On Tuesday, tickets go on sale for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia. I plan to purchase two tickets for my son and me next year, the culmination of years of fantasising about it. The idea unsurprisingly germinated when we watched Chasing the Sun on repeat for eight weeks straight during my son’s (slightly) obsessive discovery of the World Cup. He has watched the rugby with me since he was literally a newborn baby.
Dreaming of Australia
The Springbok games we’ve attended at Loftus and Ellis Park have become an annual tradition. Going to the World Cup has been a dream since the whole family was wrapped up in the glory of Siya Kolisi holding the trophy aloft not once, but twice. Now, we have to be there for the so-called three-peat.
In our family, we wholeheartedly believe the Springboks will pull off the impossible and do it again. We won the last three games of the 2023 tournament in France by a single point – bringing new meaning to “clutch” games – and showed the rest of the world that we have the big-match temperament necessary to pull it off again.
Combine that with how light-years ahead coach Rassie Erasmus is with his thinking and innovations, and it seems more than probable that we’ll still be the best team in 18 months’ time, with the best strategy to boot.
But planning a trip isn’t quite as reassuringly confident.
None of the first-round games are against tier one competition: Italy (kicking off on 3 October 2027 at 05h45) will be the best of them, followed by Georgia (10 Oct 2027 at 08h45) and Romania (17 Oct 2027 at 13h15). I don’t particularly want to fly halfway around the world for those competitors, to be frank.
But the round of 16 game against the third-placed team from either Pool D, E, or F (23 Oct at 12h45) looks exciting and is taking place in beautiful Perth. The Springboks are sure to advance to quarter-final one (30 Oct 2027 at 07h45) against the winner of game two of the round of 16 in Sydney.
Read More: SuperSport’s rugby future secured as Canal+ confirms successful talks with SA Rugby
That first weekend – currently – is when my son is likely to be on half-term break, meaning we could plan a ten-day trip and only miss four days of school. I would obviously prefer to go for the much more exciting semi-final match (5 Nov 2027 at 11h00) and the final (13 Nov at 11h00). Conveniently, they are both in Sydney, where a very good friend now lives. That’s our accommodation sorted at least.
Then there is the question of price. The round of 16 games cost A$240 (∼R2,850) for adults (half that for kids) in category three, which I have yet to investigate. Category four is A$160 (∼R1,900) while category five is A$95 (∼R1,100). I figure the rest are higher up in the “nosebleeds” and even harder to see the game.
The price doubles for the quarter-final, with category four tickets costing A$380 (∼R4,500), while also being the first that offers kids prices at A$190 (∼R2,250) a ticket, with category five at A$230 (∼R2,700).
The question of which exciting games across two weekends is also partly answered because there are no kids’ prices for the semi and final games – except for, as I belatedly noticed, the third-place playoff, a notoriously poorly attended game.
Looking at flights is the next step in the process, but I will have to wait until the war in Iran reaches some sort of conclusion and normality is restored to global travel.
So, there is my current plan for you other rugby-mad dads. Australia 2027 awaits.
Key dates:
Springboks first-round games:
- 3 Oct 2027 at 05h45 vs Italy
- 10 Oct 2027 at 08h45 vs Georgia
- 17 Oct 2027 at 13h15 vs Romania
Round of 16:
- 23 Oct 2027 at 12h45 vs the third-placed team in Pools D, E, and F
Finals:
- QF1: 30 Oct 2027 at 07h45 vs the winner of the round of 16 (game 2)
- SF1: 5 Nov 2027 at 11h00 vs the winner of QF2
- Final: 13 Nov 2027 at 11h00 vs the winner of SF2
