World Rugby has announced the new qualification process for the World Cup in Australia, which will be held from October 1 to November 13, 2027 and will be the first to feature 24 participating countries following the decision taken in 2023 by rugby’s governing body to expand the competition beyond the traditional 20 contenders.
Consideration is also being given to linking the qualification process to determine the teams participating in the debut of the Nations Championship Division 2which will begin in 2026. In this way, they could prepare for their participation in Australia 2027 against high-level rivals.
Twelve teams – France, New Zealand, Italy, Ireland, champions South Africa, Scotland, Wales, Fiji, Australia, England, Argentina and Japan – have already secured their tickets to the World Cup. secured by finishing in the top three in their group at France 2023, so there are still 12 places to be distributed in the largest international rugby event worldwide.
The new qualification system is characterised by providing the six regions with at least one direct place, in a process that combines existing regional competitions, a path through the new Pacific Nations Cup (in which the countries of the Pacific Islands and North America participate), a play-off between continents and a Final Qualifying Tournament. The process and the places to be distributed in each region will be as follows:
- Europe (4) – the top four teams in the Rugby Europe Championship 2025. This is where Spain’s interests lie, as this season it will face Georgia, the Netherlands and Switzerland in the group stage.following confirmation of the competition format by Rugby Europe.
- Africa (1) – the champion of Rugby Africa Cup 2025
- Asia (1) – the champion of Asia Rugby Men’s Championship 2025
- South America (1) – the champion of South American Rugby Championship 2025
- Pacific (3) – the first three teams of the Pacific Nations Cup 2025 (except Fiji and Japan, already ranked)
- South America/Pacific Play-off (1) – second of the 2025 South American Rugby Championship and the last of the Pacific Nations Cup
- Final Qualifying Tournament (1)
In it Final Qualifying Tournament Four teams will participate and only the winner (in the overall points at the end of the tournament) will get the last and coveted ticket. The participants will be:
- Third place in the 2025 South American Rugby Championship
- South America/Pacific play-off loser
- Fifth of the Rugby Europe Championship 2025
- Winner of the Africa/Asia play-off (second in the Rugby Africa Championship 2025 vs segundo del Asia Rugby Championship)
This will therefore be the first time that we know all the participants in a men’s World Cup before the draw. The teams will be able to secure their ticket to the World Cup in Australia before the end of 2025 and The draw will take place before the start of the 2026 Men’s Six Nations.
As for the World Cup competition formatthe participants will be divided into six groups of four teams and will include a knockout round of the last 16, which will be attended by the two best teams in each group and the four best third-placed teams. This will reduce the duration from seven to six weeks, while respecting the minimum number of days of rest between matches.
What will the European Championship and the qualifying process be like for Los Leones?
He Rugby Europe Championship 2025 will be held in a single roundas is already usual, and The results of the season will be taken into account for World Cup qualificationinstead of the two-year cycle that had been previously contemplated.
The eight participating teams will be divided into two groups, based on the results they obtained last season:
-Group A: (1) Georgia, (3) Spain(5) Netherlands and (8) Switzerland
-Group B: (2) Portugal, (4) Romania, (6) Belgium and (7) Germany
The 20 matches will be played between February and March 2025. Each team will play five matches, regardless of their position. The group stage will take place from matchday 1 to matchday 3, and the play-offs will begin on the first weekend of March with the semi-finals for the title between the top 4 teams (two from each group), who would already have qualified directly for the World Cup. The finals, in which all the qualifying positions will be played, will take place on 16 March at the “Sunday Finals”.
This will be the match schedule:
Day 1 (February 1/2)
Georgia – Switzerland
Spain – Netherlands
Portugal in Belgium
Romania – Germany
Matchday 2 (February 8/9)
Georgia – Netherlands
Switzerland – Spain
Portugal – Germany
Belgium – Romania
Matchday 3 (February 15/16)
Spain – Georgia
Netherlands – Switzerland
Romania – Portugal
Germany – Belgium
Semi-finals (1/2) of March
Finals March 16th
Even though the World Cup qualifying process will only take into account the 2025 season, a 2-year period will still be counted to decide promotions and relegations.