Ireland v Romania at the Rugby World Cup: Kick-off time, TV details and team news

The Rugby World Cup is kicking off and Ireland will face Romania in their first game - here is all you need to know about the game.

WORK DONE: Head coach Andy Farrell watches his players during the Ireland rugby squad captain's run at the Stade de Bordeaux. Pic: Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

It's finally here. Rugby World Cup 2023 is kicking off this weekend and Ireland will face Romania in their first group game on Saturday. Here is everything you need to know about the fixture. 

Where is the game being played?

The game is being played in the 42,060 seater Stade de Bordeaux.

VENUE: Ireland will take on Romania in the Stade de Bordeaux in Bordeaux, France. Pic:  Brendan Moran/Sportsfile

What time is kick-off?

Game is kicking off at 2.30pm Irish time (3.30pm local time).

Where to watch?

The game will be live on Virgin Media Virgin One from 2pm. It will also be streamed on the Virgin Media Player. The game will also be shown live on ITV.

Who is the referee?

Nika Amashukeli from Georgia will be the man in the middle for the game. The highly rated Amashukeli will make history as he becomes the first Georgian to referee at a RWC and is the youngest of the 12 match officials at this RWC. He becomes the second youngest, after Wayne Barnes, to ever take charge of a RWC match. 

HISTORY: Referee Nika Amashukeli will become the first referee from Georgia to take charge of a RWC match and the second youngest referee to ever take charge at a RWC match. Pic: ©INPHO/Bryan Keane

Team News

Andy Farrell has named a strong team for their opening game with a mixture of experienced and young players. Farrell hopes for his side to go 'full steam ahead' from the first game to set the tone for their tournament. Captain Johnny Sexton is back for his first game since Ireland won the Grand Slam against England on March 18 and is looking forward to getting back out to lead his side in what will be his fourth and final Rugby World Cup.

IRELAND: H Keenan; K Earls, G Ringrose, B Aki, J Lowe; J Sexton (captain), J Gibson-Park; A Porter, R Herring, T Furlong; J McCarthy, J Ryan; T Beirne, P O’Mahony, C Doris 

Replacements: R Kelleher, J Loughman, T O’Toole, I Henderson, J van der Flier, C Murray, J Crowley, R Henshaw.

ROMANIA: M Simionescu, N Onutu, F Tangimana, J Tomane, T Manumua, H Vaovasa, G Rupanu, I Hartig, O Cojocaru, A Gordas, A Motoc, S Iancu, F Rosu, V Neculau, C Chirica (captain) 

Replacements: F Bardasu, A Savin, G Gajion, M Iftimiciuc, D Ser, A Conache, T Boldor, T Gontineac

Listen to The Irish Examiner Rugby World Cup podcast with co-hosts Simon Lewis and Brendan O'Brien who are joined by La Rochelle head coach Ronan O'Gara and his fellow Examiner Sport columnist Donal Lenihan for a very enjoyable conversation on the eve of the big kick-off. 

Fixture History

Ireland have faced Romania in the pool phase of the 1999, 2003 and 2015 Rugby World Cups and Ireland scored over 40 points on each occasion. 

The first game between the sides was in Dublin in 1986 which ended in a 60-0 victory for Ireland. Romania's best performance in defeat came 12 years later when they scored 35 points to Ireland's 53 in Dublin in a 1999 RWC qualifier.

The 2015 RWC game between the sides at Wembley Stadium holds a tournament crowd record. An astonishing 89,267 supporters packed into the historic stadium to watch Ireland run in six tries to Romania's one in a 44-10 victory.

Player head-to-head

Johnny Sexton v Hinckley Vaovasa

Romania's Vaovasa, who normally plays at full-back, will go into his second international outing at fly-half against the vastly experienced Sexton. It could be a real baptism of fire for the young 24-year-old against Sexton who returns for this first game since March. 

Will the young Romanian be able to take advantage of Sexton's lack of game time? Sexton will be hoping to dip into his experience vault to help get him up and running and back to his best.