All 24 Teams and Tournament Details for Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia

All 24 teams are now confirmed for Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia. The final participant to qualify was Samoa. The country from the South Pacific Ocean qualified by virtue of a 13-13 draw against Belgium in the final match of the Rugby World Cup repechage tournament in Dubai, United Arab Emirates. A draw was sufficient due to the match points that both teams had going into the match.

Australia qualified automatically as the host nation of Rugby World Cup 2027. Additional automatic qualifying teams are those who finished in the top three spots of the pools at Rugby World Cup 2023 in France. Those teams were Argentina, Australia, New Zealand, Fiji, Japan, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales and South Africa (champions).

The twelve other places were determined via Rugby World Cup Qualifiers. The process began in 2024 with the twelve spots being claimed in 2025. Georgia, Portugal, Romania and Spain qualified from Europe, Zimbabwe qualified from Africa, Hong Kong Qualified from Asia, Canada, Tonga and the USA qualified from Pacific, Uruguay qualified from South America, Chile qualified from a regional play-off and Samoa qualified via repechage.

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2027 – HOST VENUES

Rugby World Cup 2007 will be the third Men’s Rugby World Cup played in Australia. The first was co-hosted with New Zealand in 1987 while Australia was the solo host for the 2003 tournament. Brisbane and Sydney were the Australian cities that hosted matched in the inaugural tournament in 1987. They will complete the three-peat in 2027.

Rugby World Cup 2003 featured eleven venues in ten Australian cities. Of them Canberra, Launceston, Gosford, and Wollongong have missed out on matches for Rugby World Cup 2007. Canberra hosted four matches, including the pivotal Wales vs Italy match, while Launceston hosted Namibia vs Romania in 2003 but the state of Tasmania misses out on matches for 2027.

The decision to downsize 2027 from 2003 comes despite Rugby World Cup 2027 having more matches. Expansion has taken the total number of matches up to 52, four more than in 2003-2023. This is so under a formula of bigger stadiums in bigger cities.

The seven cities were included in the potential match venue document included on the Men’s RWC 2027 Team Bases Expression of Interest (EOI) Opportunity. Canberra was also identified and the bid presented by Canberra was for a similar return to that from 2003.

When placed alongside the Townsville and Newcastle stadiums, Canberra’s Bruce Stadium is comparatively dated and there are plans to build a new stadium. However, this is not why Canberra did not secure Rugby World Cup 2027 matches. The leading factor is that Canberra bid less than rival options. The ACT government put forward a $500,000 per-game bid for Canberra to host four matches.

The Gold Coast is a less contentious venue to have missed out. It has hosted Wallabies’ home matches but sell-out attendances have not been the norm. Nearby Brisbane has secured a very generous ten matches.

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. The date for the tournament opener is expected to be Friday, October 01. The 24-team tournament will run for six weeks with the final likely to be played on Saturday, November 30.

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.

MATCH VENUE DISTRIBUTION

The selection of seven cities comes with some cities having one venue and others more. Sydney will host thirteen matches. Brisbane will host ten matches, the same number that Paris hosted in 2023.

Sydney’s thirteen matches are to be five pool matches, two Round-of-16 matches, two Quarter Finals, two Semi Finals, the Bronze Final and the Final. A change from 2003 is that Sydney did not host Quarter Finals that tournament and nor was there a Round-of-16.

Brisbane hosted two Quarter Finals in 2003 and will again do so in 2027. The city has also been allocated six pool matches and two Round-of-16 matches. Organizers have spread the eight Round-of-16 elimination matches across Sydney, Brisbane, Perth and Melbourne.

While Melbourne has been allocated two Round-of-16 matches it has missed out on Quarter Finals. The city hosted France vs Ireland and New Zealand vs South Africa as Rugby World Cup 2003 Quarter Finals. It will instead have a bigger role to play than Sydney during the pool stage. Sydney will host five pool matches while Melbourne will host seven.

Perth’s two Round-of-16 matches account for five of seven matches allocated to the Western Australian capital city. The city only hosted pool matches in the 2003 tournament.

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2027 – EXPECTED MATCH VENUES

Stadium Australia, Sydney (NSW)

Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney (NSW)

Melbourne Cricket Ground, Melbourne (VIC)

Rectangular Stadium, Melbourne (VIC)

International Sports Centre, Newcastle (NSW)

Lang Park, Brisbane (QLD)

North Queensland Stadium, Townsville (QLD)

Adelaide Oval, Adelaide (SA)

Perth Stadium, Perth (WA)

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2027 – POTENTIAL MATCH VENUES

RUGBY WORLD CUP 2027 – MATCHES PER CITY