European qualification process for Rugby World Cup 2027

  • Competitions
  • 13 Aug 2024

Rugby Europe has confirmed the European qualification process for the next Rugby World Cup. Four teams automatically qualify from the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship (REC).

With the confirmation of the European qualification process for the next RWC, Rugby Europe announced mid-August 2024, that 24 teams will take part in the next Rugby World Cup. From the Men’s Rugby Europe Championship, four teams will automatically qualify - with the fifth place side qualifying to the World Rugby Repechage tournament ( scheduled for November 2025).

The 2025 competition will be a one-off qualifier to the Rugby World Cup, unlike the two-year cycle used for previous World Cups. The eight nations have been split into two pools, using a serpentine system based on the results of the previous two seasons. Switzerland was allocated to Pool A, competing against Georgia, Spain and the Netherlands in February 2025.

The Swiss Men’s National team have their only home game against Spain the second weekend of February 2025 at Stade Municipale in Yverdon-les-Bains.

Pools

  • Pool A: #1 Georgia, #4 Spain, #5 Netherlands and #8 Switzerland
  • Pool B: #2 Portugal, #3 Romania, #6 Germany and #7 Belgium

These 20 games will be played throughout February and March 2025 and will consist of the following format.

  • Teams to play five fixtures, regardless of their ranking.
  • Round-robin phase the first 3 week-ends of February 2025, 4 games each week-end. Seeds #1 to #4 will host two games in the pool phase.
  • Play-offs system after the pool phase: Semi-finals between the top 4 teams and the bottom 4 teams played on March 1-2 (4 games)
  • The tournament will culminate with a “Sunday Finals” on March 16, 2025 where all positions from #1 to #8 will be at stake, with four games taking place on that day.

While 2025 will be the only year qualifying for Rugby World Cup 2027, the promotion- and relegation system for REC will still run across two years, using the combined results of 2025 and 2026.

With Poland finishing in eighth place during the REC23-24 cycle they have been relegated to Trophy division with Switzerland earning their spot in the top-flight after coming out on top overall during the Men’s Trophy 23-24 tournaments.

Fixtures

Round 1: Weekend of 1-2 February, 2025

  • Georgia v Switzerland
  • Spain v Netherlands
  • Portugal v Belgium
  • Romania v Germany

Round 2: Weekend of 8-9 February, 2025

  • Georgia v Netherlands
  • Switzerland v Spain – Stade Municipale (Yverdon les Bains)
  • Portugal v Germany
  • Belgium v Romania

Round 3: Weekend of 15-16 February, 2025

  • Spain v Georgia
  • Netherlands v Switzerland
  • Romania v Portugal
  • Germany v Belgium

Exact kick off times and days will be announced by Rugby Europe once confirmed with the unions.

The semi-finals will take place on 1-2 March with the competition coming to a crescendo on 16 March for the four final games.

> More information via Rugby Europe