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Sydney will play host to the Rugby World Cup 2027 Final, report Code Sports in Australia. This means a repeat of Rugby World Cup 2003 when Sydney’s Stadium Australia hosted the tournament final between Australia and England. It also hosted the opening match between Australia and Argentina.
Pictured below, Stadium Australia is the largest stadium in Australia’s largest city. The venue seats 82,000 in 2025. The venue was built in Western Sydney for the 2000 Olympic Games. It was larger at the time with 114,714 in attendance for the Closing Ceremony.
The decision means that Australia’s largest stadium has missed out. Sydney had competition to the south and the west. The Melbourne Cricket Ground (MCG) in Melbourne has a capacity of 100,024 while Perth Stadium (61,266) was also a possibility. World Rugby requires 60,000 capacity for the tournament final.
The MCG misses out yet it will host the second test match between Australia and the British & Irish Lions in 2025. Not only will the MCG not host the Rugby World Cup 2027 Final but it will miss out altogether on hosting matches. This means the Rugby World Cup attendance record will not be broken in 2027. The MCG is Australia’s only potential stadium for the tournament with a greater capacity than London’s Wembley Stadium which holds the record of 89,267 for Ireland vs Romania in 2015.
Code Sport note that World Rugby and Rugby Australia have decided on Sydney after a “futile protest from the (Victoria) state government.” The outcome is a debacle for Melbourne as the MCG has missed out on hosting rights with the venue being completely shut-out from the tournament.
The debacle is a new low point for rugby in the state of Victoria. Indeed, 2025 begins hot on the heels of the demise of the Melbourne Rebels. The team Melbourne’s Super Rugby Pacific franchise went bust in 2024.
Sydney will be the center-piece of the tournament again. Like at Rugby World Cup 2003, the Olympic Stadium will host the Final, The Bronze Final and both Semi Finals.
Not everything will replicate 2003; however, as Perth Stadium is well-placed to host the opening match of Rugby World Cup 2027 on October 1. Pictured below, Perth Stadium is located in Western Australia. It is 3 hours behind Sydney making it friendlier for television viewing in Europe.
Perth Stadium seats roughly 9,000 more spectators than does Brisbane’s Lang Park. Brisbane is a regular home venue for the Wallabies. It also hosted two Quarter Finals at Rugby World Cup 2003. Planning for the 2027 tournament see the 52,000 capacity Lang Park deemed too small for the tournament opener. Pictured below, the Brisbane stadium will host at least one Quarter Final.
The final list of venues is expected in February. While Melbourne is the big loser there are many winners. In addition to Sydney, Perth and Brisbane, Code Sports report that Adelaide, Townsville and Newcastle have secured significant matches. The trio will all host any least one big pool match. They are all Rugby Championship venues with Australia to face Argentina at Townsville in 2025. The stadium in Townsville is pictured below.
Sydney is to be the only Australian city allocated matches at more than one venue. Pictured below, the Sydney Football Stadium (SFS) joins Stadium Australia to give Sydney Western and Eastern stadiums for the tournament. The SFS was also a venue used for Rugby World Cup 2003; both Argentina and Uruguay played matches at the venue.
Two Sydney venues is no surprise; notwithstanding, there had been a strong possibility for three. The outcome is that Western Sydney Stadium (30,000 capacity), located in Parramatta, misses out. The SFS will host the Wallabies vs Los Pumas this year one week after the aforementioned fixture in Townsville. The SFS is pictured below.
