When is the Rugby World Cup 2027?

From 1 October to 13 November 2027 in Australia. It has 24 teams and 52 matches, and the final is on Saturday 13 November at Stadium Australia in Sydney.

What is the Rugby World Cup 2027 format?

Six pools of four, then a round of 16 for the first time. The top two in each pool go through with the four best third-placed teams, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, a bronze final and the final.

Can I run a Rugby World Cup tipping comp for my club or office?

Yes. Run tipping for the pool matches and a bracket challenge for the knockouts, both under your own branding. People tip, the leaderboard ranks them, and you control who is invited.

When can the bracket be filled in?

After the pool stage ends on 17 October 2027, because the third-placed qualifiers decide the last round of 16 slots. Ask for the bracket as soon as the pairings are set.

Who enters the results?

In the tipping comp you add the fixtures and confirm each result. In the bracket, our team builds it from the official pairings and records each result, so you do not enter anything.

Can I print a bracket?

Yes. The free bracket maker prints a clean blank bracket for the clubrooms wall before you run the live version.

Tipping is on every plan including Free, which covers 25 tippers and one competition at a time. Brackets start above the Free plan, so the knockout bracket needs a paid plan or a one-off Bracket Pass. The prices are in the Bracket Pass panel on this page, in Australian dollars.

Does money change hands?

No. Entry is free and Fanzava never handles entry money. It is a free social game where people make predictions and a leaderboard ranks them.

Rugby World Cup 2027

The Rugby World Cup is across the Tasman. Tip the pools, then run the bracket.

Twenty-four teams, 52 matches and the first round of 16 in the tournament's history, in Australia from 1 October to 13 November 2027. Run a Rugby World Cup tipping comp for the pools and a bracket challenge for the knockouts, under your own logo, colours and leaderboard.

Start Free

Free to start. No credit card.

The tournament your comp is built on.

Dates: 1 October to 13 November 2027, in Australia. The opening match is Australia v Hong Kong China at Perth Stadium, and the final is on Saturday 13 November at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
Size: 24 teams and 52 matches across 19 match days, in seven host cities.
The pools, confirmed 3 December 2025: A: New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Hong Kong China. B: South Africa, Italy, Georgia, Romania. C: Argentina, Fiji, Spain, Canada. D: Ireland, Scotland, Uruguay, Portugal. E: France, Japan, USA, Samoa. F: England, Wales, Tonga, Zimbabwe.
The All Blacks' pool: Pool A puts New Zealand in with the hosts, Australia, so a trans-Tasman match sits inside the pool stage. Chile and Hong Kong China complete the pool.
Pool stage: Six pools of four, so 36 matches. It ends on Super Sunday, 17 October, with five matches in one day.
Who goes through: The top two in every pool plus the four best third-placed teams, which makes the 16 for the first-ever round of 16.
Knockouts: Round of 16, then quarter-finals on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October, then the semi-finals, the bronze final and the final.

How a Rugby World Cup comp runs on Fanzava.

Tip the pool stage.

Set up a tipping comp and add the 36 pool matches by hand or by CSV. The CSV takes a time zone per match, which helps when kick-offs run from Perth to Sydney and your tippers are watching on New Zealand time. Your tippers tip each match before its lock time, and you confirm each result when the match ends.
Score it your way.

Jokers, margin prediction and the perfect round bonus work on a custom competition. Margins suit rugby well, because the gap between the sides is part of the story.
Open the bracket when the pools finish.

The four best third-placed teams fill the last slots, so no bracket can exist before the pool stage ends on 17 October. Once the round of 16 is set, our team builds the 16-team bracket from the official pairings. Lock it before the first round of 16 match.
Run the knockouts as a bracket.

Everyone picks the team that goes through in every round, from the round of 16 to the final. Our team records each result as the match ends and every bracket is rescored. The bronze final sits outside the bracket.

Decisions a Rugby World Cup comp forces.

A 24-team tournament with third-placed qualifiers does not behave like a simple knockout. These are the choices that matter.

Why the bracket waits.

With four best third-placed teams going through, the round of 16 line-up is not complete until every pool is done. That is why a bracket cannot be filled in early, and why the pool stage is run as tipping instead.

Two competitions, two leaderboards.

Tipping and brackets are separate competitions in the same hub. You can keep the tipping leaderboard running through the knockouts as well, and let the bracket decide a separate winner.

How the bracket scores.

One point times the round number, so 1 for a round of 16 pick and 4 for the final, plus 10 for the right champion. A perfect 16-team bracket scores 36. The weighting is the same for every Fanzava bracket and there is no upset bonus.

One bracket each, or up to five.

One per person is the default and keeps the conversation simple. You can allow up to five, and a tipper's best bracket is the one that counts. Ask for the limit when you arrange the bracket.

Mind the time difference.

For most of the tournament New Zealand is two hours ahead of Sydney and five ahead of Perth. Put the lock time in the rules and in the invite, on New Zealand time, because a kick-off that looks early in Perth lands well into a Kiwi evening.

Why run the Rugby World Cup on Fanzava.

Six weeks, one hub.

The tournament fits a single competition window. Tipping carries the pools and a bracket carries the knockouts, so your tippers have a reason to check in on all six weeks.

Nothing to rebuild for the bracket.

The bracket opens in the same hub, with the same tippers and their own leaderboard. You ask for it once the round of 16 is set.

Your brand on every screen.

Paid plans and a Bracket Pass ship full white label. Pro and above add a custom domain and a custom email sender, so reminders and recaps come from you.

A free social game.

Entry is free and Fanzava never handles entry money. People make predictions and a leaderboard ranks them.

Running it for one event? Bracket Pass.

Brackets start above the Free plan. Run them on Starter or higher, or pay once for a Bracket Pass that covers a single knockout event with no subscription. Included: Full white label · Fanzava watermark removed · Brackets.

A$309 Up to 100 tippers
A$519 Up to 250 tippers
A$839 Up to 500 tippers
A$1,349 Up to 1,000 tippers

All prices in Australian dollars. See Bracket Pass →

Questions Rugby World Cup organisers ask.

When is the Rugby World Cup 2027?: From 1 October to 13 November 2027 in Australia. It has 24 teams and 52 matches, and the final is on Saturday 13 November at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
What is the Rugby World Cup 2027 format?: Six pools of four, then a round of 16 for the first time. The top two in each pool go through with the four best third-placed teams, followed by quarter-finals, semi-finals, a bronze final and the final.
Can I run a Rugby World Cup tipping comp for my club or office?: Yes. Run tipping for the pool matches and a bracket challenge for the knockouts, both under your own branding. People tip, the leaderboard ranks them, and you control who is invited.
When can the bracket be filled in?: After the pool stage ends on 17 October 2027, because the third-placed qualifiers decide the last round of 16 slots. Ask for the bracket as soon as the pairings are set.
Who enters the results?: In the tipping comp you add the fixtures and confirm each result. In the bracket, our team builds it from the official pairings and records each result, so you do not enter anything.
Can I print a bracket?: Yes. The free bracket maker prints a clean blank bracket for the clubrooms wall before you run the live version.
What does it cost?: Tipping is on every plan including Free, which covers 25 tippers and one competition at a time. Brackets start above the Free plan, so the knockout bracket needs a paid plan or a one-off Bracket Pass. The prices are in the Bracket Pass panel on this page, in Australian dollars.
Does money change hands?: No. Entry is free and Fanzava never handles entry money. It is a free social game where people make predictions and a leaderboard ranks them.

Ready to run the Rugby World Cup under your own brand?