World Rugby boss explains contentious call to schedule Wallabies v Hong Kong as World Cup opener
Updated ,first published
World Rugby boss Brett Robinson dismissed concerns about the potential damage of a blow-out win by the Wallabies in the opening game of the 2027 Rugby World Cup after it was revealed the hosts will meet minnows Hong Kong China in Perth to launch the tournament next year.
Robinson explained the strategic and financial rationale behind pitting Wallabies against the world No.23 side in the first game – and not pool A rivals New Zealand – following the release of the full fixture list for the 2027 World Cup on Tuesday.
The Wallabies will meet Hong Kong China at Optus Stadium on October 1 and, as revealed by this masthead, will take on the All Blacks at Sydney’s Accor Stadium in their second pool game on October 9. The Wallabies’ third pool game, against world No.17 Chile, has been scheduled for October 16 at Suncorp Stadium in Brisbane.
Suncorp will also host the round of 16 finals involving the top two teams from pool A. As forecast, Melbourne are the big losers of the fixture list, with no games or likely finals involving the Wallabies to be played in the city.
With the Wallabies and the All Blacks drawn in the same pool for the first time, there was speculation the trans-Tasman rivals could meet on opening night, but Rugby World Cup organisers opted for the hosts against Hong Kong China instead.
Hong Kong China are making their first Rugby World Cup appearance, after qualifying last year as Asian champions, and following the 2023 decision of World Rugby to expand the men’s World Cup from 20 to 24 teams.
Robinson said the decision to put Hong Kong China under the bright lights of opening night, in a friendly broadcast timezone for Asia, was an extension of the strategy to expand the global reach of the Rugby World Cup, and the 15-man game.
“That decision (to expand to 24 teams) by the Rugby World Council in ’23 was a really significant one, that is all about building and growing the footprint of our game, participation, fans, reach, connection,” Robinson said.
“Landing on the 24 teams of the World Cup has gone straight into our planning around Nations Championship and Nations Cup, which I think is a sleeping giant of an opportunity.
“And Hong Kong China … are now participating in that ahead of next year, and I guess what that signals is the important role that this tournament plays in growing and supporting our game.
“The pools themselves [are] skewed obviously to having one, possibly two, top-tier nations in them, and inevitably you’re going to have some teams that haven’t played at that level. But that’s the whole point, isn’t it? That’s why we do what we do.
“The pools are this great opportunity where we clearly are going to have teams that are dominating. But we also have teams that are aspiring. And that’s our role as World Rugby, is to build and grow our great global game.”
The choice of Hong Kong China for the opener over the aspiring, but far more seasoned, Chile side is curious, however, and the potential for a cricket score win by the Wallabies is real.
Hong Kong China, who have numerous British, Australian and Kiwi expats, have suffered a string of heavy defeats since qualifying. They lost games against world No.20 Portugal and Japan’s “B” team by large margins, while a Brumbies development team also thumped Hong Kong China 63-31 in a friendly in November.
Asked if a huge defeat for the Asian newcomers on opening night could be a negative for World Rugby’s growth strategy, Robinson said: “I don’t think so. I mean, the whole tournament is going to be full of amazing questions and stories, and it’s the third biggest [sporting] event in the world. The Kiwis are playing a big match [against Chile] in Perth the next day. I don’t think it’s as big an issue as people might want to make of it.”
With the opening game expected to be a sell-out, the financial upside of staging the Wallabies-All Blacks blockbuster at the 82,000-seat Accor Stadium a week later was also a factor, Robinson admitted. Almost all of World Rugby’s revenue is made at World Cups and with a push to offer more affordable tickets – over a million seats will cost less than $100 – a balance had to be struck, Robinson said.
“Accessibility is a critical story that we want to be able to tell, and to enable families and children and adults to get two matches for $40 for adults and $20 for kids, so you have to balance that out around the more premium matches and how you maximise revenue,” he said.
Wallabies captain Harry Wilson, who had said he’d be happy to face the All Blacks first up, welcomed the draw.
“We probably don’t know too much about them [Hong Kong] yet but over the next 18 months we will be watching the games and getting across them, because during a World Cup they’ll be a threatening team,” Wilson said.
“It is a great way to start a World Cup, over in Perth. It is super exciting, and then a week later you’re versing New Zealand in Sydney. It’s a great result.”
Wallabies 2027 Rugby World Cup Pool A Fixtures
- Wallabies vs Hong Kong China, Friday October 1, at 6.45pm AWST, at Perth Stadium, Perth
- Wallabies vs New Zealand, Saturday October 9, at 5.10pm AEDT, at Sydney Stadium, Sydney
- Wallabies v Chile, Saturday October 16, at 3.10pm AEST, at Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane
FULL DRAW
Pool stages
Fri, 1 Oct 18:45: Pool A - Australia v Hong Kong China, Perth Stadium, Perth | Boorloo
Sat, 2 Oct 12:15: Pool F - Wales v Zimbabwe, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Tarntanya
Sat, 2 Oct 13:15: Pool A - New Zealand v Chile, Perth Stadium, Perth | Boorloo
Sat, 2 Oct 17:45: Pool E - France v USA, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne | Narrm
Sat, 2 Oct 20:15: Pool F - England v Tonga, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Sun, 3 Oct 12:15: Pool E - Japan v Samoa, Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle | Awabakal-Worimi
Sun, 3 Oct 14:15: Pool B - South Africa v Italy, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Tarntanya
Sun, 3 Oct 17:15: Pool D - Scotland v Uruguay, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne | Narrm
Sun, 3 Oct 20:15: Pool B - Georgia v Romania, North Queensland Stadium, Townsville | Gurambilbarra
Mon, 4 Oct 14:15: Pool C - Fiji v Spain, Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle | Awabakal-Worimi
Mon, 4 Oct 17:15: Pool D - Ireland v Portugal, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Gadigal
Mon, 4 Oct 18:45: Pool C - Argentina v Canada, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Fri, 8 Oct 18:15: Pool F - Wales v Tonga, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne | Narrm
Fri, 8 Oct 20:15: Pool F - England v Zimbabwe, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Tarntanya
Sat, 9 Oct 12:15: Pool E - USA v Samoa, Perth Stadium, Perth | Boorloo
Sat, 9 Oct 17:10: Pool A - New Zealand v Australia, Stadium Australia, Sydney | Wangal
Sat, 9 Oct 18:45: Pool E - France v Japan, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Sat, 9 Oct 20:15: Pool A - Chile v Hong Kong China, North Queensland Stadium, Townsville | Gurambilbarra
Sun, 10 Oct 12:15: Pool C - Fiji v Canada, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Tarntanya
Sun, 10 Oct 15:15: Pool C - Argentina v Spain, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne | Narrm
Sun, 10 Oct 16:45: Pool B - South Africa v Georgia, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Sun, 10 Oct 17:45: Pool D - Ireland v Scotland, Perth Stadium, Perth | Boorloo
Mon, 11 Oct 17:15: Pool D - Uruguay v Portugal, Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle | Awabakal-Worimi
Mon, 11 Oct 19:45: Pool B - Italy v Romania, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Gadigal
Fri, 15 Oct 17:15: Pool A - New Zealand v Hong Kong China, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne | Narrm
Fri, 15 Oct 20:00: Pool E - Japan v USA, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Tarntanya
Fri, 15 Oct 20:15: Pool F - Tonga v Zimbabwe, North Queensland Stadium, Townsville | Gurambilbarra
Sat, 16 Oct 13:15: Pool C - Argentina v Fiji, Adelaide Oval, Adelaide | Tarntanya
Sat, 16 Oct 15:10: Pool A Australia v Chile, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Sat, 16 Oct 19:45: Pool F - England v Wales, Stadium Australia, Sydney | Wangal
Sat, 16 Oct 20:15: Pool C - Spain v Canada, North Queensland Stadium, Townsville | Gurambilbarra
Sun, 17 Oct 12:15 Pool B - Italy v Georgia, Newcastle Stadium, Newcastle | Awabakal-Worimi
Sun, 17 Oct 14:45: Pool D - Ireland v Uruguay, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne | Narrm
Sun, 17 Oct 16:15: Pool D - Scotland v Portugal, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Sun, 17 Oct 19:45: Pool E France v Samoa, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Gadigal
Sun, 17 Oct 19:15: Pool B South Africa v Romania ,Perth Stadium, Perth | Boorloo
Knock out stages
Sat, 23 Oct 14:15 Round of 16 (1): 2nd Pool C v 2nd Pool F, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Gadigal
Sat, 23 Oct 15:45 Round of 16 (2): 1st Pool A v 3rd Pool C|E|F, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Sat, 23 Oct 19:15 Round of 16 (3): 1st Pool E v 2nd Pool D, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne | Narrm
Sat, 23 Oct 18:45 Round of 16 (4): 1st Pool B v 3rd Pool D|E|F, Perth Stadium, Perth | Boorloo
Sun, 24 Oct 14:15 Round of 16 (5): 1st Pool C v 3rd Pool A|E|F, Sydney Football Stadium, Sydney | Gadigal
Sun, 24 Oct 16:45 Round of 16 (6): 1st Pool D v 3rd Pool B|E|F, Docklands Stadium, Melbourne | Narrm
Sun, 24 Oct 18:15 Round of 16 (7): 2nd Pool A v 2nd Pool E, Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Sun, 24 Oct 18:45 Round of 16 (8): 1st Pool F v 2nd Pool B, Perth Stadium, Perth | Boorloo
Quarter-finals
Sat, 30 Oct 16:45 Quarter-final 1: Winner R16 (2) v Winner R16 (4), Stadium Australia, Sydney | Wangal
Sat, 30 Oct 18:45 Quarter-final 2: Winner R16 (1) v Winner R16 (3), Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Sun, 31 Oct 16:00 Quarter-final 3: Winner R16 (5) v Winner R16 (6), Brisbane Stadium, Brisbane | Meeanjin
Sun, 31 Oct 20:00 Quarter-final 4: Winner R16 (7) v Winner R16 (8), Stadium Australia, Sydney | Wangal
Semi-finals
Fri, 5 Nov 20:00 Semi-final 1: Winner QF1 v Winner QF2, Stadium Australia, Sydney | Wangal
Sat, 6 Nov 20:00 Semi-final 2: Winner QF3 v Winner QF4, Stadium Australia, Sydney | Wangal
Finals
Fri, 12 Nov 19:45 Bronze final: Runner-up SF1 v Runner-up SF2, Stadium Australia, Sydney | Wangal
Sat, 13 Nov 20:00 Final: Winner SF1 v Winner SF2, Stadium Australia, Sydney | Wangal
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.
Jonathan Drennan is a sports reporter for the Sydney Morning Herald.