Ireland will open their 2027 World Cup campaign in Australia with a game against Portugal in Sydney on Monday, October 4th.
The World Cup fixtures and dates were confirmed on Monday night, and Andy Farrell’s charges will have a three-venue schedule in Pool D. Six days after the Portugal fixture Ireland take on Six Nations rivals Scotland at a third successive World Cup at Perth Stadium on Sunday, October 10th.
Ireland conclude their pool matches against Uruguay at the Docklands Stadium in Melbourne on Sunday, October 17th.
Travelling to all three venues encompasses a journey of over 6,000km. Flight times from Sydney to Peth are five hours, while Perth to Melbourne is 3½ hours.
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The tournament – which features 24 teams for the first time in its history, made up of six pools of four with a Round of 16 – begins on October 1st when the Wallabies host Hong Kong-China at Perth Stadium. The final will take place on November 13th at the Stadium Australia, Sydney.
Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney will host the first-ever Round of 16 matches, followed by quarter-finals in Brisbane and Sydney, before the semi, bronze and overall final, which will take place at the Stadium Australia.
“Played across 19 matchdays, the schedule deliberately clusters matches on weekends to maximise attendance and bring local communities together for an unforgettable celebration of rugby, with only two Monday across the tournament’s six weeks, one coinciding with a public holiday in Australia,” organisers said.
“Two matches staged in the same city over the same weekend will take place across all seven host cities including Newcastle and Townsville, creating an international festival atmosphere with fans from up to four nations sharing the experience.
“The pool phase will conclude in a historic Super Sunday on October 17th, featuring five Rugby World Cup matches played in a single day, a first in tournament history and a showcase of rugby passion at its peak.
“The calendar has been designed with balanced travel logistics to ensure fairness and high quality performance across all 24 teams, including a minimum of five rest days between matches. Kick-off times have been chosen to suit local conditions, including later starts in warmer cities such as Townsville and Brisbane, while enabling the widest possible global audience to follow their teams across different time zones.”
The statement added: “Behind the scenes, this schedule is the result of a rigorous technical analysis of venues – from average temperatures and capacities to transport and security – combined with collaborative planning across competition management, team services, broadcast, medical, ticketing and wider stakeholders.
“Tickets for Rugby World Cup 2027 will be available on a first-come, first-served basis via the official ticketing platform only at tickets.rugbyworldcup.com from February 18th. Prices for the presale and application sales phases will start from AUD$40 (€24) for adults and AUD$20 (€12) for children.
“With one million tickets priced at AUD$100 (€60) or less and up to six price categories per match, the tournament has been designed to be accessible to fans of all budgets. Higher-priced tickets for the most iconic fixtures help support this inclusive pricing structure. To ensure fair access, ticket purchase limits will range from six to ten tickets per match, per customer.”
World Cup match schedule highlights:
Openers: Australia v Hong Kong China – October 1st, Perth Stadium. Two-time champions South Africa open their campaign on October 3rd in Adelaide against Italy.
Ireland: October 4th v Portugal; Sunday, October 10th v Scotland; Sunday, October 17th v Uruguay.
Final: November 13th, Stadium Australia, Sydney.
Super Sunday: Five matches will be played in a single day for the first time ever on October 17th to deliver an exciting end to the pool phase: Italy v Georgia, Ireland v Uruguay, Scotland v Portugal, France v Samoa, South Africa v Romania.
Knockout drama: Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney will host the first-ever Round of 16. The quarter-finals will take place in Brisbane and Sydney, before the semi-finals, bronze final, and final at the Stadium Australia on November 13th.
