All 24 teams competing at Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 will return to international action on Saturday, 4 July as the first round of the new Nations Championship and Nations Cup tournaments get under way with some blockbuster encounters.  

Six back-to-back test matches – featuring the Six Nations and Rugby Championship teams, plus Fiji and Japan – are taking place from Christchurch to Cardiff to Cordoba in the Nations Championship.

Twelve other nations heading to Australia 2027 will meet in the World Rugby Nations Cup across the Americas, starting with Uruguay v Georgia in Montevideo, including double-headers in Santiago and Denver before concluding with Canada v Spain in Edmonton.

Here are a selection of some of the mouthwatering fixtures awaiting us.

Australia (world ranking 8) v Ireland (3)

Australia begin the 15-month countdown to hosting Rugby World Cup 2027 by tackling Ireland at Sydney Football Stadium, a venue which will host five matches in the global tournament - including Ireland’s Pool D meeting with Portugal and two Round of 16 games. 

The Wallabies and Irish have met five times at previous Rugby World Cups, with Australia prevailing in the first four meetings – including quarter-finals at the first two RWCs in 1987 and 1991 – before Ireland upset them in a 2011 pool match.

Ireland have had the better of recent fixtures between the nations, winning the last five, while a core of their players – including hooker Dan Sheehan, second-row Joe McCarthy and scrum-half Jamison Gibson-Park – starred in the British and Irish Lions’ series win in Australia in 2025.

Wallabies stars such as back-three flyer Max Jorgensen, centre Joseph Aukuso-Sua’ali’i and number eight Harry Wilson will aim to earn a measure of revenge and give head coach Joe Schmidt a win over his former employers before he hands over the reins to Les Kiss after their first three Nations Championship matches.

Key stat: Ireland won the most jackal turnovers of any team in the 2026 Men's Six Nations (18), while Australia won the most of any side in The Rugby Championship in 2025 (16) – individually, Wallabies flanker Fraser McReight and Ireland second-row Tadhg Beirne won seven each, the most of any players in their respective competitions.

New Zealand (2) v France (4)

Christchurch’s new One New Zealand Stadium will provide the backdrop for an opening Nations Championship fixture that resonates deeply with Rugby World Cup history.

There is always an extra frisson when the All Blacks, who beat France in two of their three RWC final wins, take on Les Bleus, who memorably upset their storied opponents in the RWC 1999 semi-finals and RWC 2007 quarter-finals, while the French also won the latest of their eight RWC meetings in the opening pool match of France 2023 in Paris.

New head coach Dave Rennie has opted for star back-row Ardie Savea to lead New Zealand into action, with in-form scrum-half Cam Roigard primed to launch a backline featuring the prolific Will Jordan, top try-scorer at RWC 2023.

Back-to-back Men's Six Nations champions France may be without injured talisman Antoine Dupont, but can still call on several stars from European champions Bordeaux such as Matthieu Jalibert, Maxime Lucu and the returning Damian Penaud.

Key stat: France have won 91% of their lineouts since RWC 2023, the highest rate of any Men's Six Nations or Rugby Championship side. But New Zealand have won possession on a higher share of their opponents’ throws (18%) than anyone else in that same period.

Fiji (9) v Wales (11)

This is another Nations Championship fixture rich with Rugby World Cup history, Fiji causing one of the tournament’s great upsets at RWC 2007 with a sensational 38-34 pool victory.

The nations have subsequently met in the pool stages of each of the four following Rugby World Cups, Wales prevailing on each occasion, although their last meeting in Bordeaux at RWC 2023 went down to the wire before the Welsh edged home 32-26.

They could face each again at Australia 2027 in the Round of 16 if both countries finish runners-up in their respective pools.

Fiji, playing their first three Nations Championship matches in the UK, will be looking to unleash the likes of rangy Bordeaux back-three flyer Salesi Rayasi and dynamic back-row Pita Gus Sowakula when the sides meet at Cardiff City Stadium on Saturday.

Key stat: Fiji are the only Nations Championship side to have scored a try from over half of their line-breaks (52.5%) since the start of 2025, while Wales have conceded the most line-breaks per game (8.2) of any team in that time.

South Africa (1) v England (6)

Reigning Rugby World Cup champions South Africa will be targeting a record-breaking third successive title at Australia 2027, something no other team has achieved in RWC history.

The Springboks will begin their Nations Championship campaign against an opponent they have beaten in all four knockout meetings at Rugby World Cups, including the finals of 2007 and 2019, while English memories are still seared with the pain of their one-point semi-final loss at RWC 2023.

Revered South Africa captain Siya Kolisi will again lead out a powerful line-up at Johannesburg’s Ellis Park, in which fleet-footed wing Cheslin Kolbe and full-back Damian Willemse will both earn their 50th caps.

England, aiming to bounce back from four straight defeats in their worst-ever Men's Six Nations campaign, are likely to lean on a core of players from newly-crowned English champions Northampton, including emerging back-row star Henry Pollock.

Key stat: England (34.0) and South Africa (30.2) have made more kicks in play per game than any other Nations Championship sides since the beginning of last year – England also rank first for kicking metres per game (908) in that time, while the Springboks boast the best kick retention rate (27.7%).

Uruguay (15) v Georgia (13)

The first match in the Nations Cup will see two sides who are closely matched in the World Rugby Men's Rankings meet at Estadio Charrua in Montevideo.

Uruguay, who will be making their fourth consecutive Rugby World Cup appearance at Australia 2027 and sixth overall, are without some established names such as scrum-half Santiago Arata but can still call on the experience of prop Mateo Sanguinetti, second-row Ignacio Dotti and back-row Manuel Diana.

Los Teros beat Georgia in a RWC 2003 pool encounter in Sydney, but the Lelos had their revenge at RWC 2019 and will be targeting qualification for the knockout stage for the first time in their history at Australia 2027, their seventh successive RWC appearance.

They will look to back-three magician Davit Niniashvili to provide sparkle in attack while prop Bachuki Tchumbadze recently played a key role in helping Exeter reach the English Prem final.

Canada (25) v Spain (17)

The final match of a bumper day of international rugby will see the second of two matches pitting two Rugby World Cup 2027 opponents against each other.

After Tonga and Zimbabwe – both drawn in Pool F alongside England and Wales – meet in Denver, Edmonton’s Clarke Stadium will see Canada and Spain face off in a dress rehearsal for their RWC 2027 Pool C meeting in Townsville | Gurambilbarra.

Canada are back in Men’s Rugby World Cup after missing France 2023, ending a run of nine consecutive appearances dating back to 1987. They will look to captain Lucas Rumball and athletic fellow back-row Matthew Oworu to get them on the front foot.

Spain, returning to Men’s Rugby World Cup for the first time since 1999, could unleash SVNS star Jeremy Trevithick after including him in their Nations Cup squad.

For the full schedule of Nations Championship fixtures and kick-off times in your region, click here.

For a full list of Nations Cup fixtures, click here.