The 2027 tournament will also be expanded to 24 teams, and there will be a new global, 12-team competition featuring the Wallabies.
The 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia will start in October for the first time since the tournament was last on Australian soil in 2003, after World Rugby agreed to move the event to avoid clashes with the NRL and AFL finals.
Since 2007, Rugby World Cups have started in September and finished at the end of October but Rugby Australia successfully lobbied World Rugby to start on October 1 and finish on November 13, due to clashes with rival codes. “We wanted to ensure we have clean stadia and the best venues to optimise our ticket sales for all fans coming in from around the world. World Rugby totally got this and have been fantastic,” McLennan said.Brisbane and Perth would be in the running to host the opening weekend fixture, should it clash with the NRL and AFL grand final weekend.
The Six Nations teams will form one pool, and the Rugby Championship sides – plus two invited sides – will form the other pool. The teams will play each other in the July and November windows before a grand final at the end of November. World Rugby called it a “historic day” but the Nations Championship was not universally welcomed, with several tier two nations decrying the new competition as a “closed shop” and hugely detrimental to the growth of emerging rugby nations, who again won hearts and claimed upsets at this year’s World Cup.
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