Boks' title defence starts with top 10 clash: 2027 World Cup schedule released

World Rugby have announced the fixtures for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia, with reigning champions South Africa getting their campaign underway against Italy in the pick of the opening round matches.

Rugby’s showcase will return to Australia for the first time since 2003, and will be expanded to comprise 24 teams for the first time ever. A total of 52 matches will be played across seven host cities over six weeks in October and November 2027, culminating in the final at Sydney’s Stadium Australia on November 13.

Rassie Erasmus’ side, who are aiming to become the first side to win the World Cup three times in a row, have been drawn in Pool B alongside Georgia and Romania, whom they will face over the following two weekends after taking on the Azzurri, who are currently ranked 10th in the world.

Tournament hosts Australia will get proceedings underway on Friday, October 1, against Hong Kong China in Perth, before their mouth-watering Pool A clash with the All Blacks eight days later in Sydney. The Wallabies will bring their pool stage action to a close against Chile the following Saturday in Brisbane. The All Blacks, meanwhile, will get their tournament started against Chile, and will finish against Hong Kong China.

The Trans-Tasman meeting will be part of a blockbuster middle weekend of the pool stages, with Ireland facing Scotland on Sunday, October 10, in Perth in Pool D. Andy Farrell’s side will get their campaign started against Portugal, and will face Uruguay a week after facing Scotland. Gregor Townsend’s side, of course, will do the opposite, starting against Uruguay and closing against Portugal.

England and Wales will headline the third weekend of the pool stages with their Six Nations clash in Pool F. Leading up to that encounter, England will face Tonga in Brisbane and Zimbabwe in Adelaide before facing their rivals in Sydney, where they lifted the Webb Ellis Cup 24 years earlier.

Just hours before England and Wales meet, Argentina and Fiji will do battle in Pool C in what promises to be another enticing clash. The Pumas will face Canada on the opening weekend, while Fiji will play Spain.

In Pool E, France will play the USA and Japan before facing Samoa in the final match of the pool stages. At the same time, the Springboks will play Romania to bring the curtain down on the pool stages on Sunday, October 17, ahead of the Round of 16 six days later.

The knockout stages will run for the following four weekends, before the final in Sydney on Saturday, November 13.

Unlike previous World Cups, this instalment will have no midweek matches, with all games being played between Friday and Monday, with every team guaranteed a minimum of five days between matches.

First tickets go on sale during a Presale on February 18 at 12:00 AEDT for registered fans.

Plan your tournament – all the fixture dates, venues and KO times can be found here.