Australia to kick off 2027 World Cup against Hong Kong

SYDNEY, Feb 3 : Hosts Australia will kick off the 2027 Rugby World Cup against debutants Hong Kong in Perth on October 1, with the final scheduled for Sydney on November 13, as World Rugby released the fixtures for the biggest-ever tournament on Tuesday.

The expanded 24-team World Cup will feature 52 matches across 19 match days in seven cities - with a shortened pool stage but a new knockout round of 16. Both semi-finals and the final are at Stadium Australia, Sydney.

Organisers released details of kick-off times and prices on Tuesday, with tickets starting at 40 Australian dollars ($27.79) and with a million tickets available at 100 Australian dollars or under.

South Africa will begin their bid for a third successive title against Italy in Adelaide on October 3 before playing Georgia and Romania while England, who won the World Cup last time it was in Australia in 2003, start against Tonga in Brisbane on October 2 and also face Zimbabwe and Wales.

Three-times winners New Zealand start against Chile and then have the stand-out fixture of the pool stage against Australia in Sydney on October 9.

Ireland, who have never got past the quarter-finals, start against Portugal before playing Scotland on October 10, while France start against the United States.

Two matches staged in the same city over the same weekend will take place across all seven host cities. The pool phase will conclude in a historic Super Sunday on 17 October, featuring five matches played in a day, a first in tournament history.

Brisbane Stadium and Stadium Australia in Sydney will host back-to-back quarter-finals on Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October.

"The wait is over," World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson said in a statement. "This is the moment teams and fans have