Two years from today, Perth Stadium will host the opening match of the biggest Men’s Rugby World Cup in history, kicking off six weeks of world-class rugby across Australia from 1 October to 13 November, 2027.
Celebrating the milestone at Perth’s Kings Park, the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 confirmed 03 December 2025 as the date of the Rugby World Cup Draw and revealed details of the new competition format. On the evening (AEST) of 03 December, 2025, the 24 qualified teams will discover their pool stage opponents, with the live draw event to be broadcast in Australia on Channel Nine, on international broadcasters and RugbyPass TV.
This marks the first time all competing teams will be known at the time of the RWC Draw, with the 24th and final qualifier to be determined at November’s Final Qualification Tournament in Dubai (8-18 November).
The tournament will feature six pools of four teams, with the World Rugby Men’s Rankings at the end of the November internationals used to create four bands of six teams, with each band drawn randomly into Pool A, B, C, D, E or F. The top two teams from each pool plus the four best third-placed teams will qualify for the knockout phase, allowing more nations to reach that stage, ensuring every match counts and bringing more entertainment to the competition.
The first-ever Men’s Rugby World Cup round of 16 will see the winners of Pool A, B, C and D play the four best thirds, winners of Pool E and F will face the runners-up from Pool D and B, with the runners-up in Pool A and C to meet the second-placed teams from Pool E and F.