Thursday marks a year to go until the men's Rugby World Cup begins in Australia. The 2027 competition starts on 1 October in Perth with a match between Australia and Hong Kong China, with the tournament finale on 13 November in Sydney. Wales are to feature in the second game when they open their campaign against Zimbabwe in Adelaide on 2 October. Steve Tandy's side sit 11th in the world rankings, currently topped by reigning World Cup champions South Africa.
The tournament has expanded from 20 to 24 teams, with the number of pools rising from four to six. All 12 teams who finished inside the top three of their pools at the 2023 World Cup qualified automatically. Georgia, Spain, Romania, Portugal, Tonga, Canada, United States of America, Uruguay, Chile, Zimbabwe, Hong Kong China and Samoa all earned their places through qualifying tournaments.
Wales have 12 or 13 potential matches across three blocks before they travel to Australia. Nations Championship home matches are set to be staged against Japan, New Zealand and Australia in November. There will be five matches in the 2027 Six Nations, with trips to play France, Scotland and Italy and home fixtures in Cardiff against England and Ireland. The Welsh Rugby Union (WRU) has so far refused to publicly announce who they will face next August and September.
Wales have been drawn in Pool F alongside England, Tonga and Zimbabwe. The opening game against Zimbabwe will be staged in Adelaide, followed by a six-day turnaround before they face Tonga in Melbourne. England await eight days later in Sydney on 16 October. Next year's World Cup will feature 16 teams at the knockout phase, rather than the traditional eight who previously went straight to the quarter-finals.
Source: BBC Sport · Summarized by HeadlinesBriefing