Australian Bid for 2027 World Cup

[Wilson]

So 24 teams confirmed in 6 pools 4, round of 16 added with the top 2 from each pool plus the 4 next best performed teams.:

Rugby World Cup 2027 set to feature 24 teams, new format

www.rugby.com.au

Main takeaways from the article:

• Rugby World Cup 2027 will be hosted between 1 October and 13 November
• The tournament will be expanded from 20 to 24 teams
• Top three from each pool at Rugby World Cup 2023 automatically qualified (Australia, Argentina, England, France, Fiji, Italy, Ireland, Japan, New Zealand, South Africa Scotland, Wales)
• Reduced six-week (seven weekend) Rugby World Cup window approved, supporting welfare, entertainment and value imperatives
• Pool phase reduced from five to four weeks
• Round of 16 to be introduced with top two teams from each pool automatically qualifying along with the top four third-placed teams
• Decision provides certainty for all stakeholders and maintains Rugby World Cup’s position as the jewel in the crown of the international calendar
• Details of the qualification process for Rugby World Cup 2027 will be determined following a full review of France 2023 and consultation with unions and regions.

 

[LeCheese]

So 24 teams confirmed in 6 pools 4, round of 16 added with the top 2 from each pool plus the 4 next best performed teams.:

Rugby World Cup 2027 set to feature 24 teams, new format

www.rugby.com.au

Main takeaways from the article:

So are we assuming we'll get mid-week games with the fuller schedule?

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

I really hope so. I skipped more games than ever during this WC because of the schedule.

I would have watched almost all of them if there were midweek fixtures. Have to keep the festival rolling IMO.

There is going to be some blow outs in the round of 16 though.

 

[Wilson]

So are we assuming we'll get mid-week games with the fuller schedule?

I'm not sure, there's one less team in each pool which effectively drops two weeks from pool play - the 4th game and the bye week, so there isn't necessarily a need for mid weeks games. They have said they'll maintain the mandatory rest period too, so I wouldn't hold your breath for them.

 

[Wilson]

I really hope so. I skipped more games than ever during this WC because of the schedule.

I would have watched almost all of them if there were midweek fixtures. Have to keep the festival rolling IMO.

It looks unlikely we'll get them, but if we do have something domestic going it might be a good opportunity to draw in some visiting fans by playing those games mid week, even if it's just something like the u16s/u19s that's going on right now.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

It looks unlikely we'll get them, but if we do have something domestic going it might be a good opportunity to draw in some visiting fans by playing those games mid week, even if it's just something like the u16s/u19s that's going on right now.

Didn't think of that but it's a cracking idea.

If we did manage to have some sort of national comp should allow entry with any RWC ticket.

 

[Dctarget]

Round of 16 is fun. Four knock out matches to get to the cup.

 

[hoggy]

Round of 16 is fun. Four knock out matches to get to the cup.

How do you get to the round of 16. If you have 6 pools of 4 Teams, Top 2 qualify which gives you 12. How do they decide the last 4 ?

 

[Dctarget]

How do you get to the round of 16. If you have 6 pools of 4 Teams, Top 2 qualify which gives you 12. How do they decide the last 4 ?

• Round of 16 to be introduced with top two teams from each pool automatically qualifying along with the top four third-placed teams

Even Australia shouldn't able to fuck this up.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Can't wait for the first team to whinge when they miss out due to a slightly harder pool and not getting a BP. Mate you finished 17th....get on your flight.

 

[Dctarget]

Can't wait for the first team to whinge when they miss out due to a slightly harder pool and not getting a BP. Mate you finished 17th....get on your flight.

It's going to be pretty exciting. Teams like Portugal and Uruguay are in with a shout.

Portugal then could upset Fiji like they did and get through to a QF.

There will also be absolute processions though of some minnow going up against NZ in a knock out match.

 

[The Ghost of Raelene]

Guess we'll have to see how they organise the round of 16.

Winning your pool should have reward. Would you then rank all teams off BP, F/A?
1 v 16
2 v 15
3 v 14
4 v 13
5 v 12
6 v 11

Or have 1st in Pool A to play 16, 1st in Pool B to play 15th which is more the current model. Allows fans to plan a lot easier which in a country like Australia seems more essential than France when there will be games in Perth and the East Coast.

 

[Braveheart81]

Guess we'll have to see how they organise the round of 16.

Winning your pool should have reward. Would you then rank all teams off BP, F/A?
1 v 16
2 v 15
3 v 14
4 v 13
5 v 12
6 v 11

Or have 1st in Pool A to play 16, 1st in Pool B to play 15th which is more the current model. Allows fans to plan a lot easier which in a country like Australia seems more essential than France when there will be games in Perth and the East Coast.

I assume it will be pre-planned as it currently is except you now won't know what pool those last four qualifiers come from.

Four of the six pool winners will play a third placed team, the other two will play a second place team.

E.g. something like this (A-F are the pools. Q is the the four third place qualifiers).

Round of 16
A1 v Q1
A2 v C2
B1 v Q2
C1 v B2

D1 v Q3
D2 v F2
E1 v Q4
F1 v E2

Quarter Finals
A1 v C1
A2/C2 v B1

D1 v F1
D2/F2 v E1

Semi Finals
QF1 v QF4
QF2 v QF3

I think that all works.

The idea being that if you finish first or second in your pool you can't meet that other team unless you both make the final.

 

[Adam84]

Who’s good with math. What’s the difference in overall games hosted due to the change in participating teams?

 

[Dctarget]

Who’s good with math. What’s the difference in overall games hosted due to the change in participating teams?

Original RWC
4 + 3 + 2 + 1 = 10 matches per pool. So 40 matches for the group stages.

New RWC
3 + 2 + 1 = 6 matches per pool x 6 pools = 36 matches.
+
8 x R16 games
= 44 matches.
So 4 more games I think.

 

[Wilson]

	2023	2027	Difference
Pools	40	36	-4
Round of 16	0	8	+8
Quarters	4	4	0
Semis	2	2	0
Finals	2	2	0
Total	48	52	+4

So 4 more games overall and a big lift in knock outs.

 

[Dan54]

Someone wrote into a rugby pod, with a brilliant idea I thought ofr WC going forward, and could start in Aus.
If teams need a couple of years to do planning for where they stay for pools etc, do the draw a couple of years before, but when you get to finals the teams play as per their World rankings.
ie Ireland would of played the lowest ranked qualifier to the QFs, France the next etc etc etc. Bloody ripper idea I thought.

 

[Braveheart81]

Someone wrote into a rugby pod, with a brilliant idea I thought ofr WC going forward, and could start in Aus.
If teams need a couple of years to do planning for where they stay for pools etc, do the draw a couple of years before, but when you get to finals the teams play as per their World rankings.
ie Ireland would of played the lowest ranked qualifier to the QFs, France the next etc etc etc. Bloody ripper idea I thought.

What about New Zealand and South Africa who finished second in their pools but were ranked 3 and 4?

I think the main thing is that there was no real reason the draw needed to be done so far in advance and if they return to a more regular schedule of a year and a bit out from the cup most of these issues would disappear (i.e top 4 would still be South Africa, France, NZ, Ireland).

I'd argue the potential quarter final locations that your team might be in would be a more important thing to know in advance.

Expanding on that system suggested, let's say the rule is rank the top 4 first place teams and then reverse order of the 4 second placed teams.

Based on rankings before the RWC that would have seen:

QF1 Ireland vs Fiji
QF2 France vs Argentina
QF3 England vs New Zealand
QF4 Wales vs South Africa

Which is fine from a matchup perspective but because there are so many permutations available most quarter finalists could appear in any of the quarter finals.

Let's remember that the quarter final draw predominantly came down to bad luck. The biggest issue was the four best teams were in pools A and B. If they'd been in pools A and C etc. then the quarter finals would have been:

France vs Fiji
Wales vs New Zealand
Ireland vs Argentina
England vs South Africa

And no one would have been complaining at all because in all likelihood the best four teams would have made it to the semi-finals.

 

[Omar Comin']

I'm not sure, there's one less team in each pool which effectively drops two weeks from pool play - the 4th game and the bye week, so there isn't necessarily a need for mid weeks games. They have said they'll maintain the mandatory rest period too, so I wouldn't hold your breath for them.

There'll be 12 games per round, I'd guess they'll play 3 games on both Saturdays and Sundays, and no more than 2 games any other day. So that would mean at least 5 days of games per week during the pool phase.

 

[Wilson]

There'll be 12 games per round, I'd guess they'll play 3 games on both Saturdays and Sundays, and no more than 2 games any other day. So that would mean at least 5 days of games per week during the pool phase.

True, I didn't think about the number of games per round. It'll probably favour Perth getting a fairly full load of games during the pool phase to take advantage of the timezone too.