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

Italy’s road

4 knockout wins from the pool to the trophy
  1. 1Pool B
    South Africa, Romania, Georgia
    3 Oct to 17 Oct
    Adelaide, Sydney, Newcastle
  2. 2Round of 16 6
    v 1st Pool D
    Sun, 24 Oct, 16:45 UTC+11
    Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
  3. 3Quarter-final 3
    v Winner R16 5
    Sun, 31 Oct, 16:00 UTC+10
    Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
  4. 4Semi-final 2
    v Winner QF 4
    Sat, 6 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11
    Stadium Australia, Sydney
  5. 5Final
    v Winner SF 1
    Sat, 13 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11
    Stadium Australia, Sydney

Italy: finish third

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 Oct1st Pool B3rd Pool D/E/FRound of 16 5Sun, 24 Oct1st Pool C3rd Pool A/E/FRound of 16 6Sun, 24 Oct1st Pool DItalyRound 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 1Winner R16 3Quarter-final 3Sun, 31 OctWinner R16 5ItalyQuarter-final 4Sun, 31 OctWinner R16 7Winner R16 8Semi-final 1Fri, 5 NovWinner QF 1Winner QF 2Semi-final 2Sat, 6 NovItalyWinner QF 4Bronze finalFri, 12 NovRU SF 1RU SF 2FinalSat, 13 NovWinner SF 1Italy
Scroll sideways to see the whole bracket.Italy’s routeItaly’s own side

A third-placed team only goes through if it is one of the four best, and which round-of-16 match it lands in depends on which pools those four come from. Dashed matches are the possible landings.

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
  • Italy v RomaniaMon, 11 Oct, 19:45 UTC+11 · Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney
  • Italy v GeorgiaSun, 17 Oct, 12:15 UTC+11 · Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle

The route

  1. Round of 16Against 1st Pool DSun, 24 Oct, 16:45 UTC+11 · Docklands Stadium, Melbourne
  2. Quarter-finalAgainst Winner R16 5Sun, 31 Oct, 16:00 UTC+10 · Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
  3. Semi-finalAgainst Winner QF 4Sat, 6 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11 · Stadium Australia, Sydney
  4. FinalAgainst Winner SF 1Sat, 13 Nov, 20:00 UTC+11 · Stadium Australia, Sydney