World Cup 2027/28

The **World Cup** is the premier international rugby union tournament, organized by World Rugby. It crowns the world champion of 15-a-side rugby, sitting at the top of the international pyramid. The competition was first held in 1987, hosted jointly by Australia and New Zealand.

The current format features 20 national teams divided into four pools of five. Teams play a round-robin within their pool, with the top two advancing to a knockout stage comprising quarter-finals, semi-finals, a third-place playoff, and the final. There is no promotion or relegation within the tournament itself; qualification is determined through a multi-year process involving regional tournaments and rankings, with automatic spots for previous top performers and the host nation(s). A scheduled expansion to 24 teams is planned for the 2027 edition.

South Africa holds the record for most titles with four victories (1995, 2007, 2019, 2023), followed by New Zealand with three (1987, 2011, 2015) and Australia with two (1991, 1999). South Africa is the current defending champion. The tournament is distinct from regional annual competitions like the Six Nations and the Rugby Championship, which use round-robin league formats, and from the Olympics, which feature Rugby Sevens.