The eyes of the rugby world will again fall on Sydney after it was chosen to host the 2027 Men’s Rugby World Cup final, 24 years after the Wallabies’ heartbreaking defeat to England at the city’s Olympic Stadium.
Accor Stadium at Homebush, with a capacity of 82,000, will again host the decider as well as the semi-finals, the third-place playoff and two quarter-finals at the 11th edition of the global showpiece, which will take place in Australia for the first time since 2003.
New South Wales is the biggest winner with 13 matches after a total of seven host cities were revealed by World Rugby and Rugby Australia on Thursday. Other matches in the state are to be played at Sydney’s ANZ Stadium and McDonald Jones Stadium in Newcastle.
Queensland, the country’s other hotbed of rugby union, will host 10 matches but missed out on the blue riband games due to Suncorp Stadium’s relatively limited capacity of 52,000. The Brisbane venue will instead host two quarter-finals as part of its 10 total matches.
Newcastle and Townsville have been awarded four pool matches each and Adelaide five, but any hopes of a final played in front of 100,000 fans at the MCG have been dashed, despite an initial push by the Victorian government for the centrepiece game to be played at Melbourne’s famous old ground.
The Victorian capital has instead been handed seven pool matches and two last-16 clashes as part of a last-minute deal with World Rugby that sees the city host a total of nine matches.
“It wouldn’t be a World Cup without going to the ‘G’,” said World Rugby chair Brett Robinson. “Nine matches in Melbourne is fantastic and they are participating in a significant way in this tournament.”
The opening match of the tournament, featuring the Wallabies, will be played at Perth’s Optus Stadium. The full draw for the expanded 24-team tournament will be held at the end of this year.
The tournament, which runs for six weeks from 1 October to 13 November and features 52 matches, is expected to attract 250,000 international visitors and inject more than $2bn into the Australian economy.
It represents a key part of Australian rugby’s upcoming “golden decade”, which includes this year’s British and Irish Lions tour, the 2029 Women’s Rugby World Cup and the 2032 Olympics in Brisbane.
Rugby Australia chief executive Phil Waugh said the nation has a “rich history” of hosting major tournaments, having co-hosted the first Rugby World Cup almost 40 years ago.
“A Men’s Rugby World Cup presents a unique opportunity for our country,” he said. “From the positive economic impacts, to the energising of the fan base, to the inspiration provided to the next generation of players, RWC 2027 will leave a legacy that will be felt in Australia for many years to come.”
The 2003 World Cup on Australian soil was a huge success on and off the field, with the Wallabies reaching the final only to be beaten by England in dramatic circumstances, as Jonny Wilkinson’s field goal 26 seconds from the end of extra-time broke Australian hearts.
Incumbent Wallabies captain Harry Wilson said it was difficult to put into words how significant another Rugby World Cup on home soil is.
“I have vivid memories of being a young boy, living in country New South Wales with my family when Australia last held the tournament in 2003 and what that buzz was like for the local community,” he said. “As players, Rugby World Cup is certainly in the back of our minds, and we know the whole country will be right behind us in a little over two years’ time.”
The Wallabies last won the tournament in 1999 and will be hoping to reverse their recent fortunes in 2027 – under Eddie Jones they failed to get out of the group stage at the 2023 tournament in France for the first time in their history.
