RWC 2027: World Rugby Chair outlines ‘party like nothing on Earth’

Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 will showcase the sport’s global presence and beauty across seven Australian cities over six weeks. World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson believes the expanded 24-team tournament will be “a party like nothing on Earth.”

Robinson was in attendance at the tournament draw on Wednesday, as the pool stage of the 11^th Men’s Rugby World Cup took shape. 24 teams have been spread across six pools, with the new-look format introducing a round of 16 for the first time.

USA coach Scott Lawrence has spoken about the Eagles’ hunger to reach the knockout rounds for the first time, as have Samoa, who are chasing a drought-breaking playoff berth. Those teams are in a pool with France and Japan, who all harbour ambitions of knockout rugby.

This will be a maiden World Cup appearance for Hong Kong China, who have been drawn into Pool A alongside Australia, New Zealand and Chile. Zimbabwe and Canada are among the nations returning to the sport’s showpiece event.

Robinson is anticipating a dramatic pool stage, saying “it’s going to be fascinating to see” who progresses. As the former Wallaby noted, rugby union is a worldwide sport, and Australian sports fans will see that first-hand in a little under two years.

“The beauty of rugby is we truly are a global sport. In this country, people who are domestically connected associate with the great sports in this country of AFL and rugby league but those sports are domestic sports,” Robinson told RugbyPass in Sydney.

“Our sport is truly a global game with over 130 members around the world, men’s and women’s. We have close to eight-million participants, two-million of those are women.

“We just had a World Cup in the UK where we had 450,000 people attend a World Cup, we had a sold-out Twickenham.

“I think the wonderful thing about having the tournament here is it gives us a chance to showcase the global nature of our sport and the fact that we have all these countries from around the world that are coming here to compete truly, and that we as World Rugby are continuing to support those unions in participating.”

The Wallabies and All Blacks have been drawn in the same pool for the first time, which sparked immediate reaction and excitement from fans. Whoever tops Pool A will be one more win away from potentially facing the top-seeded side out of Pool B, which could be the Springboks.

Two-time defending champions, the Springboks, are the top-seeded side in Pool B, pitted against Italy, Georgia and Romania. Los Pumas and the Flying Fijians will meet for the first time in more than 20 years, in Pool C, along with Spain and Canada.

Six Nations opponents Ireland and Scotland headline a tough Pool D, with Uruguay and Portugal. The USA are in Pool E with Northern Hemisphere heavyweights France, as well as Pacific Nations Cup rivals Japan and Samoa.

England and Wales will meet in a Men’s Rugby World Cup group for the first time since 2015, in Pool F with Tonga and Zimbabwe. The fixtures list will be announced in February 2026, as the excitement and anticipation for the biggest Rugby World Cup ever continues to build.

“The other great strength of our sport is we have wonderful values, and those values transcend across the globe, and they come through from players, coaches and all the supporters and the fans,” Robinson said.

“You will see, like we did with the Lions Series, all these people come to these shores here to invest and spend money in our country, but also to celebrate everything that is Australia but with a rugby culture. It’s going to be a party like nothing on Earth.

“Australians got a glimpse of it with the Lions, but this is now, 24 teams across seven cities over six weeks, 52 matches, a round of 16, the best teams in the world for six weeks fighting it out to a final here in Sydney.”