Cooling breaks will be implemented during “all matches of the Rugby World Cup this weekend”, the world rugby body indicated on Friday, a few hours before the opening match and while an episode unprecedented heatwave hits France. “The refreshment breaks will take place in the middle of the two periods, during a normal interruption of play. The process will be managed by the referee,” said World Rugby, the organizing body, in a press release.
The opening match of the World Cup (September 8-October 28), Friday evening between France and New Zealand, will be played in a temperature close to 30 degrees, in Saint-Denis, near Paris, the French capital where the 35 degrees were reached on Friday. A total of seven Rugby World Cup fixtures are scheduled for this weekend, some in the early or mid-afternoon. Cooling breaks had already been introduced by World Rugby during previous World Cups, notably during the 2019 edition in Japan.
