There’s no more prestigious, esteemed competition in the game of rugby than the Rugby World Cup, and the stage is about to be set for the action that is to come in 2027.
With an expanded field, revamped format and plenty to play for, the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup will be rugby’s biggest stage in the sport’s history.
But if you’re just getting into the game, curious about what’s to come or simply need a refresher, it can be easy to get confused about what’s coming to Australia in just under two years.
Not to worry.
Use this handy guide as your roadmap — and keep following along on FloRugby for the most in-depth coverage and analysis of test rugby all the way up until 2027:
When And Where Is The 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup?
The 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup — the 11th edition of the quadrennial men’s rugby union world championship — will take place from Oct. 1 to Nov. 13, 2027, entirely in Australia.
Matches will take place across seven host cities in The Land Down Under, with Optus Stadium in Perth hosting the opening match, and Accor Stadium in Sydney hosting the final.
The other confirmed host venues across Australia as of this writing are:
- Adelaide (Adelaide Oval)
- Brisbane (Suncorp Stadium)
- Melbourne (TBA)
- Newcastle (McDonald Jones Stadium)
- Townsville (Queensland Country Bank Stadium)
How Many Teams Qualify For The 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup?
The 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup will feature the largest field in the competition’s history with 24 teams, up from 20 most recently at the 2023 Men’s Rugby World Cup in France.
It is the first time since 1999 that the MRWC field has expanded, when the number of teams was increased from 16 to 20.
At the moment, teams have earned 23 of the 24 available bids to the 2027 MRWC.
Europe will be the most represented continent at the tournament with at least 10 teams, followed by Oceania (four), South America (three), Africa, Asia and North America (two each).
Africa, Europe, Oceania or South America could see their representation grow depending on results in the Final Qualification Tournament, a four-team event taking place later this month, with the winner securing the final available bid.
What Is The Format Of The 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup?
After all 24 teams are set in stone, World Rugby will conduct the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup draw Dec. 3 in Sydney. It will be the first time in the competition’s history that the draw will take place after all teams have qualified.
The 24 teams will be separated into four bands of six in descending order based on their position in the World Rugby Rankings following the end of the November international window, with the exception of host Australia, which already has been placed into Pool A.
Instead of four pools of five teams like years past, the 2027 MRWC will feature six pools of four teams, with one team from each band in every pool.
Following the pool stage comes the Men’s Rugby World Cup’s first Round of 16, with the top two teams from each pool, and the four best third-place teams, advancing to the next round.
From there, it’s standard knockout rugby, with matches taking place until one team remains.
What Is The Qualification Process For The 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup?
There are five main qualification paths toward solidifying a spot at the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup, some of which are more straightforward than others.
Here’s where all teams that have either qualified or are still alive for qualification to the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup stand:
1. Compete as host
2027 team: Australia
Australia officially became the first nation to qualify for the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup when World Rugby announced in May 2022 that it had won the event’s bidding process.
It will be the third time Australia has been home to a Men’s Rugby World Cup after it co-hosted the inaugural tournament in 1987 with neighbor New Zealand, before hosting it solo in 2003.
Though the 2023 Men’s Rugby World Cup was disastrous for the former world-champion Wallabies as they failed to advance past the pool stage for the first time in MRWC history, Australia would’ve qualified for 2027 anyway by virtue of the second possible path on this list (see below).
2. Place in top 3 in pool play at previous Men’s Rugby World Cup
2027 teams: Argentina, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa, Wales
If you’re a soccer fan reading this, this is perhaps the biggest departure in qualification protocol between the FIFA World Cup (where everyone in the tournament beside the host must advance through continental qualifying) and the Men’s Rugby World Cup.
Nations that finish third or better in their pool at the previous iteration of the Men’s Rugby World Cup automatically qualify for the next MRWC four years later.
In a loaded test calendar featuring many annual, historic trophies that predate the MRWC by decades (ex. Six Nations, Bledisloe Cup), a top-3 pool placing gives deserving teams more time to focus on those types of competitions between editions of the MRWC.
Plus, some nations are the best on their continent by a significant margin, and making them go through a regional qualification process likely would result in lopsided scores and predictable domination.
For example, South Africa is a four-time world champion — including the reigning back-to-back MRWC winner — and has never lost to a fellow African country in its history; Namibia, Africa’s second-most successful rugby team, has lost its three official test matches to the Springboks by a combined 249-16 margin.
3. Earn a bid through regional qualifying
2027 teams: Zimbabwe (Africa); Hong Kong China (Asia); Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Spain (Europe); Canada, Tonga, United States (Pacific); Uruguay (Sudamerica)
For nations that don’t qualify for the Men’s Rugby World Cup through the previous MRWC, they drop down into a more traditional qualifying path through one of five possible geographic regions: Africa, Asia, Europe, Pacific (North America and Oceania) and Sudamerica (South America).
The paths often consist of a mix of MRWC regulars and developing rugby nations in each region.
All of the regional qualification processes are a little bit different, but all involve securing an available bid through some type of tournament.
For the 2027 MRWC field, World Rugby designated four automatic qualification spots to Europe, three to Pacific and one each to Africa, Asia and Sudamerica.
The expanded field already has seen multiple nations either qualify for the MRWC for the first time or return to the event after a long absence.
Debutant Hong Kong will be competing at the MRWC in 2027 after winning the Asia Rugby Championship earlier this year, while Zimbabwe and Spain are back in the event for the first time since 1991 and 1999, respectively.
4. Win an applicable cross-regional playoff
2027 team: Chile (Pacific/Sudamerica playoff winner)
If a nation doesn’t earn qualification to the Men’s Rugby World Cup directly through regional qualifying, there is still hope if they finish just outside of the automatic bid places.
It’s also where the two final paths toward qualification on this list — cross-regional playoffs and the Final Qualification Tournament — kick in.
Once regional qualifying concludes, non-qualified teams that haven’t been outright eliminated are given labels based on their region and where they finished in their respective regional path (ex. Africa 2, Asia 2, Europe 5). These labels determine where said teams still playing go next, dependent on both their placing in their region and the region’s overall strength.
In the 2027 qualification cycle, two cross-regional playoffs (Asia/Africa and Pacific/Sudamerica) took place, but only the Pacific/Sudamerica winner (Chile, competing as Sudamerica 2) earned a bid to the 2027 MRWC.
Why?
Due to the overall strength of the Pacific and Sudamerica regions compared to Asia and Africa, World Rugby determined that the winner of that playoff would receive a bid, while the winner of the other playoff would instead advance to the Final Qualification Tournament.
Samoa secured its place at the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup after finishing top of the Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai, a four-team round-robin event held from Nov. 8-18 that decided the 24th entrant for Australia 2027.
Samoa and Namibia entered the tournament as the established Rugby World Cup nations.
Samoa now has qualified for every edition of the event since 1991, while Namibia have featured at every tournament since 1999.
Belgium and Brazil, on the other hand, both were chasing a first World Cup appearances.
Brazil’s run to the tournament was particularly unexpected, as the Tupis originally had been eliminated by Paraguay in regional qualifying, before Paraguay withdrew after fielding an ineligible player.
A two-time Rugby World Cup quarterfinalist, Samoa delivered when it mattered most in Dubai, despite an inconsistent qualifying campaign that included a last-place finish in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Samoa’s decisive result came in a tense 13-13 draw with Belgium, which proved enough to secure the top position in the standings.
For Namibia, missing out on qualification marks a major setback after winning the Asia Africa playoff over the United Arab Emirates to reach the final stage.
Namibia’s campaign already had taken an unusual turn when the squad was stunned by Zimbabwe in the Rugby Africa Cup final earlier in qualifying.
How To Watch Rugby Matches In The United States On FloRugby
Professional club rugby in Europe all streams on FloRugby and the FloSports app in the United States. FloRugby and FloSports also are the U.S. home to:
FloRugby also is home to match archives and match replays.
Join The Rugby Conversation On FloRugby Social
