Overview
- The 2027 Rugby World Cup will feature 24 teams, a new round of 16 and 52 matches across seven Australian cities between October and November, with all teams guaranteed at least five days between games.
- Hosts Australia will kick off against Hong Kong on October 1 in Perth, with headline pool fixtures including Australia vs New Zealand on October 9 in Sydney and England vs Wales on October 16 at Stadium Australia.
- England’s World Cup pool is confirmed as Tonga (Oct 2, Brisbane), Zimbabwe (Oct 8, Adelaide) and Wales (Oct 16, Sydney), while Ireland face Scotland on October 10 in Perth and holders South Africa start against Italy on October 3 in Adelaide.
- England enter the Six Nations on an 11‑match winning run, with Steve Borthwick targeting a final‑round trip to France on March 14 and Jamie George to captain against Wales as Maro Itoje begins on the bench.
- France launch the Six Nations at home to Ireland in the competition’s first Thursday opener, with Antoine Dupont back from injury and Fabien Galthié omitting Damian Penaud, Grégory Alldritt and Gaël Fickou as Ireland start Sam Prendergast at fly‑half without Tadhg Furlong and the suspended Bundee Aki.