Dates and venue announced for Men's World Cup Final Qualification Tournament

The 24th and final place for Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 will once again be decided at The Sevens Stadium, Dubai.

Dubai was the venue for the Final Qualification Tournament (FQT) for Rugby World Cup 2023, in which Portugal secured their place following a nail-biting 16-16 draw with the USA.

While the only other time a Final Qualification tournament of this nature was held was in Marseille in 2018, when Canada managed to see off the threat of Germany, Kenya and Hong Kong China, to make it through to Japan.

So far, only Belgium, as the fifth best team in the Rugby Europe Championship, have confirmed their spot at the FQT, with teams from Africa, South America and the Pacific set to join them on the quadrangular event, which will be held across three matchdays between 8-18 November 8th.

Fixture

Internationals

Denmark

41 - 6

Full-time

Moldova

All Stats and Data

This means that for the first time in the professional era, the men’s pool draw will take place with all 24 participating teams confirmed.

Scheduled for December 2025, the draw will be based on the World Rugby Men’s Rankings at the end of the November international window.

With the rankings set to determine the banding of teams for the draw, every result between now and December could directly impact the makeup of the six pools of four. Fixtures played during the British and Irish Lions tour of Australia – a major event in its own right and a key milestone in a golden decade for rugby in the country– will not be counted towards the rankings used for Rugby World Cup seeding purposes.

World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said: “The Final Qualification Tournament is always a thrilling, do-or-die moment in the build-up to Rugby World Cup – and it’s fitting that we bring it to a world-class destination like Dubai. As we head towards the most inclusive and globally representative tournament ever, with 24 teams competing in an expanded format and at least one nation from each of our regional associations, this final step on the ‘Journey to Australia 2027’ will be a celebration of ambition, resilience and the global spirit of rugby. We cannot wait to see which team earns the final place and joins us for what promises to be a unique celebration of rugby and Australia in 2027.”