Draw Made for Milestone Men’s Rugby World Cup in 2027

The draw for the pool stages of the eleventh edition of the Men’s Rugby World Cup in 2027 in Australia has taken place in Sydney.

It was conducted by World Rugby Chair and former Australia international, Brett Robinson, two-time Rugby World Cup winner and former All Black, Dan Carter, former Wallabies captain and the most-capped player in Australia’s history, James Slipper, and Alicia Lucas, a gold-medal winner in international rugby sevens at the 2016 Olympic Games in Rio de Janeiro, Brazil,

In some noteworthy ties, hosts Australia will face off against trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners, New Zealand, in Pool A, while England and Wales [Pool F] and Ireland and Scotland [Pool D] have been paired in the same pools. South Africa, the winners of the last two tournaments and the world’s top-ranked team, will face off against Italy, Georgia and Romania.

Meanwhile, the USA will come up against France, Japan and Samoa, before it becomes the first North American nation to host the Rugby World Cup in 2031 [the Men’s Rugby World Cup] and 2033 [the Women’s World Cup].

Hong Kong China will also make their Men’s Rugby World Cup debut in 2027, when they will compete in the same pool as New Zealand, Australia and Chile.

Expanded format for 2027

The 2027 tournament will be a milestone for the competition in several ways, as it has been rebranded as the Men’s Rugby World Cup for the first time, and its format has been expanded to feature 24 teams [up from 20 in France in 2023] across six pools of four. In addition, a last-16 knockout round has been added to the schedule.

World Rugby said that the expanded format is designed to break down barriers and make the game more accessible to fans around the world.

Match schedule and ticket information to be announced

The full match schedule will be released on February 3, 2026, and the tournament will be held between October 1 and November 13, 2027.

An exclusive presale window will start on February 18, 2026, and fans are required to create a ticketing account by February 17 to be eligible to enter the presale.

For more news and ticket information, visit the Rugby World Cup website here.

2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup – Pool Stage

Pool A: New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Hong Kong China

Pool B: South Africa, Italy, Georgia, Romania

Pool C: Argentina, Fiji, Spain, Canada

Pool D: Ireland, Scotland, Uruguay, Portugal

Pool E: France, Japan, USA, Samoa

Pool F: England, Wales, Tonga, Zimbabwe