay, and Wales all took part. The host cities in France were Paris, Marseille, Lyon, Bordeaux, Saint-Étienne, Nice, Nantes, Toulouse, and Lille.

The opening of the tournament came with both a bang and a shock as the Stade de France hosted three-time runners up, France also known as "Les Bleus", who went head-to-head with three-time world champions, the All Blacks of New Zealand. This match ended with a shocking, and historical result, as the French handed the All Blacks their very first World Cup pool stage loss with a final score of 27 (France) - 13 (New Zealand). During this match, several famous celebrities, including French Football Star Kylian Mbappé, were spotted amongst the crowds watching.

The next day saw four incredible results, with Italy, Ireland, Australia, and England, all winning their respective opening pool matches. The final games of Week one came with victories for South Africa, Japan, and Wales.

Week 2 kicked off on Thursday, September 14th, with France taking the win against Uruguay. The following day, the All Blacks came back with an absolute bang, sealing a 71-3 win over Namibia. Saturday, saw some massive victories, with Wales and Ireland each sealing their second victories and Samoa winning their opener against world cup debutant Chile in a 43-10 victory. The Sunday saw a second win for the reigning champions the South African Springboks and England, with the Australian Wallabies leaving without a single point against the Fijian Rugby Team, which meant that if they lost their next match, against Wales, they would be out of the tournament, which meant the pressure was mounting.

The third week opened with Italy sealing a second victory in the world cup against Uruguay, with a final score 38-17 taking Italy to the top of the pool. Les Bleus swiftly halted any Namibian hopes for a victory, with a final score that almost went over 100 points. Argentina also followed up with a tight victory over Samoa to seal their first victory. However, the most anticipated game, was South Africa against Ireland, which saw Ireland beat the champions by only five points. The biggest shock came with the 40-6 loss that Wales handed to Eddie Jones’ Wallabies, which meant that unless Fiji lost the next two matches, for the very first time, Australia would be out of the World Cup.

Week 4 saw victories for: Uruguay, Japan, New Zealand, Argentina, Fiji, Scotland, Australia, and South Africa. Things became tight in the final week, with several one-point victories, and a historic win for Portugal over Fiji, which closed out the pool stages of the tournament.

At the end of the pool stages, there were eight teams left: the French and the All Blacks from Pool A, the Irish and the reigning champions, the South-African Springboks from Pool B. The Wales team, "The Dragons" and the "Flying Fijians" represented Pool C in the knockout stages, and England and "Los Pumas" from Argentina emerged victorious from Pool D.

The following weekend saw the stadiums in both Paris and Marseilles light up with fiery quarterfinal matches. The Saturday started with the Argentinian Pumas, quenching the fiery Welsh dragons in a thrilling match that ended with a final score of 29-17 for the Pumas, seeing them through to compete in the semifinals. Later that same day saw one of the most exciting games, where the world number one ranked side in Ireland, came face to face with the All Blacks from New Zealand. This match would end with all blacks having received two yellow cards and the Irish having zero. However, after a highly intense match, the All Blacks, would come out on top. In the end, the final score was 28-24 to the All Blacks.

We then saw Fiji face England, with the latter hoping to avenge their shock of a loss at Twickenham during the Summer International Series. After a very tense match, the England team continued their undefeated streak and progressed to the semifinals, with a score of 30-24. That night saw the reigning champions, the Springboks, come face to face with the French hosts. This was also a major match as French Scrum-Half Antoine Dupont returned to the field for the first time since his injury against Namibia. In the end the world champions squeaked out a one-point victory, this meant that the French team were eliminated from their Home World Cup.

At the end of the weekend, only four teams were left standing: New Zealand, South Africa, England and Argentina. Semifinals kicked off on the Friday, and, during a highly intense match, full of crazy highs and lows, the All Blacks came out on top. On Saturday, the rematch of the 2019 grand finale, England vs South Africa, took place. This match was full of tackles, drop goals and penalties. In the end, the South Africans came out on top by 15:16. This meant that the opening match of the 2019 world cup, would close out the 2023 world cup as New Zealand would take on the Springboks.

The grand final took place, with both teams on the hunt for their fourth title, the stage was set for a spectacular match. This match also saw the first ever red card in a world cup final, which was shown to the New Zealand Captain Sam Cane, after a high, dangerous tackle, on the South African Outside Centre Jessie Kriel. This meant that New Zealand would have to play with fourteen men, and Ardea Savea, the Number 8, had to step up and as New Zealand captain In the end after a high-level match, the Springboks lifted the world cup for the fourth time, and the second consecutive time, having won in 2019 against England. The final score read 11-12 for the Boks. This meant that the All Blacks finished 2nd, England 3rd and Argentina 4th.

Looking back at this World Cup, and looking ahead to the 2027 World Cup, there are plenty of questions and lots to look forward to: Will the Springboks make it 5? Can Australia make a successful comeback as both Hosts and as a Team? Will there be any shocks, or wildcards? The All Blacks will be out for revenge, the Wallabies seeking vengence, and all teams will be looking to have their name engraved on the Webb Ellis Cup.