Fans brace for final ticket release as men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia hits one-year countdown
Fans are preparing for a final ticket release for the men’s Rugby World Cup in Australia, with organisers due to issue the remaining tickets next week as the tournament reaches just over one year to kick-off. The release will be the last major availability moment for the expanded 24-team event and is being watched as a test of demand.
The tournament will feature 52 matches across seven cities and is being billed as an international celebration intended to unite Australia, while also offering what organisers describe as an opportunity to bury the memories of Jonny Wilkinson from 2003. Among the schedule are high-profile fixtures such as the hosts against the All Blacks and less-traditional matchups including Chile versus Hong Kong.
Organisers predict about 250,000 international visitors will travel to Australia for the 2027 tournament, a figure they say is around five times the number who came for the Lions tour last year and roughly four times the visitors for the 2003 edition. The anticipated combined stadium attendance is 2.5 million, which the organisers note sits behind only the men’s Fifa World Cup and the summer Olympic Games among major sporting events; by contrast the Tour De France is estimated to attract some 10 million supporters along the roadside.
Ticketing has included a range of price points, with one million tickets being offered at under $100 and three-quarters of a million seats sold in the initial pre-sale. Several high-profile matches have commanded considerably higher prices: Category 1 tickets for Australia v New Zealand in Sydney on 9 October were $635, the same price listed for England v Wales and Ireland v Scotland pool matches, while the best seats for the final are priced at $1,950—the highest single ticket price for any rugby World Cup match in history.
The organisers compared those prices with the 2023 World Cup in France, where the most expensive pool match (the hosts v New Zealand opener) had tickets ranging from €80 ($129) to €549 ($890) and the top seats at the final cost €950 ($1,537). At the 2003 World Cup in Australia, 1.87 million tickets were sold overall, although attendances at quarter-finals in Melbourne and Brisbane were reported not to have reached capacity, with some at the time citing the high cost of tickets.
Chris Stanley, the tournament’s managing director, defended the staged ticketing approach that has included a presale, a ballot process and partner allocations, saying: "We’ve tried to make this the most accessible Rugby World Cup." He added: "The men’s Rugby World Cup is the financial engine room of World Rugby, it represents about 90% of their revenues. That funds international rugby for the next four years, so there is an element where we have a responsibility for the global game," and continued: "So we have to balance accessibility – so a million tickets under $100 – with ultimately returning a surplus to World Rugby for reinvestment back into the sport. That balance is a very difficult balance across all tournaments, we think we’ve got it right with our split. I’m sure there’ll be people that would disagree, but that’s the approach we’re taking."
Stanley has been observing recent major events in person, including the men’s Fifa World Cup in North America, the women’s edition in Australia in 2023, the Lions tour Down Under last year and an NFL regular season match at the MCG earlier this month. He said the tournament will not use the dynamic pricing model seen in the United States, that a resale platform is being developed, and that aspects such as fan festivals will be incorporated into the World Cup: "Fifa did that really well across both the men’s and the women’s," he said. "That really gives everybody the opportunity to be involved in the tournament."
The Rugby World Cup will not use the 100,000-seat MCG; Melbourne’s eight matches will be staged at the 53,000-capacity Marvel Stadium because the NFL has been given priority access to the MCG. Commenting on the NFL fixture, Stanley said it "was incredible" and the stadium "looked really good," adding: "It's the only stadium with a roof." He also said: "I don't worry about which venue we're in, I always worry about the product and the fan experience, and we're very happy with where we've ended up."
Visa cardholders will have first access to the final ticket release on Monday at noon AEST (3am London/11pm Sunday in New York), with general sales opening on Thursday, when organisers expect the remaining availability to provide a clearer picture of demand for the expanded tournament.