The Rugby World Cup is going to look very different when the tournament heads to Australia in 2027.
World Rugby has confirmed a major overhaul of the men's competition, with changes to everything from the number of teams involved and the knockout format to the laws players will be operating under.
Australia 2027 will run from 1 October to 13 November, with 24 countries competing in the biggest Men's Rugby World Cup ever staged.
England's route has already been mapped out, with RUCK breaking down every England fixture across 2027, including the Six Nations, World Cup warm-ups and the tournament itself.
However, it's not simply the tournament format that's changed since South Africa lifted the Webb Ellis Cup in Paris in 2023.
A series of major law changes have also been introduced during this World Cup cycle, meaning the rugby played in Australia will look different too.
Here are 12 of the biggest changes since France 2023.
1. 24 teams instead of 20
The biggest structural change is expansion.
France 2023 featured 20 nations, but 24 teams will compete in Australia, making it the largest Men's Rugby World Cup in history.
The move has opened the door for more emerging nations, with Zimbabwe and Hong Kong China among the countries heading to Australia.
World Rugby says expansion will create more opportunities for nations and supporters around the world to engage with the tournament.
2. Six pools instead of four
The familiar format of four pools containing five countries has been scrapped.
Instead, the 24 teams have been divided into six pools of four.
England have been drawn alongside Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe in Pool F, while defending champions South Africa face Italy, Georgia and Romania.
The new system also means every country will play only three pool matches instead of four.
3. A Round of 16 for the first time
This could be the biggest change supporters notice.
At France 2023, the knockout stage began with the quarter-finals.
Australia 2027 will introduce a Round of 16 for the first time in Men's Rugby World Cup history, with 16 of the 24 competing countries progressing from the pool stage.
That means a team reaching the final will play three pool matches followed by a Round of 16, quarter-final, semi-final and final.
4. Third place could be enough
Finishing outside the top two will no longer necessarily mean going home.
The top two nations from each of the six pools qualify automatically for the Round of 16.
They will be joined by the four best third-placed teams.
Competition points will be used first to separate the third-placed nations, followed by points difference, points scored and tries scored.
That creates a completely different dynamic during the final round of pool matches, with teams potentially watching results from other groups to discover whether they have qualified.
5. More matches – but a shorter World Cup
Here's one of the more unusual changes.
France 2023 featured 48 matches across 50 days.
Australia 2027 will feature 52 matches across just 43 days.
That's possible because reducing each pool from five teams to four removes the need for countries to have a fallow round during the group stage.
World Rugby says teams will still receive a minimum of five rest days between matches.
The new schedule will also produce something never previously seen at the tournament: five Rugby World Cup matches on a single day.
The pool stage concludes with a "Super Sunday" on 17 October featuring Italy v Georgia, Ireland v Uruguay, Scotland v Portugal, France v Samoa and South Africa v Romania.
The laws have changed too
It's not only the World Cup format that has undergone a significant overhaul since France 2023.
World Rugby has introduced a number of measures designed to speed up matches, reduce unnecessary stoppages and create cleaner ball at set-pieces and breakdowns.
That means fans watching Australia 2027 will see several important differences from the laws used at the previous World Cup.
6. Conversions must be taken within 60 seconds
Goal-kickers have less time after a try.
At France 2023, players had 90 seconds to take a conversion.
That has been reduced to 60 seconds, bringing conversions into line with the time permitted for penalty kicks at goal.
World Rugby initially introduced the change globally from January 2025 as part of a package aimed at reducing stoppages.
So the days of a kicker taking well over a minute preparing for a conversion are gone.
7. Lineouts have a 30-second clock
Teams can no longer take as long setting themselves for a lineout.
A 30-second limit was introduced for forming the lineout, matching the existing time limit around scrum formation.
World Rugby described the rationale behind the change simply as creating shorter stoppages in play.
It should contribute to a quicker game than supporters saw at France 2023.
8. Scrum-halves get greater protection
There has also been a significant change around the scrum, ruck and maul.
World Rugby introduced greater protection for the scrum-half attempting to play the ball away.
At a ruck or maul, opponents cannot play the scrum-half when they are within one metre of it and attempting to play the ball away.
There was also a significant change at the scrum, with the non-feeding scrum-half's offside line restricted to the middle of the tunnel rather than allowing them to follow the ball towards the opposition number eight.
The intention is to create cleaner ball and more space for attacking teams.
9. Crooked lineouts don't always mean a stoppage
This is another change supporters may notice.
Previously, a throw that wasn't straight would generally result in the opposition being given the option of a scrum or another lineout.
That is no longer automatically the case.
If the defending team doesn't lift a player to contest the throw, play can continue even if the ball isn't thrown straight.
The change was introduced to remove unnecessary stoppages when the opposition had no realistic chance of competing for possession anyway.
10. The 20-minute red card is now full law
Perhaps the most controversial change concerns red cards.
World Rugby initially introduced the 20-minute red-card replacement as a Global Law Trial for elite rugby in July 2025.
Under the system, a player sent off cannot return to the match, but for qualifying red cards their team can bring on a replacement after 20 minutes of playing time.
There is an important distinction.
For intentional and highly dangerous actions, the offending player cannot be replaced and the team remains permanently reduced.
World Rugby Council subsequently approved the 20-minute red-card replacement as full law from 1 July 2026, rather than simply extending the trial.
That is a major difference from France 2023, when a red card could leave a country permanently down to 14 players.
11. TMO powers have changed
The television match official system has also evolved since the last World Cup.
World Rugby's 2026 law review confirmed that changes surrounding the role of the TMO were among the Global Law Trials moved into full law from 1 July 2026.
The broader objective has been to reduce lengthy interruptions while retaining the ability to intervene on major incidents.
It's another area that could make knockout matches in Australia feel different to the stop-start contests supporters occasionally experienced during France 2023.
12. In-goal restarts have changed
There has even been a change to what happens in certain in-goal situations.
World Rugby's July 2026 update confirmed that some scenarios which previously resulted in a 22-metre drop-out will now restart with a try-line drop-out.
World Rugby specifically gives the examples of a charge-down from the field of play subsequently going dead, or a ball carrier taking the ball into in-goal before being tackled into touch-in-goal without grounding it.
Both would previously have produced a 22 drop-out. They now result in a try-line drop-out.
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Rugby World Cup 2027 pools
The combination of the new laws and dramatically different tournament structure means Australia 2027 will bear little resemblance to France 2023.
The six pools are:
Pool A: New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Hong Kong ChinaPool B: South Africa, Italy, Georgia, RomaniaPool C: Argentina, Fiji, Spain, CanadaPool D: Ireland, Scotland, Uruguay, PortugalPool E: France, Japan, USA, SamoaPool F: England, Wales, Tonga, Zimbabwe
England begin their campaign against Tonga in Brisbane on 2 October, before facing Zimbabwe in Adelaide and Wales in Sydney.
The new knockout format also gives Pool F an interesting twist. While the winners of Pools A-D face one of the best third-placed qualifiers, the winner of Pool F will face the runner-up from Pool B.
With 24 teams, six pools, a Round of 16, a condensed schedule and significant changes to the laws, the 2027 tournament promises to be a very different Rugby World Cup from the one South Africa won four years earlier.
