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

South Africa’s road

4 knockout wins from the pool to the trophy
  1. 1Pool B
    Italy, Georgia, Romania
    3 Oct to 17 Oct
    Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth
  2. 2Round of 16 4
    v 3rd Pool D/E/F
    Sat, 23 Oct, 18:45 UTC+8
    Perth Stadium, Perth
  3. 3Quarter-final 1
    v Winner R16 2
    Sat, 30 Oct, 16:45 UTC+11
    Stadium Australia, Sydney
  4. 4Semi-final 1
    v Winner QF 2
    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

South Africa: 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 Oct1st Pool E2nd Pool DRound of 16 4Sat, 23 OctSouth Africa3rd 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 2South AfricaQuarter-final 2Sat, 30 OctWinner R16 1Winner R16 3Quarter-final 3Sun, 31 OctWinner R16 5Winner R16 6Quarter-final 4Sun, 31 OctWinner R16 7Winner R16 8Semi-final 1Fri, 5 NovSouth AfricaWinner QF 2Semi-final 2Sat, 6 NovWinner QF 3Winner QF 4Bronze finalFri, 12 NovRU SF 1RU SF 2FinalSat, 13 NovSouth AfricaWinner SF 2
Scroll sideways to see the whole bracket.South Africa’s routeSouth Africa’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

  • South Africa v ItalySun, 3 Oct, 14:15 UTC+10:30 · Adelaide Oval, Adelaide
  • South Africa v GeorgiaSun, 10 Oct, 16:45 UTC+10 · Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
  • South Africa v RomaniaSun, 17 Oct, 19:15 UTC+8 · Perth Stadium, Perth

The route

  1. Round of 16Against 3rd Pool D/E/FSat, 23 Oct, 18:45 UTC+8 · Perth Stadium, Perth
  2. Quarter-finalAgainst Winner R16 2Sat, 30 Oct, 16:45 UTC+11 · Stadium Australia, Sydney
  3. Semi-finalAgainst Winner QF 2Fri, 5 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11 · Stadium Australia, Sydney
  4. FinalAgainst Winner SF 2Sat, 13 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11 · Stadium Australia, Sydney