Virgin Media Television and RT announce broadcast schedule as the world's top sides compete for the Webb Ellis Cup
Today, Monday 21st August, RT and Virgin Media Television announced details of its joint broadcast schedule for the Rugby World Cup 2023, with all 48 matches to be available live and free-to-air for Irish fans.
The partnership will see all games equally aired across both broadcasters again this year, for what promises to be an explosive World Cup. Don't miss a second of the action from France, as Andy Farrell's team look to make history in the coming weeks.
It all gets underway on Friday 8th September with the hosts France taking on the All Blacks on RT 2. The action runs right up to the final on Saturday 28th October. Ireland will enter the fray on Saturday 9th September against Romania in Bordeaux, kicking off on Virgin Media Television at 2.30pm. On Saturday 16th September, Ireland v Tonga will air on RT 2, followed by South Africa v Ireland on Sunday 23rd September, 8pm. Ireland v Scotland will then air on Virgin Media Television on Sunday 7th October.
Declan McBennett, Head of RT Sport commented: With anticipation rising ahead of RWC we are delighted to bring the entire tournament to the Irish public free to air in conjunction with Virgin Media. The competition promises to deliver some brilliant moments and memories from France and RTE Sport will bring you the thrills, spills and talking points across all platforms.
Mick McCaffrey, Head of News and Sport at Virgin Media Television said: After Ireland's emphatic victory over England at the Aviva Stadium last weekend, the stage is set for what promises to be a brilliant Rugby World Cup 2023. We are very excited to bring our viewers all the action live and free to air, on the Virgin Media Player and across our social media platforms. Our line-up of expert analysts and commentators will both inform and entertain rugby fans across the country throughout September and October.
Jacqui Hurley will present coverage of all the live games on RT 2 and RT Player with Hugh Cahill, Des Curran and Connor Morris on commentary. Daire O'Brien will also present a comprehensive round-up of the news and action from France on Against the Head on RT 2 each Monday. RT reporters including Clare MacNamara, Justin Treacy, Paul O'Flynn and Neil Treacy will be with the Ireland camp in France throughout the tournament. Michael Corcoran and David Humphreys will also bring live coverage on RT Radio 1.
RT panellists and co-commentators this year include Jamie Heaslip, Simon Zebo, Jerry Flannery, Stephen Ferris, Fiona Coghlan, Bernard Jackman, Hannah Tyrrell, Donal, Lenihan and Darren Cave.
RT 's comprehensive Rugby World Cup 2023 coverage of all matches includes exclusive free-to-air matches on RT 2, RT Radio and RT Player, while RT .ie/Sport will have minute-by-minute match coverage alongside news, analysis and interviews and on @RTErugby. Against The Head returns with the latest news and discussions on Monday nights on RT 2 and RT Sport will bring fans closer to all things Rugby World Cup 2023 on The RT Rugby Podcast. RT News will have the latest coverage around the Rugby World Cup, including updates on the RT News Now app.
Date Match Broadcaster KO
Friday 8 Sept France v New Zealand RT 20:15
Saturday 9 Sept Italy v Namibia VMTV 12:00
Saturday 9 Sept Ireland v Romania VMTV 14:30
Saturday 9 Sept Australia v Georgia RT 17:00
Saturday 9 Sept England v Argentina RT 20:00
Sunday 10 Sept Japan v Chile RT 12:00
Sunday 10 Sept South Africa v Scotland VMTV 16:45
Sunday 10 Sept Wales v Fiji VMTV 20:00
Thursday 14 Sept France v Uruguay VMTV 20:00
Friday 15 Sept New Zealand v Namibia VMTV 20:00
Saturday 16 Sept Samoa v Chile VMTV 14:00
Saturday 16 Sept Wales v Portugal VMTV 16:45
Saturday 16 Sept Ireland v Tonga RT 20:00
Sunday 17 Sept South Africa v Romania RT 14:00
Sunday 17 Sept Australia v Fiji RT 16:45
Sunday 17 Sept England v Japan VMTV 20:00
Wednesday 20 Sept Italy v Uruguay VMTV 16:45
Thursday 21 Sept France v Namibia RT 20:00
Friday 22 Sept Argentina v Samoa RT 16:45
Saturday 23 Sept Georgia v Portugal VMTV 13:00
Saturday 23 Sept England v Chile VMTV 16:45
Saturday 23 Sept South Africa v Ireland RT 20:00
Sunday 24 Sept Scotland v Tonga RT 16:45
Sunday 24 Sept Wales v Australia VMTV 20:00
Wednesday 27 Sept Uruguay v Namibia VMTV 16:45
Thursday 28 Sept Japan v Samoa RT 20:00
Friday 29 Sept New Zealand v Italy VMTV 20:00
Saturday 30 Sept Argentina v Chile RT 14:00
Saturday 30 Sept Fiji v Georgia RT 16:45
Saturday 30 Sept Scotland v Romania VMTV 20:00
Sunday 1 Oct Australia v Portugal VMTV 16:45
Sunday 1 Oct South Africa v Tonga RT 20:00
Thursday 5 Oct New Zealand v Uruguay RT 20:00
Friday 6 Oct France v Italy RT 20:00
Saturday 7 Oct Wales v Georgia RT 14:00
Saturday 7 Oct England v Samoa RT 16:45
Saturday 7 Oct Ireland v Scotland VMTV 20:00
Sunday 8 Oct Japan v Argentina VMTV 12:00
Sunday 8 Oct Tonga v Romania RT 16:45
Sunday 8 Oct Fiji v Portugal RT 20:00
Saturday 14 Oct QF1: Winner C v RU D TBC* 16:00
Saturday 14 Oct QF2: Winner B v RU A TBC* 20:00
Sunday 15 Oct QF3: Winner D v RU C TBC* 16:00
Sunday 15 Oct QF4: Winner A v RU B TBC* 20:00
Friday 20 Oct SF1: Winner QF1 v QF2 TBC** 20:00
Saturday 21 Oct SF2: Winner QF3 v QF4 TBC** 20:00
Friday 27 Oct 3-4 Play-Off VMTV 20:00
Saturday 28 Oct Final VMTV & RT 20:00
*Virgin Media Television will show Ireland's quarter-final should they reach the last eight, along with the other game that day. RT will show the other two quarter-finals.
**RT
More from RTE
21/04/2026
Summer is nearly here and Super Garden is returning to our screens to spark some gardening inspiration. The new series kicks off on Thursday 23 April at 7pm on ...
16/04/2026
RTS Ireland Awards / Gradaim RTS 2026 Winners Announced
Awards hosted by RT | Presented by Louise Duffy & Aisling Bonner
Thursday, 16 April 2026 | Dublin Roy...
16/04/2026
The search for Ireland's newest country music star takes place live on Frida...
15/04/2026
Two Cities Television and Keeper Pictures to produce six-part series in association with Screen Ireland for RT and ITV Studios
RT has commissioned Two Citie...
15/04/2026
RT 100
RT unveils The Signal' a specially commissioned 60-second film
...
13/04/2026
The search for Ireland's newest country music star is live on Friday 17 Apri...
13/04/2026
RT Radio 1 has today launched a significant step in its ongoing strategic evolution. Following the launch of its brand-new schedule late last year, RT Radio 1...
13/04/2026
The Late Late Show Opening Act, the search for Ireland's newest country musi...
13/04/2026
RT has today announced the appointment of Annemarie Britz to the position of Chief Financial Officer, RT following a public competition.
Annemarie Britz is c...
09/04/2026
RT Sport has announced Brian Fenton will join its Sunday Game GAA punditry panel for the 2026 Championship, featuring across video, audio, online including the...
09/04/2026
Doireann N Ghlac in returns as presenter, with the first episode airing this Friday at 8.30pm on RT One and RT Player
The beloved walking series Tracks & T...
08/04/2026
Young Forever: The Death of Ageing? airs Monday 13 April and 20 April on RT One and RT Player
Around the world, the race to beat ageing is on. From cutting ...
07/04/2026
THE GAA CHAMPIONSHIPS ARE BACK WITH A BANG
LIVE AND FREE TO AIR ACROSS ALL RT PLATFORMS
The Sunday Game and The Sunday Game Live return on Sunday 12 April
L...
02/04/2026
2FM Breakfast to extend on weekday mornings from 6am to 10am
Doireann Garrihy m...
02/04/2026
RT News & Current Affairs is pleased to announce the appointment of RT Radio 1 reporter, Barry Lenihan, as Political Correspondent.
Barry has reported across...
01/04/2026
Rugby fans won't miss a moment of the action this spring, with full Women...
01/04/2026
T Bluey ag teacht go RT ! Beginning on Monday 6 April 2026, Bluey will be available as Gaeilge on RT KIDSjr and RT Player. Children will be able to connect w...
27/03/2026
RT Supporting the Arts
RT is Supporting 20 Arts and Cultural Events all over Ireland this April
RT is proud to support an exciting month of arts and cul...
27/03/2026
Average of 1.37 million viewers watched Irish World Cup heartbreak on RT 2
Over one million streams on RT Player
Highest number of streams for any single eve...
26/03/2026
RT Commercial today announced Fiat as sponsor of The Louise Duffy Show on RT Radio 1, Weekdays 3pm 4pm.
The Louise Duffy Show is the home of daytime music...
24/03/2026
Jock and Conor are back in Cork for series 5
A new series of hit-comedy The Young Offenders will drop on RT Player on Good Friday 3 April. The show, produced...
24/03/2026
RT 's new history podcast, What Were We Like, is out now. Hosted by historian Diarmaid Ferriter and archivist Catriona Crowe, the series focuses on modern I...
24/03/2026
All three presenters, Maura, D ith and Sinead, celebrate as afternoon chat show filmed in Cork hits milestone.
Ireland's longest running afternoon show, t...
23/03/2026
RT is sad today to learn of the death of legendary RT Sport broadcaster Michael Lyster, who died this morning aged 71 years.
Kevin Bakhurst, Director-General...
23/03/2026
RT Documentary On One has scooped its first ever dedicated music award. At the 2026 Icelandic Music Awards, composer lfur Eldj rn won Release of the Year in t...
23/03/2026
Inside Sport, Liveline, Morning Ireland and 2FM DRIVE will all be in Prague to bring fans to the heart of the action
Every Moment, Every GenerationRT | FIFA W...
20/03/2026
Dingle, Co. Kerry - Animation Dingle is delighted to announce that Suzanne Kelly, Head of Children's and Young People's Content at RT , will receive the...
20/03/2026
It's time to play The Money List! Baz Ashmawy is back at the helm as the qui...
19/03/2026
Other Voices presents a legendary night of music as Foo Fighters bring their stadium anthems to St James' Church, An Daingean. The surprise performance teas...
19/03/2026
***Issued by RT on behalf of RTS Ireland Awards / Gradaim RTS 2026...
16/03/2026
After a nail-biting Grand Finale, Rose of Tralee Katelyn Cummins has been announced as the winner of Dancing with the Stars 2026.
The four finalists each dance...
16/03/2026
Welcome to Moore Street will begin on RT One and RT Player on Thursday 19 Marc...
13/03/2026
RT has announced today that Rick O'Shea is the new presenter of Arena RT Radio 1's flagship weeknight arts and culture programme. Rick has been pres...
13/03/2026
Lights! Camera! Action! The 98th Oscars set to air live as RT backs the Irish n...
12/03/2026
The Late Late Show Show St Patrick's Day special
Dancing with the Stars f...
11/03/2026
TELL US YOUR (SHORT) STORIES
The 2026 RT Short Story Competition is now open for entries
Recognising and rewarding the best new Irish fiction writing for...
11/03/2026
RT 's The Traitors Ireland is among the nominees for the 2026 Celtic Media Festival Torc Awards for Excellence, announced today....
09/03/2026
A powerful new national initiative supporting people living with dementia launch...
06/03/2026
We are deeply saddened to hear the very sad news of the death of our friend and colleague, John McHugh. John was an exceptionally talented creative leader who s...
06/03/2026
First exclusive look at RT 's promo as Ireland prepare to take on Czechia
Every Moment, Every Generation
https://youtu.be/2ijo96EadLU
36 years after Geor...
05/03/2026
Celebrating 21 Years of the RT Choice Music Prize
RT Choice Music Prize
In association with IMRO and IRMA
RT Choice Music Prize Irish Album of the Year 2...
03/03/2026
RT is proud to support a rich and diverse programme of arts and cultural events taking place across Ireland throughout March 2026. This month brings a remarkab...
03/03/2026
RT Media Sales has announced Spry Finance has renewed it's sponsorship of M...
27/02/2026
One of Ireland's favourite lifestyle shows Home of the Year, returns for its 12th series and will be proudly sponsored by SIRO. The brand-new series will ai...
27/02/2026
Our Farm: A GIY Story lands on RT One and RT Player from March 3
From walled garden to community farm, new six-part series captures the unfiltered realities...
27/02/2026
Note: English version included below the Irish language version.
Seachtain na Gaeilge 2026 ar RT
A Ghaeilge mo cheol th '
T feachtas athnuaite i n...
26/02/2026
There were two big wins for RT KIDS shows at the 17th Kidscreen Awards in San Diego this week with Maddie Triggs and BeddyByes both taking home gongs.
The K...
26/02/2026
RT has confirmed that it has today received payment from the GAA for its 50% share of GAAGO.
RT confirmed in February 2025 that it had agreed in principle wi...
26/02/2026
RT Statement regarding the broadcast of Republic of Ireland vs Israel Nations League fixture
If the match goes ahead and that is a decision for the FAI as ...
Virgin Media Television and RT announce broadcast schedule as the world's top sides compete for the Webb Ellis Cup 
