2027 Rugby World Cup: World Rugby chairman Brett Robinson says Perth’s lack of quarter-finals down to bidding

World Rugby chair Brett Robinson has revealed the WA Government made a “bold bid” for the 2027 Rugby World Cup final, but says the failure to secure that fixture or any quarter-final clashes was not down to travel factors or Optus Stadium’s capacity. It comes as Robinson assured WA rugby fans of a high-profile opponent for the Wallabies when they open the tournament at Optus Stadium, despite the draw having not been finalised yet. The host cities for the 2027 World Cup were unveiled on Thursday, with Perth set to host five pool matches - including the tournament opener - and two round-of-16 matches. Sydney’s Accor Stadium will host two quarter-finals, both semifinal games, the third-placed play-off and the final, with Brisbane’s Suncorp Stadium securing the other two quarters. WA Tourism Minister Rita Saffioti said they were told the capacity of the 60,000-seat Optus Stadium had been an issue behind failing to secure a quarter-final — despite the stadium being able to seat almost 10,000 more spectators than Suncorp. But speaking to The West Australian, Robinson denied the capacity of Optus Stadium was an issue, instead citing a competitive bidding process. “Perth is a wonderful location and those round-of-16 games are going to be pretty special,” he said. “But through the competitive process that we ran and and the exercise that the team ran through, unfortunately, that didn’t land Perth with some some quarters. “There was a bold bid for the final. (Premier) Roger Cook leads from the front and loves his rugby... (but) in hosting seven matches, you’re going to have a swag of rugby being played, which is going to be pretty special.” With Perth set to host the opening ceremony and the Wallabies’ first game of the tournament, attention will turn to their prospective opponent. The draw will be confirmed by December this year, and Robinson said it would likely be a strong first-up hit-out for Australia. “Ordinarily it’s the pick of the matches of the first round and the pool games. We’ve obviously got to wait now this year until we finally get to the qualification processes for the next 12 teams,” he said. “We’re clear on 12 teams that will be at the tournament, it’s just that next 12 that will be playing for qualification, and we’ll know that by Christmas time, that will enable us to finalise the drawing the pools and put tickets on sale early next year.” The 2023 opener in Paris was contested by host nation France and perennial powerhouse New Zealand. Robinson also said the rationale behind Brisbane and Sydney hosting the last eight games of tournament was to aid the fan experience. “From previous experiences, you’re really looking to hone and aggregate the fans and fan experiences as you go into quarters, semis and finals,” he said. “From the fans’ perspective, the pool matches are fabulous, because they get to travel the country, experience everything that Australia has and then as we move closer to the final, we try to aggregate the fans together. “Having the number of matches Perth are having, particularly that opening match. will mean WA will be incredibly well exposed to the highest quality of rugby.”