With the 2032 Olympics on the horizon, Brisbane is no stranger to hosting huge sporting events, and now it will also be home to multiple games during the much-anticipated Men’s Rugby World Cup in 2027!
World Rugby has confirmed the seven cities that will welcome the world during the tournament, which will run from October 1 to November 13, 2027. During these six weeks, the world’s best 24 teams will battle it out until one of them is crowned best in the world.
If 2027 sounds too far away, first, think about the fact that Cleopatra came closer to owning an iPhone than to seeing the Pyramids of Giza under construction. Simply put, time is weird.
And if that’s not helpful, the good news is that there’ll be plenty of rugby to watch in the meantime: Journey to Australia 2027 kicked off this Friday in Europe, with eight teams battling it out in the field vying to be one of the 12 qualifiers who will go on to the RWC.
Teams in every other continent will also be fighting for their spot in the World Cup throughout the year, along with the 12 teams that already qualified (France, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, South Africa, Scotland, Wales, Fiji, Australia, England, Argentina and Japan).
Thanks to this expanded pool of 24 competitors, Aussies will be able to experience no less than 52 RWC matches right at home.
The seven host cities
- Perth | Boorloo: Opening match, four pool matches and two round of 16 matches.
- Newcastle | Awabakal-Worimi: Four pool matches.
- Townsville | Gurambilbarra: Four pool matches.
- Adelaide | Tarntanya: Five pool matches.
- Melbourne | Narrm: Seven pool matches and two round of 16 matches.
- Brisbane | Meeanjin: Six pool matches, two round of 16 matches and two quarter-finals.
- Sydney | Gadigal: Five pool matches, eight knockout matches, including the semi-finals and final.
The full program and the location of where Australia will play in the pool phase will be confirmed later this year.