Exciting news for rugby enthusiasts as the dates for the largest Men`s Rugby World Cup in history have been confirmed, alongside an innovative new tournament format and the official draw date.
The highly anticipated opening match of the 2027 Men`s Rugby World Cup is set to take place on October 1, 2027. This monumental tournament, hosted in Australia, will commence at Optus Stadium in Perth and run for six weeks, culminating in the final on November 13.
At a special press conference held in Perth`s Kings Park to mark the occasion, organizers announced that the tournament draw will be held on December 3, 2025. Rugby fans in Australia can follow the live broadcast on Channel Nine, while a global audience can tune in via RugbyPass TV. A notable change for this edition is that, for the first time ever, all 24 participating teams will be known prior to the draw. The final qualifying spot will be decided at a playoff tournament scheduled for Dubai in November of this year.
The 2027 Rugby World Cup will expand to feature 24 national teams, a clear reflection of the sport`s growing global popularity. These teams will be organized into six groups, with four teams in each group.
Under the revised competition regulations, the pathway to the knockout stages has been reconfigured to accommodate the increased number of teams. The playoffs will now include:
- The top two teams from each of the six groups.
- The four best third-placed teams across all groups.
This innovative structure signifies that the tournament will, for the very first time, incorporate a Round of 16 stage. This expansion provides a greater number of national teams with an enhanced opportunity to progress deeper into the competition. Consequently, every single match played during the group stage will hold significant importance. To ensure equitable seeding, teams will be ranked for the draw based on their official World Rugby standings following the November test matches.
