The 2027 Rugby World Cup Draw Has Been Confirmed For December Following World Rugby Announcement

The date has been set for the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw after World Rugby confirmed the tournament groupings would be decided in December.

The pool stage draw for the next men’s World Cup is scheduled to take place at the end of this year.

This means that the summer tours and autumn internationals now take on added importance, with the World Rugby rankings used to determine seedings for the draw.

Reigning champions South Africa will be among the favourites, along with beaten 2023 finalists New Zealand.

This year’s Six Nations winners, , are also expected to do well. Les Bleus were edged out by South Africa in the 2023 quarter-finals on home soil, losing by a single point.

England are continuing to rebuild ahead of the tournament, but have made steady progress with a second-placed finish in the Six Nations.

But now the date has been confirmed for the Rugby World Cup draw, attention is starting to shift towards the tournament in two years’ time.

Confirmation that the RWC 2027 Draw will take place in December 2025 with all teams qualified, means that every match (full senior national v full senior national) counts in the race for all important rankings poistions ahead of the Draw.

— dominic rumbles (@dominicrumbles) May 22, 2025

When Is The Rugby World Cup?

The 2027 Rugby World Cup will take place in Australia from 1 October to 13 November.

Australia are hosting the competition for the first time since 2003.

Perth will host the opening fixture of the tournament, with the final to be held in Sydney.

In total, seven cities have been chosen to host fixtures during the 2027 Rugby World Cup.

Rugby World Cup Host Venues:

• Adelaide, South Australia
• Brisbane, Queensland
• Melbourne, Victoria
• Newcastle, New South Wales
• Perth, Western Australia
• Sydney, New South Wales – Hosting the final*
• Townsville, Queensland

Rugby World Cup Schedule 2027

For the first time, the World Cup will be expanded from the 20-team format in place since 1999.

In 2027, there will be 24 teams heading down under to compete in Australia.

To accommodate for the expansion, the format of the competition has changed to include an extra knockout round-of-16.

This means that the top two sides in each pool will progress, along with the four best third-placed finishers.

The final qualifying tournament for the World Cup will take place from 8 to 18 November in Dubai.

Split into six pools of four teams, there are 16 nations already qualified.

Teams Already Qualified For Rugby World Cup 2027:

• South Africa
• New Zealand
• Italy
• Ireland
• Scotland
• Wales
• Fiji
• Australia
• England
• Argentina
• Japan
• Georgia
• Spain
• Portugal
• Romania

Dubai will host the Final Qualification Tournament for Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 between 8-18 November, 2025.

➡️ Four teams to compete for 24th and final place
➡️ Belgium already qualified, 3 teams to follow
➡️ #RWC2027 Draw to take place in December 2025
➡️ All international… pic.twitter.com/jQ33gS6ViI

— World Rugby Media (@worldrugbymedia) May 22, 2025

When Did England Win The Rugby World Cup?

It’s been more than two decades since England tasted international rugby’s top prize.

The 2003 tournament saw favourites England, led by head coach Sir Clive Woodward, take on reigning world champions and hosts Australia in one of the greatest finals in rugby history.

England led in the closing stages thanks to a try from Jason Robinson and the legendary boot of Jonny Wilkinson.

But Australia clawed their way back into the game, drawing level in the dying minutes with a penalty to force extra time.

After a tense 20 minutes, the score was 17-17 in the final seconds of extra time.

Wilkinson then stepped up, and famously slotted the winning drop-goal on his weaker right foot to win the World Cup for England.

England Rugby’s new kit launch gave a nod to the 2003 World Cup win, with the first Castore home shirt very reminiscent of that worn by Wilkinson and his teammates all those years ago.

Rugby World Cup Winners By Year

Despite there having been 10 Rugby World Cups played since the first in 1987, there have only been four nations ever to lift the trophy.

Reigning world champions South Africa have the record for wins, having triumphed four times.

New Zealand won the inaugural competition, but had to wait 24 years before winning it again. The All Blacks have three World Cups to their name.

Australia have won the competition twice, in 1991 and 1999, and were beaten finalists in both 2003 and 2015.

England remain the only northern hemisphere nation to win the World Cup, with losing several finals.

Rugby World Cup Winners:

• 1987 – New Zealand
• 1991 – Australia
• 1995 – South Africa
• 1999 – Australia
• 2003 – England
• 2007 – South Africa
• 2011 – New Zealand
• 2015 – New Zealand
• 2019 – South Africa
• 2023 – South Africa