All eyes will be on World Rankings as the Rugby World Cup (RWC) 2027 Draw has been confirmed for December 2025. World Rugby confirmed that the draw will be based on the Men’s World Rankings as they stand at the end of the 2025 November Internationals.
RWC 2027 will take place in Australia from October 01 to November 13, 2027. It is to be an expanded tournament with 24 teams taking part. This is four more than those from Rugby World Cups 1999-2023 and eight more than those from the 1987-1995 editions of the Men’s RWC.
 RWC 2027 DRAW |
The twenty-four teams will be divided into six pools of four teams. Thus far sixteen are confirmed: Australia, South Africa, New Zealand, England, Argentina, France, Ireland, Wales, Fiji, Italy, Scotland, Japan, Georgia, Spain, Portugal and Romania.
The eight remaining spots will be determined between now and the draw. The final spot will be decided by a repechage tournament which will take place in Dubai from November 8 to 18.
World Rankings will be used to seed teams into bands for the rankings. Teams will be in search of rankings gains in order to increase their chances of a favorable draws. Australia is presently ranked 8th in the world. This should mean that Australia is outside of the first band of teams ranked 1st to 6th. However, Will Kelleher reports that, as hosts, Australia will be positioned in the first band.
The expanded tournament will see the introduction of a Round-of-16. The pool winners and runners-up will all advance as will four teams who finish third in their pools. The Round-of-16 will add eight elimination matches and adds not only to the importance of the draw but also to venue planning.
 TOURNAMENT TO START OUT WEST |
The Western Australian capital city, Perth will play host to the opening ceremony and the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2027. Australia will play in the tournament opener against a yet to be confirmed opponent.
Perth Stadium has a capacity of 61,266. This makes it large enough to host the tournament final. There was a bid for Rugby World Cup 2027 to come to its conclusion in Perth. Organizers opted for a repeat of Rugby World Cup 2003 which saw the final, between Australia and England, played at Sydney’s Stadium Australia.
| RUGBY WORLD CUP POOL PHASE |
Unlike Rugby World Cups 2003-2023, the pools for 2027 will feature an even number of teams. The change sees 20 teams in four pools of five replaced by six pools of four. This means that, unlike in 2003-2023, it will be possible for all teams from each pool to play on the same day.
The new structure means three rounds of twelve pool matches. In all likelihood, the rounds will be organized into three weeks. Australia, for instance, may play on three Friday’s doing so in Perth, Adelaide and Melbourne. In addition, the format will enable Argentina, for instance, to play all pool matches on Sundays and New Zealand could be slotted to play on Tuesday evenings.
World Rugby and Rugby Australia intend on minimizing non-match days. As such, it is likely that the pool matches will be spread throughout the week, potentially with the twelfth match from one week being positioned the day before the first match of the second week of pool matches.
The eight Round-of-16 elimination matches also need not be positioned together. While they could be played over two days, there is also the possibility of having two per day over four days. The latter option would fulfill the objective of fewer non-match days during the tournament.
| RUGBY WORLD CUP PLAY-OFF’S |
While the matches will be spread across the continental country, Sydney will be the showcase for the final weeks of the tournament. Sydney will play host to the Rugby World Cup 2027 Final. This means a repeat of Rugby World Cup 2003 when Sydney’s Stadium Australia hosted the tournament final between Australia and England.
Like at Rugby World Cup 2003, the Olympic Stadium will host the Final, the Bronze Final, both Semi Finals and two Round-of-16 matches and two Quarter Finals. This is a marked change to 2003 when Sydney did not host Quarter Finals and was far busier in the pool stage than Adelaide and Townsville.
The matches will officially be allocated after the draw. The draw will be made in December 2025 or January 2026. It will be based on the World Rankings following the competition of the November 2025 Internationals. Rugby Australia will work with World Rugby to determine which teams play in which cities.
| RUGBY WORLD CUP 2027 – EXPECTED MATCH VENUES DATA |
| CITY | VENUE | CAPACITY | LAST HOSTED WALLABIES |
| Sydney | Stadium Australia | 82,000 | vs New Zealand (2024) |
| Sydney | Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) | 42,500 | vs Georgia (2024) |
| Melbourne | Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) | 100,024 | vs New Zealand (2023) |
| Melbourne | Rectangular Stadium | 30,050 | vs Wales (2024) |
| Newcastle | Newcastle International Sports Centre | 30,000 | vs Argentina (2020) |
| Brisbane | Lang Park | 52,500 | vs South Africa (2024) |
| Townsville | North Queensland Stadium | 25,000 | vs Argentina (2021) |
| Adelaide | Adelaide Oval | 53,500 | vs South Africa (2022) |
| Perth | Perth Stadium | 61,266 | vs South Africa (2024) |
| RUGBY WORLD CUP 2027 – MATCHES PER CITY |
| CITY | STATE | POOL MATCHES | PLAY-OFF MATCHES |
| Sydney | New South Wales | 5 | 2 Round-of-16; 2 Quarter Finals, 2 Semi Finals; Bronze Final; Final |
| Melbourne | Victoria | 7 | 2 Round-of-16 |
| Newcastle | New South Wales | 4 | – |
| Brisbane | Queensland | 6 | 2 Round-of-16; 2 Quarter Finals |
| Townsville | Queensland | 4 | 4 |
| Adelaide | South Australia | 5 | – |
| Perth | Western Australia | 5 | 2 Round-of-16 |
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