TheBreakdown

Road to the Final

Rugby World Cup 2027

The top two in each pool and the four best third-placed teams go into a round of 16. Choose a team and where it might finish to light up its route through the bracket: each match, its date and venue, and what the other side is until the teams are known.

Choose a team

Pool A
Pool B
Pool C
Pool D
Pool E
Pool F
Show the whole bracket

Japan’s road

4 knockout wins from the pool to the trophy
  1. 1Pool E
    Samoa, France, USA
    3 Oct to 15 Oct
    Newcastle, Brisbane, Adelaide
  2. 2Round of 16 3
    v 2nd Pool D
    Sat, 23 Oct, 19:15 UTC+11
    Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
  3. 3Quarter-final 2
    v Winner R16 1
    Sat, 30 Oct, 18:45 UTC+10
    Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
  4. 4Semi-final 1
    v Winner QF 1
    Fri, 5 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11
    Stadium Australia, Sydney
  5. 5Final
    v Winner SF 2
    Sat, 13 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11
    Stadium Australia, Sydney

Japan: win the pool

Round of 16Quarter-finalsSemi-finalsFinalSemi-finalsQuarter-finalsRound of 16Round of 16 1Sat, 23 Oct2nd Pool C2nd Pool FRound of 16 2Sat, 23 Oct1st Pool A3rd Pool C/E/FRound of 16 3Sat, 23 OctJapan2nd Pool DRound of 16 4Sat, 23 Oct1st Pool B3rd Pool D/E/FRound of 16 5Sun, 24 Oct1st Pool C3rd Pool A/E/FRound of 16 6Sun, 24 Oct1st Pool D3rd Pool B/E/FRound of 16 7Sun, 24 Oct2nd Pool A2nd Pool ERound of 16 8Sun, 24 Oct1st Pool F2nd Pool BQuarter-final 1Sat, 30 OctWinner R16 2Winner R16 4Quarter-final 2Sat, 30 OctWinner R16 1JapanQuarter-final 3Sun, 31 OctWinner R16 5Winner R16 6Quarter-final 4Sun, 31 OctWinner R16 7Winner R16 8Semi-final 1Fri, 5 NovWinner QF 1JapanSemi-final 2Sat, 6 NovWinner QF 3Winner QF 4Bronze finalFri, 12 NovRU SF 1RU SF 2FinalSat, 13 NovJapanWinner SF 2
Scroll sideways to see the whole bracket.Japan’s routeJapan’s own side

The bronze final is played by the beaten semi-finalists at Stadium Australia the day before the final.

Text version of the route

Pool matches

  • Japan v SamoaSun, 3 Oct, 12:15 UTC+11 · Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle
  • France v JapanSat, 9 Oct, 18:45 UTC+10 · Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
  • Japan v USAFri, 15 Oct, 20:00 UTC+10:30 · Adelaide Oval, Adelaide

The route

  1. Round of 16Against 2nd Pool DSat, 23 Oct, 19:15 UTC+11 · Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
  2. Quarter-finalAgainst Winner R16 1Sat, 30 Oct, 18:45 UTC+10 · Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
  3. Semi-finalAgainst Winner QF 1Fri, 5 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11 · Stadium Australia, Sydney
  4. FinalAgainst Winner SF 2Sat, 13 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11 · Stadium Australia, Sydney