2027 Men's Rugby World Cup

World Rugby was hoping to award the bids for both the 2027 and 2031 men's World Cups (along with the bids for the 2025 and 2029 Women's World Cups) by May 2022. The process of talking to prospective nations began in February 2021 with the formal candidate process commencing three months later. Finalists were evaluated in February 2022.^[4]

By June 2019, Argentina, Australia and Russia had declared their interest in hosting the 2027 Rugby World Cup,^[5][6] but Argentina withdrew their bid in April 2020, leaving two bidders.^[7] There was speculation that the United States and South Africa would be interested in hosting the event, but the South African Rugby Union has stated that it would not be bidding for the 2027 World Cup.^[8]

World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont suggested in late 2018 that the host of the Rugby World Cup following the 2023 event in France could be an emerging nation.^[9] World Rugby CEO Brett Gosper also suggested in 2019 that World Rugby may bid the 2027 and 2031 World Cups together (as they did with England 2015 and Japan 2019), so that they could make "a bolder decision and a traditional decision."^[10] The hosts for the 2027 and 2031 tournaments were to be revealed in May 2022.^[11]

The fact that three consecutive World Cups (England 2015, Japan 2019, and France 2023) occurred in the Northern Hemisphere made the Southern Hemisphere countries considered the favourites.^[12]

On 12 May 2022, it was announced that Australia would host the 2027 Rugby World Cup.^[13]

Talks of expanding the tournament to 24 teams intensified after the performances of emerging nations like Chile and Portugal at the 2023 Rugby World Cup, and on 4 October 2023, it was reported that World Rugby had decided to expand the World Cup to 24 teams in order to help grow the sport.^[22] A "Swiss model" pool stage similar to those adopted by the European Rugby Champions Cup and football's UEFA Champions League, or six pools of four with an additional round of 16 were under consideration.^[23]

The expansion to 24 teams was confirmed on 24 October 2023,^[24][25][26] with the format later confirmed in October 2025.

To accommodate the expansion from a 20-team finals tournament to 24 teams, the format was changed from the one used since the 2003 Rugby World Cup.^[24][26] Instead of the historical four pools of five teams, there will now be six pools with four teams in each. The top two teams from each pool, along with the four best third-place teams, will progress to the knockout stage, commencing with a newly included Round of 16 round. At the conclusion of the tournament, 52 matches would have taken place, an increase on the 48 matches taken place since 2003.^[27]

1000km
621miles

Townsville

Sydney

Perth

Newcastle

Melbourne

Brisbane

Adelaide

   

Eight venues in seven cities have been chosen for the tournament.^[28][29] The opening match, as well as the opening ceremony, will be at Perth Stadium, while the final (as well as both semi-finals and the bronze final) will be played at Stadium Australia in Sydney.^[30]

In early January 2025, it was reported that no matches would take place in the state of Victoria after the Victoria State Government pulled its bid in protest of Rugby Australia's (RA) revocation of Melbourne Rebels' participation in Super Rugby Pacific.^[31] The full list of host cities was revealed later in the month and confirmed that the state of Victoria would host games in Melbourne,^[32][33] with the venue yet to be decided. In January 2026, Docklands Stadium was confirmed to be the Melbourne venue.^[34] World Rugby reportedly struck a deal to host the tournament matches at the venue instead of the Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) after the latter's availability could not be guaranteed in October 2027 due to an exclusive clause in a deal between the Victorian government and the National Football League (NFL).^[35]

More information Sydney, Perth ...

Sydney		Perth	Adelaide
Stadium Australia[a]	Sydney Football Stadium[b]	Perth Stadium	Adelaide Oval[a]
Capacity: 82,000	Capacity: 42,500	Capacity: 65,000 (rectangular mode)	Capacity: 53,500
Melbourne	Brisbane	Newcastle	Townsville
Docklands Stadium[a]	Brisbane Stadium[a]	Newcastle Stadium	North Queensland Stadium
Capacity: 53,000	Capacity: 52,500	Capacity: 33,000	Capacity: 25,455

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These host cities will host the following matches:

Competing countries were divided into six pools of four teams (pools A to F) as described above. Teams in each pool will play one another in a round-robin, with the top two teams advancing to the knockout stage, to be joined by the 4 highest ranked third placed teams.

Points allocation in pool stage

• Four points are awarded for a win.
• Two points are awarded for a draw.
• A try bonus point is awarded to teams that score four or more tries in a match.
• A losing bonus point is awarded to teams that lose a match by fewer than eight points.

Pool A

Main article: 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup Pool A

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	New Zealand	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	Australia (H)	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Chile	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	Hong Kong China	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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First match(es) will be played: 1 October 2027. Source: World Rugby
Rules for classification: Pool stage tiebreakers
(H) Host

1 October 2027	Australia	v	Hong Kong China	Perth Stadium, Perth
2 October 2027	New Zealand	v	Chile	Perth Stadium, Perth
9 October 2027	New Zealand	v	Australia	Stadium Australia, Sydney
9 October 2027	Chile	v	Hong Kong China	North Queensland Stadium, Townsville
15 October 2027	New Zealand	v	Hong Kong China	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
16 October 2027	Australia	v	Chile	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane

Pool B

Main article: 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup Pool B

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	South Africa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	Italy	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Georgia	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	Romania	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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First match(es) will be played: 3 October 2027. Source: World Rugby
Rules for classification: Pool stage tiebreakers

3 October 2027	South Africa	v	Italy	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
3 October 2027	Georgia	v	Romania	North Queensland Stadium, Townsville
10 October 2027	South Africa	v	Georgia	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
11 October 2027	Italy	v	Romania	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
17 October 2027	Italy	v	Georgia	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle
17 October 2027	South Africa	v	Romania	Perth Stadium, Perth

Pool C

Main article: 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup Pool C

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Argentina	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	Fiji	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Spain	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	Canada	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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First match(es) will be played: 4 October 2027. Source: World Rugby
Rules for classification: Pool stage tiebreakers

3 October 2027	Argentina	v	Canada	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
4 October 2027	Fiji	v	Spain	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle
10 October 2027	Fiji	v	Canada	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
10 October 2027	Argentina	v	Spain	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
16 October 2027	Argentina	v	Fiji	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
17 October 2027	Spain	v	Canada	North Queensland Stadium, Townsville

Pool D

Main article: 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup Pool D

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	Ireland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	Scotland	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Uruguay	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	Portugal	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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First match(es) will be played: 3 October 2027. Source: World Rugby
Rules for classification: Pool stage tiebreakers

3 October 2027	Scotland	v	Uruguay	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
4 October 2027	Ireland	v	Portugal	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
10 October 2027	Ireland	v	Scotland	Perth Stadium, Perth
11 October 2027	Uruguay	v	Portugal	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle
17 October 2027	Ireland	v	Uruguay	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
17 October 2027	Scotland	v	Portugal	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane

Pool E

Main article: 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup Pool E

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	France	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	Japan	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	United States	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	Samoa	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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First match(es) will be played: 2 October 2027. Source: World Rugby
Rules for classification: Pool stage tiebreakers

2 October 2027	France	v	United States	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
3 October 2027	Japan	v	Samoa	Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle
9 October 2027	United States	v	Samoa	Perth Stadium, Perth
9 October 2027	France	v	Japan	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
15 October 2027	Japan	v	United States	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
17 October 2027	France	v	Samoa	Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney

Pool F

Main article: 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup Pool F

More information Pos, Pld ...

Pos	Team v t e	Pld	W	D	L	PF	PA	PD	TF	TA	TB	LB	Pts	Qualification
1	England	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Advance to knockout stage
2	Wales	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0
3	Tonga	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	Possible knockout stage based on ranking
4	Zimbabwe	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0	0

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First match(es) will be played: 2 October 2027. Source: World Rugby
Rules for classification: Pool stage tiebreakers

2 October 2027	Wales	v	Zimbabwe	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
2 October 2027	England	v	Tonga	Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
8 October 2027	Wales	v	Tonga	Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
8 October 2027	England	v	Zimbabwe	Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
15 October 2027	Tonga	v	Zimbabwe	North Queensland Stadium, Townsville
16 October 2027	England	v	Wales	Stadium Australia, Sydney

The knockout stage will consist of four single-elimination rounds culminating in a final and a third-place playoff. In the case of a tie in regulation time, two 10-minute periods of extra time will be played to determine a winner. If the scores are tied at the end of extra time, an additional 10-minute "sudden death" period will be played, with the first team to score any points being the winner. If the score still remains tied, a kicking competition will ensue.

While the positions of the winner and runner-up in each pool is fixed in the bracket, the four best third placed teams can find themselves in a number of different positions in the knock-out, depending which four pools they emerge from, but although fifteen different combinations of pool teams can emerge, each possible combination of four teams can only be accommodated in one manner. Furthermore, the construction of the draw is such that if the 3rd place team comes from any of pools A, B, C, or D they can only appear in one Round of 16 knockout match; meanwhile if the 3rd place team is from Pools E and/or F they can potentially appear in any of the slots, to ensure that only novel games take place during the first two knockout rounds.^[43]

In the event of a tie in pool points for the 3rd placed team they will be separated by points difference, points scored, and tries scored, in that order. In the event teams are still tied after applying those three criteria, the team with the highest World Rugby Men's Ranking, as of 18 October 2027 will progress.^[44]

The tournament will be the first branded as the Men's Rugby World Cup, a change that was announced in October 2023.^[45] All previous editions were branded as simply the Rugby World Cup, with the Women's tournament branded as the Women's Rugby World Cup between 1991 and 2017 and without a gender designation in the 2021 tournament.

• 2029 Women's Rugby World Cup