Sydney will once again host the final of the Rugby World Cup in 2027, while Melbourne has secured nine matches after eleventh-hour negotiations. Accor Stadium will stage the final, semi-finals, and bronze medal match, with other NSW venues including Allianz Stadium and McDonald Jones Stadium hosting games. The tournament will feature 24 teams and a new round of 16 stage.
An eleventh-hour agreement to host nine matches in Melbourne has salvaged Victoria's participation in the 2027 Rugby World Cup , but Sydney has secured the prestigious rights to stage the final of the tournament once again. Sydney will reprise its role as host city for the 2027 Rugby World Cup final, with officials from World Rugby and Rugby Australia set to gather in Sydney on Thursday to announce the host cities for the tournament.
While most states are expected to be included in the selection, NSW, and specifically Sydney, will be the clear victors. Twenty-four years after hosting the electrifying 2003 Rugby World Cup final, Accor Stadium at Homebush will be confirmed as the venue for the 2027 Rugby World Cup final. The 82,000-seat Olympic stadium will also host both semi-finals and the bronze medal match. Other World Cup fixtures in NSW are slated to be played at Allianz Stadium and McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle, although tournament organizers will not finalize venues and a complete schedule until the World Cup draw, scheduled for the end of the year. This announcement comes under a new joint-venture model where World Rugby and RA will jointly organize the tournament as partners. This follows four years after RA first sought expressions of interest from state governments to bid for packages of pool games and finals. During this process, NSW had successfully positioned itself to host the final and semi-finals, enticing potential attendees with the promise of a record-breaking crowd at the 100,000-seat venue. Victoria's initial bid fell short compared to NSW's offer, according to informed sources who wished to remain anonymous. When a call for best and final bids was made last year, the Victorian government opted to withdraw. The decision was initially speculated to be a retaliatory measure against RA, however, if that was the intention, it proved misguided as World Rugby, as the primary negotiators, had already agreed to pay RA a flat $100 million fee as part of the new joint venture structure. Sources familiar with the negotiations, who also requested anonymity, stated that the Victorian government's withdrawal was more closely tied to the state's financial difficulties and significant cuts in major event spending. However, the prospect of Melbourne hosting no games during the 2027 Rugby World Cup was met with disapproval in some circles. Officials at the Melbourne Cricket Club (who manage the MCG) were among those who actively lobbied the state government to return to the negotiation table. Following eleventh-hour discussions with World Rugby, a deal was struck earlier this week, securing Melbourne's participation in the tournament with nine fixtures. While it remains unclear whether the MCG will host two quarter-finals, there is a strong possibility. Filling the 100,000-seat MCG would help mitigate the lower ticket revenue from Suncorp Stadium, which has a capacity of 50,000 and will also host quarter-finals. After handing RA a $100 million payment, World Rugby will retain all revenues generated from the tournament and utilize these funds to support the development of the sport over the next four years.Perth's Optus Stadium was considered as a venue for quarter-final matches, but concerns arose regarding the fairness of two of the last four teams needing to travel across Australia to participate in the semi-finals in Sydney. Perth is likely to be one of the cities hosting games in the round of 16 – a new addition to the 2027 World Cup, which will be the first to feature 24 teams, an increase from 20. Sydney, Melbourne, Brisbane, and Adelaide are also potential contenders for hosting round of 16 matches. While Optus Stadium was in the running for the final, the 60,000-seat venue will instead host the opening game, featuring the Wallabies. The Western Australian venue not only offers a more favorable time zone for European viewers but also avoids a potential clash with the NRL grand final, scheduled for the first weekend of October. The remainder of the tournament will proceed without any scheduling conflicts, thanks to RA's successful lobbying efforts to move the World Cup from its usual September-October timeframe to start on October 1st and conclude on November 13th. World Rugby approved this change in 2023, ensuring the stadiums will be free of existing signage, a requirement by World Rugby for tournament operations. The NRL and AFL have long-term agreements with Accor Stadium and the MCG, necessitating a shift in scheduling or hosting major games at smaller venues for World Rugby
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