The Rugby World Cup will expand to 24 teams from the 2027 tournament in Australia.
Murray Kinsella Reports from Paris WORLD RUGBY HAS confirmed that the new bi-annual ‘Nations Championship’ competition will launch in 2026, following a vote in Paris this morning.
The competition will be played in the July and November Test windows, with a final played at the end of the autumn window to decide the champions, as well as other placing games. Advertisement World Rugby has also announced that the Rugby World Cup will expand from 20 teams to 24 from the 2027 tournament in Australia.
The World Cup will take place over a reduced six-week window, with the pool phase cut from five to four weeks. There has also been confirmation of a new annual expanded Pacific Nations Cup competition from 2024, featuring Canada, Fiji, Japan, Samoa, Tonga, and USA.
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