All six rugby regions guaranteed 2027 World Cup spots in expanded format

Wed, Aug 14, 2024, 6:10 AM
AFP

World Rugby said on Tuesday that all its six regions will have at least one slot in the 2027 World Cup, when the field grows by four teams to 24.

Twelve teams have already qualified for Australia after finishing in the top three in their groups in the 2023 World Cup in France.

They are the members of the Six Nations, the four teams in the southern hemisphere's Rugby Championship plus Japan and Fiji.

The other places will be determined in 2025.

Four spots will go to the top teams in the second-tier European Championship. (Currently Georgia, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Netherlands, Germany, Belgium, Poland)

Another three will go to the top unqualified teams in the Pacific Nations Cup, which is made up of Fiji, Samoa, Tonga, Japan, Canada and the United States.

But the format means the one team that misses out could have two more chances to qualify.

The winners of the Asian and South American Championship and the African Cup will qualify.

One place will be at stake in a playoff between the second team in the South American championship and the lowest-placed unqualified team in the Pacific competition.

The last slot will be decided in a four-team tournament. It will include the loser of the playoff, another South American team, another European team and the winner of a playoff between the African and Asian runners-up.

World Rugby called the format "a reimagination of the qualification process". It said that for the first time, all the participants would be known at the time of the draw, scheduled for early 2026.

"This qualification process is on the side of growth and sustainability for the game as a whole. We are fully committed to respecting the fundamental principle of expanded opportunity, and the blend of existing regional competitions, new cross-region competitions and a final qualification process reflects that ambition as well as the desire to deliver teams on merit," World Rugby Chairman Sir Bill Beaumont said.

“Providing certainty to the unions in pursuit of the Australian dream will help teams fine tune their preparations and provide fans with an exciting road to Rugby World Cup 2027 next year where all places will be up for grabs."

“It is our desire for the process to qualify teams into the first iteration of the Nations Championship Division 2, which begins in 2026. This has the major advantage of ensuring that all teams will have strong, high-level competition and preparation ahead of Rugby World Cup 2027, raising standards globally.”

The enlarged World Cup will feature six pools of four and add a round of 16 before the quarter-finals.