LONDON, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 04: Rassie Erasmus, the South Africa Springboks head coach, looks on during the Rugby Championship match between South Africa Springboks and Argentina at Allianz Stadium on October 04, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by David Rogers/Getty Images)
Springbok coach Rassie Erasmus was already looking ahead to the knockout rounds of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia next year when the fixtures, venue and dates were confirmed on Tuesday for the 11th edition of the competition.
While the current champions, the Boks, will face Italy, Georgia and Romania in pool play, Erasmus is more concerned about the new round of 16 and quarter-finals and how much time it will take to fly between cities.
The Boks will face Italy first up in pool play, in Adelaide on Sunday 3 October (5.45am), before heading to Brisbane and Perth to face Georgia (Sunday 10 October, 8.45am) and Romania (Sunday 17 October, 1.15pm).
The new format will see a round of 16 playing out on the weekend of 23 and 24 October, with the quarter-final set to be hosted a week later on 30 and 31 October in Sydney and Brisbane, the semi-finals on 5 and 6 November, and the final on Saturday, 13 November in Sydney.
Travel considerations
Should the Springboks finish first or second in Pool B, their first playoff match will be hosted in Perth, while the quarter-final will play out in Sydney, which is also the host venue for the semi-finals and final.
“It’s pleasing that we now know where and when we are playing, and we are fortunate that we have played in Adelaide, Brisbane, Perth, and Sydney in the last few years,” said Erasmus.
“We can now go full steam ahead with our planning and preparation for the tournament.
“Our operations and logistics team will start getting into the finer details of the travel in the coming weeks, with our pool matches being hosted in different cities, while the coaches and high-performance staff will start having in-depth discussions about how to manage the players during the tournament.
“The one thing that pops out looking at the schedule is that, should we progress to the playoffs, there will be travel between the round of 16 and quarter-final, which is something we have to factor into our planning, as the flight is just under five hours between Perth and Sydney, and there is a two-hour time difference.
“Over and above that, our likely opponents could be either Australia or New Zealand, and it would be good to see their travel schedules. But obviously, we have to make it through first, which will require a massive effort.”
“There’s a lot of hard work ahead in the next 18 months, but we are all very excited for the tournament and we are looking forward to putting the building blocks in place this season and next year before we depart for Australia.”
Springbok RWC 2027 fixtures:
Pool stages:
Sunday, 3 October – 2.15pm (5.45am SA time): SA v Italy (Adelaide Oval)
Sunday, 10 October – 4.45pm (8.45am SA time): SA v Georgia (Brisbane Stadium)
Sunday, 17 October – 7.15pm (1.15pm SA time): SA v Romania (Perth Stadium)
Round of 16:
Saturday 23 and Sunday 24 October (Perth Stadium/Docklands Stadium, Melbourne)
Quarter-finals:
Saturday 30 and Sunday 31 October (Stadium Australia, Sydney/Brisbane Stadium)
Semi-finals:
Friday 5 and Saturday 6 November: Stadium Australia, Sydney
Final:
Saturday 13 November – 8pm (11am SA time): Stadium Australia, Sydney
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