Booming global interest in showpiece event in Australia as one-year countdown begins
Rugby has shown its colours as a global game with fans from almost three-quarters of the world’s countries having purchased tickets to the 2027 World Cup in Australia.
The showcase tournament of men’s rugby will be held in Australia for the third time next year, following 1987 and 2003, and organisers are gearing up for the last phase of ticket sales this week. The general sale on October 1 will coincide with events marking the 365-day countdown until the Wallabies’ opening game against Hong Kong and China in Perth.
Ahead of the milestone, World Cup organisers revealed some facts and figures that have emerged from ticket sales so far, which show the level of international interest.
After two phases this year (pre-sale and application), close to half the tickets sold have been purchased by overseas buyers.
Apart from Australians, who have purchased 56 per cent of the tickets, the United Kingdom (15 per cent) has had the most buyers, followed by France, New Zealand, Ireland, the USA and Japan.
“We’ve had applications or purchases from 141 countries, which has been incredible,” World Cup managing director Chris Stanley said.
“So far 44 per cent of all of our ticket sales have been to buyers outside of Australia, and we would normally think about 65 per cent to 35 per cent [domestic to international] for the Rugby World Cup down here. So we are ahead of that at this stage.
“That just shows the international interest for rugby and people making it a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to come to Australia and see a World Cup and be part of something special. We’re very pleased with where we’re up to.”
The United Nations recognises 195 countries, and ticket buyers for the World Cup have come from as far afield as Madagascar, Finland and Panama.
Asked to nominate a country with a surprising level of ticket demand, Stanley said: “Chile. The Chilean fans have been buying in their droves. We’ve had really high demand for all of their matches, so that’s awesome.”
Featuring 24 teams for the first time, the 2027 World Cup will have a record 52 matches and 2.5 million tickets were initially available. Organisers won’t reveal how many tickets have been sold until this week.
Stanley said tickets were still available to every game, but the numbers are likely small. He encouraged people who are keen to see a World Cup match but haven’t yet bought tickets to act quickly when the final release takes place this week. The general sale on October 1 will follow a two-day pre-sale for Visa cardholders, on Monday and Tuesday.
“We’ve had incredibly strong demand, across the board, for all 52 matches,” he said. “As you can appreciate, some matches have been more popular than others. And as a consequence, the amount of tickets that are left for those matches at this stage is very limited. There are still tickets for all 52 [games], but some matches we expect will go pretty quickly by [October 1].”
Stanley said another encouraging fact to come out of the World Cup ticket data are the amount of young people who have purchased tickets.
“Our early buying indications are that more than a quarter of our purchases have been in that 25 to 34 [age] range,” he said, adding 51 per cent of purchasers are in the 16 to 44 bracket.
Stanley said study trips to the FIFA World Cup in the US earlier in the year and the recent NFL game at the MCG had strengthened his resolve to build a whole-of-city atmosphere around the Rugby World Cup games.
”So making sure that people feel like when they come to a city, they feel like they’re part of a festival of rugby,” he said. “And that’s whether you’re going to a match, whether you’re going to a fan festival, whether you’re just going to the pub, we want it all to feel like you’re part of something special.”
Meanwhile, veteran lock Michaela Leonard celebrated her 50th cap for the Wallaroos in a morale-boosting 30-10 victory over Scotland in Edinburgh on Sunday morning (AEST).
Leonard, who became the first Australian woman to reach a half-century of Test caps, was a big figure as the Wallaroos’ forwards set up the victory, Australia’s first in seven games.
Ranked ahead of Australia going into the game, Scotland had a strong wind at their back and led 10-5 at half-time.
But the Wallaroos powered home, scoring two more tries and kicking two penalties off the boot of halfback Sammy Wood, who was excellent in marshalling the Aussie attack.
Try-scorer Faitala Moleka was named player of the match in a great game, but Wood and powerhouse loose forward Piper Duck weren’t far behind.
The win was a confidence booster for the Wallaroos after losses against England and France on their three-game tour, in which they showed signs of improvement under the interim coaching team of Tim Walsh, but without enough consistency.
The pressure the team was able to apply to Scotland showed they had learnt valuable lessons.
Iain Payten is a senior sports reporter for The Sydney Morning Herald.Connect via X or email.