Rugby World Cup 2023

At the centre, a stylised rugby player in full stride carrying the ball between goal posts visible at both ends of a playing field modelled on a stylised globe, reflecting the international character of the event. Along the upper edge the commemoration inscription "COUPE DU MONDE RUGBY FRANCE 2023"; at the lower left the official Rugby Union logo; at the lower right the monogram "RF" and the mint marks of the French Mint and Chief Engraver Joaquin Jimenez.

Rugby union is one of the most physically demanding team sports in the world: fifteen players per side fight for every metre on a pitch up to 100 metres long, combining physical contact, tactical intelligence and stamina to a degree that few other disciplines require. France has a long and passionate history with the sport — the national team, known as Les Bleus, has been one of the leading forces of the Northern Hemisphere for decades and, with its distinctive, attacking style of play, has shaped entire generations of European rugby. The national federation, the Fédération Française de Rugby, founded in 1919, is today one of the country's largest sports associations by membership.

The Rugby World Cup, held every four years since 1987, is the sport's biggest tournament and is organised by World Rugby. France had already hosted the tournament in 2007; in 2023 it returned on a significantly larger scale: nine stadiums in ten cities — including Paris, Lyon, Marseille and Bordeaux — welcomed more than 600,000 fans from around the world. The final took place at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis in front of around 80,000 spectators; New Zealand claimed the Webb Ellis Cup against South Africa. France was eliminated in the quarter-finals but left a lasting impression as host. To mark the tournament, the Banque de France issued a 2-euro commemorative coin in 2023.