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2027 Men's Rugby World Cup – Regional play-off and Final Qualification Tournament

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The 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup – Regional play-off and Final Qualification Tournament, which doubles as the Final Qualification Tournament for World Rugby Nations Championship's second division, will be the final two stages of the qualifying process for the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup.

The play-offs began with two cross-regional play-off matches and concludes with the Final Qualification Tournament which will be held at The Sevens Stadium in Dubai from 8 to 18 November 2025.[1][2]

Format

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Asia / Africa play-off

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The first play-off was an Asia / Africa play-off one-off match between Asia 2 and Africa 2, which saw the winner earning a spot in the Final Qualification Tournament.[3]

Pacific / Sudamérica qualifying play-off

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The other cross-regional play-off will be a home and away play-off series between Sudamérica 2 and Pacific 4, where the winner qualifies for the World Cup and World Rugby Nations Championship's second division as the Sudamérica / Pacific play-off winner. The runner-up will advance to the Final Qualification Tournament as the final team in the FQT as the Sudamérica / Pacific play-off loser.[4]

Final Qualification Tournament

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The Final Qualification Tournament will be round-robin tournament hosted at a neutral venue in Dubai, where the winner will qualify for the World Cup.[5]

The four participating teams will be made up of two sports directly from regain qualifications; the fifth place team from Europe (Europe 5) and the third placed team from South America (Sudamérica 3). The two remains spots were made up via cross-regional play-offs; the winner of the Asia / Africa play-off and the loser of the Pacific / Sudamérica qualifying play-off/

Teams

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Six teams will progress to the regional play-off and Final Qualification Tournament stages for the final two non-regional seeds in the World Cup.

(World rankings are as per date progressing to the play-off phase.)

Nation Rank Progression date Qualifying status
Regional Qualification play-off
 Namibia (Africa 2) 27 19 July 2025 Advanced to FQT on 26 July 2025
 United Arab Emirates (Asia 2) 40 5 July 2025 Eliminated by Namibia on 26 July 2025
Pacific 4 14/20 September 2025
Sudamérica 2 6 September 2025
Final Qualification Tournament
 Belgium (Europe 5) 26 15 March 2025
 Namibia (Asia / Africa play-off winner) 27 26 July 2025
Sudamérica 3 18 October 2025
Sudamérica / Pacific play-off loser TBD

Asia / Africa play-off

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The Asia / Africa play-off was played in Kampala, Uganda, which had also hosted the final stage of the African qualification process.

The match took place a week after the final of the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup and three weeks after the final match in the 2025 Asia Rugby Championship.

Namibia won the play-off match and progressed the to the Final Qualification Tournament.

26 July 2025
15:00 EAT (UTC+3)
United Arab Emirates 29–86 Namibia
Try: Ratuvecanua (2) 3' c, 57' c
Stapley 22' c
Johnson 27' m
Con: Johnson (3/4) 4', 23', 58'
Pen: Johnson (1/1) 9'		ReportTry: Meyer 5' m
Hardwick (2) 11' c, 25' c
van Jaarsveld (2) 16' m, 20' m
Kurz 32' c
Mukwilongo (2) 42' c, 62' c
van der Merwe 45' c
Ludick 53' c
Combrinck (2) 71' c, 80' c
Katjijeko 75' m
Con: van den Berg (9/13) 12', 26', 33', 43', 46', 54', 63', 72', 80+1'
Pen: van den Berg (1/1) 40'
Mandela National Stadium, Kampala, Uganda[3][6]
Referee: Morné Ferreira (South Africa)

Pacific / Sudamérica qualifying play-off

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Dates TBC
Pacific 4
Qualified to RWC
Advances to FQT
Sudamérica 2

Leg 1

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TBA
Pacific 4vSudamérica 2
TBD[4]

Leg 2

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TBA
Sudamérica 2vPacific 4
TBD[4]

Final Qualification Tournament

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Qualified as Final Qualification Tournament winner
Pos. Nation Games Points Try
Bonus 		Losing
Bonus 		Table
points
Played Won Drawn Lost For Against Diff.
 Belgium (Europe 5) 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0 0 0
Sudamérica 3 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0 0 0
Pacific / Sudamérica play-off loser 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0 0 0
 Namibia (Asia / Africa play-off winner) 0 0 0 0 0 0 +0 0 0 0
Points are awarded to the teams as follows:
4 points for a win, 2 points for a draw, no points for a loss
1 bonus point for scoring 4 or more tries (TBP)
1 bonus point for a loss by 7 points or under (LBP)

See also

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References

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  1. ^ "Qualification process confirmed for expanded Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 in Australia". Women's and Men's Rugby World Cup. 13 August 2024.
  2. ^ "Dubai to host final qualifier for Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 in November". Women's and Men's Rugby World Cup. 22 May 2025.
  3. ^ a b "Asia Rugby Unveils Exciting 2025 Calendar". Asia Rugby. 14 February 2025.
  4. ^ a b c "El camino a Rugby World Cup 2027 tiene fechas". Sudamérica Rugby. 27 March 2025.
  5. ^ Final Qualification Tournament November 2025
  6. ^ "Hong Kong China qualify for Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 following victory in Asia Rugby Emirates Championship". Asia Rugby. 7 July 2025.
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