The 2027 men's Rugby World Cup has officially crossed the two-year countdown with 24 teams set to contest the largest tournament in the sport's history, while the draw has been set for Wednesday Dec. 3.
Australia will host the tournament with the opening match to take place at Optus Stadium in Perth on Oct. 1 in what will be the start of a new era of the men's game. But with the expansion from 20 to 24 teams it means opening the door to a whole new format, including the introduction of a 'Round of 16'.
So how does it all work?
WHAT IS THE NEW TOURNAMENT FORMAT?
Previously a 20-team, four-pool tournament, the 2027 World Cup will expand to six pools of four teams. The top two teams from each pool will progress to the Round of 16, while the four best third-place teams will also advance.
Those final four teams will be determined by competition points, with points difference and try difference coming into play if needed.
WILL THE WORLD CUP HAVE MORE GAMES?
With the introduction of the Round of 16 there will be more games for fans to enjoy, but in an interesting twist, players will not play additional matches. So how does that work?
The reduction of five teams to four in each pool means there is one fewer match for each team in the pool phase (and no bye round), replaced instead with an additional knockout match, allowing the competition to expand from 48 games at the 2023 World Cup to 52 matches in 2027. Meanwhile, a minimum of five rest days will be observed between matches.
It also means the tournament has been condensed, shrinking from 50 days in 2023 to 43 in 2027.
HOW DOES THE ROUND OF 16 WORK?
This is where it gets slightly complicated, but we'll keep it simple.
The winners of Pool A through D will play the four best third-placed teams, while the winners of Pools E and F will play the runners-up from Pools D and B. The runners-up from Pools A and C will then take on the runners-up from Pools E and F.
While this may seem unfair on the surface level, the imbalance does even out in the next knockout round. For example, the winner of Pool A will play a third-place team in the Round of 16 but could face the winner of Pool B if that team advances. Meanwhile, the winner of Pool E will play a second seeded team in both knockout rounds.
WHEN AND WHERE IS THE WORLD CUP DRAW?
The draw to determine pool stages will take place on Wednesday Dec. 3 in Sydney.
HOW DOES THE DRAW WORK?
Once all 24 teams are confirmed they will be seeded from 1 to 24 based on their World Rugby rankings at the time of the draw on Dec. 3.
The 24 teams will be divided into four groups of six labelled Bands. The top six nations will be grouped into Band 1, the next six Band 2, and so on. Each pool will have one team from each of the four bands.
There is one exception. As Australia are hosting the tournament they have already been placed into Pool A. With the Wallabies currently sitting outside the top six, they are currently in Band 2, meaning a team from Band 1 will be drawn and placed in Pool A. However, if they should move up the world rankings by December, a team from Band 2 will be drawn instead.
WHICH TEAMS HAVE QUALIFIED?
Twelve teams automatically qualified from the 2023 World Cup after finishing in the top three of their pools: France, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, South Africa, Scotland, Wales, Fiji, Australia, England, Argentina and Japan.
The 12 remaining places were reserved for teams that earned their place through qualification tournaments, these include: Georgia, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Tonga, Canada, USA, Uruguay, Chile, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong China.
One final spot remains with Namibia, Belguim, Samoa, Brazil and Paraguay all fighting for qualification in November in Dubai.
WHAT ARE THE CURRENT SEEDINGS?
BAND 1: South Africa, New Zealand, Ireland, France, England, Argentina
BAND 2: Australia, Scotland, Fiji, Italy, Georgia, Wales
BAND 3: Japan, Spain, USA, Chile, Tonga, Uruguay
BAND 4: Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong China, Canada, Zimbabwe
[Correct as of Oct. 24]
WHERE WILL THE GAMES BE PLAYED?
The biggest World Cup to date will be played across the largest island nation in the world, games scheduled for seven different locations including: Sydney, Adelaide, Perth, Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle and Townsville.