The draw for the biggest Rugby World Cup in history is set to be made as the 24 qualified nations find out their fate.
The tournament has been expanded by four teams from the 2023 edition as the competition returns to Australia, which will also host the women’s equivalent in 2029, for the first time since England’s triumph in 2003.
Hong Kong make their debut at the World Cup while Zimbabwe make their first appearance since 1991 having come through qualifying to join the defending champion Springboks as the African representatives in the draw.
Ten European nations have qualified, and there was nearly an 11th — Belgium just missed out on a place to Samoa despite a draw with the Pacific Islanders at the final qualification tournament.
Here’s everything you need to know.
When is the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw?
The draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup will be held on Wednesday 3 December from 9am GMT. Proceedings will be fronted by former Austrlaia international Morgan Turinui, with World Rugby chair and former Australian international Brett Robinson, All Blacks legend and two-time RWC winner Dan Carter, former Wallabies captain and Australia’s most-capped player James Slipper and Olympic gold medallist and former Australian Sevens star Alicia Lucas on hand as Draw Presenters.
How can I watch it?
Viewers in the United Kingdom can watch the draw live on RugbyPass TV and World Rugby’s YouTube channel, which will stream the event globally.
Who has qualified?
Automatic qualifiers: South Africa, England, France, Ireland, Italy, Scotland, Wales, Australia, Fiji, Japan, New Zealand, Argentina.
Continental qualifiers: Zimbabwe, Hong Kong, Georgia, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Tonga, Canada, United States, Uruguay
Play-off/final qualification tournament: Chile, Samoa.
How will it work?
An expanded edition of the World Cup will see six pools of four drawn, with a round-of-16 introduced for this tournament in a bigger knockout phase. The 24 qualified nations will be divided into four bands of six based on their place in the World Rugby Rankings at the end of the November international window.
- Band 1: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Argentina
- Band 2: Australia, Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales, Japan
- Band 3: Georgia, Uruguay, Spain, USA, Chile, Tonga
- Band 4: Samoa, Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Canada
