RWC 2027 schedule: 5 high-stakes matches on the road to the Round of 16

Looking at the Rugby World Cup 2027 schedule, it won’t take long for supporters lucky enough to be out in Australia to get a proper feel for the action. Within four days of the tournament kicking off in Perth on October 1st, all 24 participating nations will have taken to the field.

Whereas in the past, supporters of some teams had to bide their time before fully investing in the action, Australia 2027 will move forward faster than Men’s Rugby World Cup joint-record try-scorer Bryan Habana in full flight.

Over those first four days, venues from Adelaide to Sydney, and every stop in between except Stadium Australia, which is being held back for the blockbuster clash between the Wallabies and the All Blacks, will be a cacophony of noise and colour.

While all 36 pool matches are bound to have countless subplots, we’ve picked out five matches, in chronological order, which, for differing reasons, are high stakes matches in their own right on the journey to the newly-introduced Round of 16.

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

Saturday, October 1st, Perth Stadium: Australia vs Hong Kong China 

As befits tradition, Rugby World Cup hosts Australia have the honour of kicking off the tournament.

Only twice before have tournament hosts fallen at the first hurdle – England (12-18 vs New Zealand) in 1991 and France (12-17 v Argentina) in 2007 – and a win for debutants Hong Kong China would unquestionably be the biggest upset in Rugby World Cup history.

While most would consider the result of this match as a foregone conclusion, there is a lot at stake, not only for the hosts, as they’ll want to set their stall out from the word go, but also their opponents.

In reality, the best the Asian qualifiers can hope for is to show the rugby world that they deserve their place at the game’s marquee tournament, and a credible performance on their Rugby World Cup debut would put any dispute to bed.

Hong Kong China will become the 11th new team to compete at a Rugby World Cup since the original 16-team line-up in 1987, and for that reason alone, it’s a must-watch game.

Saturday, October 2nd, Adelaide Oval: Wales vs Zimbabwe 

Most people will expect Wales to rack up a cricket score against Zimbabwe at the home of Sir Don Bradman. But, as things stand, it’s a fixture that beleaguered Wales fans will arguably fear the most.

Zimbabwe, who’ll be making their first Men’s Rugby World Cup appearance since 1991 in Adelaide, play with real freedom, which makes them dangerous opponents, especially in a no-lose situation.

If first-game nerves get the better of Wales, Zimbabwe have the pace in their backline to capitalise on mistakes on the counterattack, as their performances in last year’s Rugby Africa Cup-winning campaign showed.

The teams have met three times previously, all in the 1990s, with Wales winning by an average margin of 29 points.

On the face of it, Wales should win by a similar margin again, if not more, but memories of Western Samoa are never far away in the minds of Welsh supporters when approaching so-called David vs Goliath clashes.

Monday, October 4th, Newcastle Stadium: Fiji v Spain 

It could be a Manic Monday in Newcastle. To be fair, it’s hard to think of a better way to start the week than watching the Flying Fijians strut their stuff.

Recognised as one of the most exciting teams on the planet for their love of keeping the ball alive and in hand, Fiji have lit up many a tournament since receiving a late invite to the inaugural tournament in 1987. Some of the best players in the world adorn the famous white jersey, and no Rugby World Cup would be complete without their presence.

Ordinarily, you’d expect this to be a banker match for the Islanders. However, Los Leones ran Fiji very close in their last meeting in Malaga in November, going down 41-33, but only after Fiji scored 10 points in the last seven minutes to snatch victory from the jaws of defeat.

Also, Spain are in form, ranking almost as high as they’ve ever been, plus they’ll be desperate to make up for lost time, as Australia 2027 will be their first Men’s Rugby World Cup since 1999.

Getting a good result against Fiji would seriously boost Spain’s chance of making it through to the Round of 16 as one of the best best third-placed sides.

Friday, October 9th, Stadium Australia: Australia vs New Zealand 

There’s no looking past this one.

A seismic clash awaits as the countries that co-hosted the very first Rugby World Cup in 1987 come together in the pool stages for the first time in the tournament’s history. All four previous Rugby World Cup meetings occurred deep in the tournament, with three at the semi-final stage and the fourth, New Zealand’s 34-17 win in the 2015 final, the most recent encounter.

As they’re currently on an 11-match winning run against the Wallabies in all competitions, dating back to November 2020, New Zealand will go into the match as strong favourites and possibly with an ex-Wallaby head coach leading them.

While Joe Schmidt has ruled himself out of the running to replace Scott Robertson, Dave Rennie is reported to be firmly in the running for one of the most coveted and pressured jobs in world rugby.

Top spot in Pool A almost certainly awaits the winner.

Saturday, October 16th, Stadium Australia: England vs Wales 

England return to the scene of their greatest-ever triumph, the 20-17 extra-time win over Australia in 2003, which saw them become the first, and to date, only northern hemisphere team to lift the Webb Ellis Cup.

It will be an emotional night for the supporters who saw Jonny Wilkinson drop-kick them to glory in the 82,000-capacity arena, while England team manager Richard Hill, who started the final at blindside flanker, will no doubt be taken back a couple of decades when he sets foot inside the ground again.

England will hope to return to the tournament’s biggest venue four weeks later, for the final on November 14th, and a win against Wales would undoubtedly make that task easier to navigate.

Winning Pool F would result in either England or Wales avoiding falling in reigning champions South Africa’s half of the draw in the knock-outs, assuming the two-time defending champions leave Pool B victorious.

Taking ancient rivalries into a new setting adds a different dimension to historic fixtures such as these, and Wales always seem to raise their game against England at Rugby World Cups, which only adds to the appeal.

The only time they’ve previously met in the pool stages was in 2015, when Wales defied pre-match predictions and won at Twickenham, to effectively end the host nation’s tournament.