Rugby World
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Australia 2027

QUALIFICATION PROCESS

BIG 12 AUTOMATIC SPOTS
> As hosts Australia qualify automatically for the 2027 tournament with another 11 teams gaining automatic qualification by finishing in the top three positions in their pools in the 2023 World Cup. Those teams are: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Argentina, Ireland, France, Wales, Fiji, Scotland, Italy and Japan. The remaining 12 spots in the 2027 expanded 24-team format will be allocated through teams competing in a global qualification process.

Four of those spots have already gone to the semi-finalists in the Rugby Rurope Championship, with semi-finalists Georgia, Spain, Portugal and Romania all qualifying for Australia 2027. The winner of the fifth-place play-off will earn a ticket to the Final Qualification Tournament in November, when one place in Australia 2027 will go to the winner of the tournament.

EUROPE – 4 TEAMS
Qualification matches: January-March 2025
> The four teams that reach the semi-finals of the Rugby Europe Championship 2025 will qualify directly for Australia 2027. Nations involved: Belgium, Georgia, Germany, Netherlands, Portugal, Romania, Spain and Switzerland.
The winner of the fifth-place play-off will secure their ticket to the Final Qualification Tournament (see below).

ASIA – 1 TEAM
Qualification matches: June-July 2025
> The Asia Rugby Championship 2025 winners will qualify directly for Australia 2027.
Nations involved: Hong Kong China, Korea, Malaysia and United Arab Emirates.
The runner-up in the tournament will progress to the Asia/Africa Play-off (see below).

AFRICA – 1 TEAM
Qualification matches: July 2025
> The Rugby Africa Cup 2025 champions will qualify directly for Australia 2027. Nations involved: Algeria, Ivory Coast, Kenya, Namibia, Senegal, Uganda and Zimbabwe. The runner-up in the tournament will progress to the Asia/Africa Play-off (see below).

SOUTH AMERICA – 1 TEAM
Qualification matches: July-September 2025
> The Sudamerica Rugby Championship 2025 winners will secure their place at Australia 2027, with the runner-up qualifying for the South America/Pacific Play-off (see below) and the third-placed team joining the line-up for the Final Qualification Tournament (see below). Nations involved: Brazil, Chile, Paraguay and Uruguay.

PACIFIC – 3 TEAMS
Qualification matches: August-September 2025
> The top three teams in the Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (other than already-qualified Fiji and Japan) will qualify for Australia 2027. The sixth-placed team will join the South America/Pacific Play-off (see below). Nations involved: Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga and the United States.

SOUTH AMERICA/PACIFIC PLAY-OFF – 1 TEAM
Qualification matches: September 2025
> A home-and-away play-off between the runner-up and the team finishing sixth in the Pacific Nations Cup. The winner qualifies for Australia 2027, while the loser will join the Final Qualification Tournament (see below).

ASIA/AFRICA PLAY-OFF
Qualification matches: September 2025
> The Rugby Africa Cup 2025 runner-up will play the Asia Rugby Championship runner-up in a home-and-away play-off. The winner qualifies for the Final Qualification Tournament (see below).

FINAL QUALIFICATION TOURNAMENT – 1 TEAM
Qualification matches: November 2025
> The final qualification tournament will comprise one pool of four teams, playing in a round-robin format with the winner - on competition points - qualifying for Australia 2027. The four teams will comprise the Sudamerica Rugby Championship 2025 third-place team; the South America/Pacific Play-off loser; the Rugby Europe Championship 2025 fifth-placed team; and the Africa/Asia Play-off winner.

The full Australia 2027 qualifying process explained

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Categories

BBC

Barcelona's Nou Camp, Madrid's Bernabeu and the Mestalla in Valencia are all on a list of possible venues as Spain bids to host the Rugby World Cup in 2035. [...]

BBC Sport NI assesses how the four Irish provinces are tracking before their European campaigns begin on Saturday. [...]

How Wales forwards Aaron Wainwright, Olly Cracknell and Tommy Reffell have been key to Leicester Tigers' good start to the season. [...]

Newcastle Red Bulls boss Dan McFarland says he is "relishing" the challenge of facing Scarlets in the European Challenge Cup. [...]

Ashy & Sara chat to Will Skelton, Jack Conan & Nathan Hughes at the Champions Cup launch. [...]

England welcome back the experience of Amy Cokayne at hooker as their 41-match unbeaten run comes under serious threat away to Canada. [...]

Exeter Chiefs' Dafydd Jenkins says the influx of Wales players into the English Prem can help improve the game in his homeland. [...]

The British and Irish Lions are to take on France at Cardiff's Principality Stadium before their historic three-Test 2027 tour to New Zealand. [...]

England winger Immanuel Feyi-Waboso should be fit to feature in next month's Nations Championship matches. [...]

Bristol sign former Newcastle hooker Bryn Gordon as injury cover for their upcoming games. [...]

Centre Ben Thomas is set to miss the opening games of the Nations Championship but Taulupe Faletau is expected to play before November. [...]

Sale Sharks winger Tom Roebuck signs a new deal to remain with the Prem club for a further two years. [...]

Leicester Tigers back row Samuel Williams signs a contract extension of undisclosed length with the Prem club. [...]

Cornish Pirates coach Joe Walsh says the club is trying to understand their poor away form. [...]

Totoa Auvaa's young career has been derailed by a chaotic 14 months at Saracens which featured violence both on and off the pitch. [...]