The Blues now know the dates of the three matches in their first round and the order of their opponents. The host country, Australia, will kick off the competition against Hong Kong.
The schedule for the next Rugby World Cup, which will take place in Australia from October 1 to November 17, 2027, was revealed this Monday, 605 days before kickoff. The competition will open with an unbalanced match between Australia, the host country, and Hong Kong, in Perth.
The Wallabies will benefit from a soft start against the weakest or almost the 24 qualified teams (23rd in the world ranking) and for which it will be the first participation. The clash of this Group A, between Australia and New Zealand, will take place on the second day.
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France will begin its quest for a first world title against the United States in Melbourne on October 2, before traveling to Brisbane to challenge Japan (October 9), then to the Sydney Football Stadium, to face Samoa on October 17, in a very affordable Group E.
The Springboks will launch their title defense against the Italians
For this first World Cup with 24 teams, compared to 20 since 1999, the teams are divided into six groups of four teams, from which the first two in each group and the four best third-placed teams will qualify. The 16 teams thus qualified will compete in the round of 16, another new feature of this edition.
By finishing first in its group, France would return to Melbourne for its round of 16 on October 23, then return to Brisbane in the quarterfinals on October 30 before playing a possible semi-final then a potential final in Sydney, at Stadium Australia this time, the Olympic stadium of the 2000 Olympics.
The reigning double world champions South Africa will enter the fray on October 3 against Italy in Adelaide, while the All Blacks will begin their tournament against Chile on October 2 in Perth.
New with the Super Sunday (October 17): for the first time, five matches will be played in a single day to close the group stage in style: Italy-Georgia, Ireland-Uruguay, Scotland-Portugal, France-Samoa and South Africa-Romania.
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The first tickets will be available for purchase from February 18 for supporters registered for the presale.
The group stage matches of the XV of France:
Saturday October 2: France-United States, in Melbourne (Docklands Stadium)
Saturday October 9: France-Japan, in Brisbane (Brisbane Stadium)
Sunday October 17: France-Samoa, in Sydney (Sydney football Stadium)
