The 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup is scheduled to be the 11th edition of the Rugby World Cup, the quadrennial world championship for men's rugby union teams. It is due to take place in Australia from 1 October to 13 November 2027. It will be the first tournament to be branded as the Men's Rugby World Cup, a change that was announced in October 2023 to promote gender parity. It will also be the first to host 24 teams.
South Africa are the two-time defending champions, after beating New Zealand in the 2023 final.
Hong Kong will make their Rugby World Cup debut.
Host selection and bidding
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.
By June 2019, Argentina, Australia and Russia had declared their interest in hosting the 2027 Rugby World Cup, but Argentina withdrew their bid in April 2020, leaving two bidders. 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.
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. 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." The hosts for the 2027 and 2031 tournaments were to be revealed in May 2022.
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.
On 12 May 2022, it was announced that Australia would host the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Announced bidders Australia Rugby Australia announced on 13 December 2017 that Australia would bid for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Australia has previously hosted the inaugural 1987 Rugby World Cup together with New Zealand, as well as the 2003 Rugby World Cup on its own.
Withdrawn bids Argentina Argentina had announced on 5 October 2016 that it would bid for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, but withdrew its bid in April 2020. Argentina has never hosted the tournament before, and World Rugby chairman Bill Beaumont had pledged that he would back the right of countries such as Argentina to bid for the event. Argentina is the only country to reach the World Cup semi-finals that has not hosted any World Cup matches. In April 2020, Argentina withdrew its bid to strengthen the Australian bid, making Australia favourites for the 2027 Rugby World Cup host.
Russia Stanislav Druzhinin of the Russian Rugby Union said at a meeting on 31 May 2019 that Russia would apply to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Russia would use the 2018 FIFA World Cup stadiums and legacy for the 2027 Rugby World Cup. President Vladimir Putin backed Russia's bid to host the 2027 Rugby World Cup. Rugby Union of Russia could not proceed with its bid to host after Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS) imposed a two-year ban on 17 December 2020 on Russia hosting any major sports tournament.
Expansion 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. 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.
The expansion to 24 teams was confirmed on 24 October 2023, 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. 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.
Venues Stadia Eight venues in seven cities have been chosen for the tournament. 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.
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. The full list of host cities was revealed later in the month and confirmed that the state of Victoria would host games in Melbourne, with the venue yet to be decided. In January 2026, Docklands Stadium was confirmed to be the Melbourne venue. 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).
Sydney Perth Adelaide Stadium Australia Sydney Football Stadium Perth Stadium Adelaide Oval Capacity: 82,000 Capacity: 42,500 Capacity: 65,000(rectangular mode) Capacity: 53,500 Melbourne Brisbane Docklands Stadium Brisbane Stadium Capacity: 53,000 Capacity: 52,500 Newcastle Townsville Newcastle Stadium North Queensland Stadium Capacity: 33,000 Capacity: 25,455
These host cities will host the following matches:
Adelaide, South Australia Six pool matches Brisbane, Queensland Six pool, two round-of-16 matches, and two quarter-finals Melbourne, Victoria Six pool and, two round-of-16 matches Newcastle, New South Wales Four pool matches Perth, Western Australia Opening ceremony, five pool, and two round-of-16 matches Sydney, Stadium Australia, New South Wales Two pool, two quarter-finals, two semi-finals, Bronze Final, and Final Sydney, Sydney Football Stadium, New South Wales Three pool and two round-of-16 matches Townsville, Queensland Four pool matches
Training Venues On 25 September 2026, 29 outdoor training venues were announced, providing all 24 participating teams with access to state-of-the-art facilities as they prepare for their respective games.
City Training VenueAdelaide (Tarntanya)St Peter's CollegeAdelaide University West BeachNorwood OvalUnley OvalBrisbane (Meeanjin)National Rugby Training Centre BallymoreSt Joseph's CollegeSunnybank Rugby Union ClubBrisbane Grammar SchoolEasts Rugby Union ClubPadua CollegeMelbourne (Narrm)La Trobe UniversityXavier CollegeBridges Recreation ReserveNewcastle (Awabakal-Worimi)Southern Beaches Rugby ClubNewcastle Number 2 Sports GroundUniversity of NewcastlePerth (Boorloo)UWA Sports ParkKingsway Regional Sporting ComplexWaterbank Training FacilityPerth Rectangular StadiumSydney (Gadigal)NSW Rugby Centre of ExcellenceJubilee StadiumNSWRL Centre of ExcellenceShore SchoolEric Tweedale StadiumManly Warringah Sea Eagles Centre of ExcellenceTownsville (Gurambilbarra)Townsville Sports PrecinctRiverway StadiumCowboys Centre of Excellence
Teams Qualification
A total of 12 teams gained automatic qualification for the tournament as hosts and by finishing in the top three of the pools at the 2023 Rugby World Cup. The qualification process for the remaining slots was confirmed by World Rugby on 13 August 2024. Through regional competitions, four teams qualified from Europe, three from the Pacific and one each from Africa, Asia and South America. One team then qualified from a South America/Pacific play-off. The final team was decided in a four-team repechage tournament consisting of Belgium, winners of their continental ranking finals, Namibia as runners-up in their continental tournament, Samoa, the loser of the South America/Pacific play off, and Brazil, who replaced Paraguay after the latter had fielded an ineligible player in their third-place playoff in the South American qualifier.
+Qualified teamsRegionTeamQualificationmethodPreviousPrevious best resultWorld RugbyRankingAfrica2023 Rugby World Cup pool stageChampions (1995, 2007, 2019, 2023)12025 Rugby Africa Cup winners (Africa 1)Pool stage (1987, 1991)24Asia2025 Asia Rugby Championship winners (Asia 1)align=center Debut23Europe2023 Rugby World Cup pool stageChampions (2003)32023 Rugby World Cup pool stageRunners-up (1987, 1999, 2011) 52023 Rugby World Cup pool stageQuarter-finals ()42023 Rugby World Cup pool stagePool stage ()102023 Rugby World Cup pool stageFourth place (1991)92023 Rugby World Cup pool stageThird place (1987) 112025 Rugby Europe Championship winners (Europe 1)Pool stage 132025 Rugby Europe Championship runners-up (Europe 2)Pool stage 152025 Rugby Europe Championship third place (Europe 3)Pool stage 222025 Rugby Europe Championship fourth place (Europe 4)Pool stage )20PacificHostsChampions (1991, 1999)72023 Rugby World Cup pool stageQuarter-finals (1987, 2007, 2023)82023 Rugby World Cup pool stageQuarter-finals (2019)122023 Rugby World Cup pool stageChampions (1987, 2011, 2015)22025 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup third place (Pacific 1)Pool stage 18Final qualifierQuarter-finals 192025 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup fourth place (Pacific 2)Quarter-finals (1991)252025 World Rugby Pacific Nations Cup fifth place (Pacific 3)Pool stage 16South America2023 Rugby World Cup pool stageThird place (2007)62025 Sudamérica Rugby Championship winners (Sudamérica 1)Pool stage 14Pacific/Sudamérica qualifying play-off winnerPool stage 17
Draw In May 2025, World Rugby confirmed that the draw would take place on 3 December 2025, and the format for the draw was later confirmed in September 2025. For the first time, the draw took place after all teams had qualified. All of the 24 qualified teams were ranked within the top 25 of the world rankings. The only top 25 team to miss out on qualifying was 21st-ranked Belgium. Belgium drew to Samoa on the final matchday of the Final Qualification Tournament, which meant they finished behind Samoa by 1 point in the table.
The 24 teams were divided into six pools, with four teams in each. In the draw, one team from each band (described below) was randomly allocated to each pool. As hosts, Australia was automatically allocated to Pool A.
The method for determining the pools was that the 24 qualified teams were divided into four bands, using the World Rugby Rankings at the end of the 2025 November international window to determine how the teams will be divided into the bands.
Band 1: Seeds 1 to 6 Band 2: Seeds 7 to 12 Band 3: Seeds 13 to 18 Band 4: Seeds 19 to 24
This meant the 24 qualified teams were seeded as follows (world ranking as of 1 December 2025, the final rankings before the draw.):
Band 1Band 2Band 3Band 4
Preparation
Pool stage 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.
Pool APool BPool CPool DPool EPool F
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.