Wallabies will open 'unique' 2027 Rugby World Cup in front of 60,000

The halfway point to the start of the men’s 2027 Rugby World Cup has been reached with just two years remaining until the Wallabies kick-off the event in Perth.

The Wallabies will begin the Rugby World Cup at Optus Stadium in Western Australia, returning to the venue of this weekend’s sellout crowd for the second Bledisloe Test.

The next men’s Rugby World Cup will be the biggest ever tournament, expanding to 24 teams across six pools, requiring a fresh new format to determine a champion.

Chris Stanley, General Manager of Rugby World Cup 2027, confirmed that the event will have a round of 16 knockout round for the first time.

“Two years from today, Perth and Australia will be at the forefront of the global stage, Rugby World Cup 2027 will be unlike anything we have seen before,” Stanley told local media in Perth Wednesday.

“24 teams, 52 matches, seven host cities, and six weeks of amazing rugby.

“And for the very first time at a Rugby World Cup, a round of 16. With more teams, the biggest tournament ever requires a new and innovative format.”

The Wallabies will find out who their opponent is for the opening game when the Rugby World Cup draw is made on December 3, with the world rankings to determine who teams will play.

“The world rankings at the end of the autumn internationals will be used to determine how we will do the draw. Each of the teams will be drawn into four bands of six teams each, from pools A to F,” Stanley said.

“Over three weekends every team will play off against their opponents in the pool. At the end of the pool play, the top two teams go through to the knockout phases plus the four best third-place teams in the round of 16.”

The Springboks have won the last two Rugby World Cups in Japan and France and are looking to become the first team in history to win three in a row.

Chile secured the 23rd spot in the expanded 24-team tournament with just one remaining spot to be locked up next month in Dubai.

Australia is estimating an economic $1 billion impact with over 250,000 visitors from around the world in attendance. Western Australia is set to grab a fair share of the spoils with four pool games and two of the round of 16 knockout fixtures.

“It’s fantastic to see the Rugby World Cup return to Australia, and I’m glad that Western Australia will play a key part in the tournament,” premier Roger Cook told media.

“It will be the largest sporting event ever held in Western Australia.”

The western gateway of Australia has direct flights from as far as Europe and South Africa, making it the ideal location to kick off the 2027 event.

“You can imagine Western Australia being the place to be for that opening round, it’s going to unleash an incredible six weeks of tournament and fire the starter’s gun for what will be an amazing event.

“Western Australia will be at the epicentre of that when the tournament kicks off.”

In early 2026 the match schedule will be released and two and half million tickets will go on sale in February.