Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027, to be played in Australia between 1 October and 13 November 2027, will be the first to feature 24 teams.
Here we outline how all 24 teams qualify for the tournament in Australia via an updated qualifying process that gives all World Rugby Regional Associations at least one direct qualifying spot, and qualifies all 24 teams before the tournament draw.
12 Direct qualifiers
The first 12 teams qualify directly by finishing in the top three places in their RWC 2023 pool. These teams are: Argentina, Australia, England, Fiji, France, Ireland, Italy, Japan, New Zealand, Scotland, South Africa and Wales.
12 Global qualifiers
The remaining 12 teams will be determined via the RWC 2027 global qualification process:
Europe (4 qualifiers) - Rugby Europe Championship 2025
- January-March, 2025
- The four teams that reach the semi-finals of the Rugby Europe Men's Championship 2025 will qualify directly for Australia 2027. The winner of the fifth-place play-off will secure their ticket to the Final Qualification Tournament.
- Nations involved: Belgium, Georgia, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Switzerland
Africa (1) - Rugby Africa Cup 2025
- July, 2025
- The Rugby Africa Men's Cup 2025 champions will qualify directly for Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027. The runner-up will progress to the Asia/Africa Play-off.
- Nations involved: Algeria, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, Uganda, Zimbabwe and winner of the Rugby Africa Men’s Cup 2025 Repechage
Asia (1) - Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2025
- June-July, 2025
- The Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2025 winners will qualify directly for Men’s RWC 2027 with the runner-up progressing to the Asia/Africa Play-off.
- Nations involved: Hong Kong China, Korea, Malaysia, United Arab Emirates
South America (1) - Sudamerica Rugby Championship 2025 champions
- July-September, 2025
- The Sudamérica Rugby Championship 2025 winners will secure their place at Australia 2027, with the runner-up qualifying for the South America/Pacific Play-off and third placed team joining the line-up for the Final Qualification Tournament.
- Nations involved: Brazil, Chile, Paraguay, Uruguay
Pacific (3) - Pacific Nations Cup 2025 top three teams (minus Fiji and Japan already qualified)
- August-September, 2025
- The best three teams of the Pacific Nations Cup 2025, other than already-qualified Fiji and Japan, will punch their tickets to RWC 2027. The sixth-placed team will join the South America/Pacific Play-off.
- Nations involved: Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga, USA
South America / Pacific Play-off (1)
- September, 2025
- A home-and-away play-off between the Sudamérica Rugby Championship runner-up and the team finishing sixth in the Pacific Nations Cup.
Final Qualification Tournament (1)
- November 2025
- The final qualification tournament will comprise one pool of four teams, playing in a round-robin format with the winner - on competition points - qualifying for Australia 2027. The four teams will be comprised of the:
- Sudamérica Rugby Championship 2025 third place
- South America/Pacific Play-off loser
- Rugby Europe Men’s Championship 2025 fifth place
- Africa/Asia Play-off winner (Rugby Africa Men’s Cup 2025 runner-up v Asia Rugby Men’s Championship runner-up)
New Tournament format
The new tournament format will have six pools of four teams - a reduction in the number of pool matches from 40 to 36 - with a round of 16 added prior to the quarter-finals.
This enables the tournament window to be reduced from seven to six weeks, while retaining the same minimum number of rest days between matches as at France 2023.
