2027 Men's Rugby World Cup – Regional play-off and Final Qualification Tournament

Asia / Africa play-off The first play-off was an Asia / Africa play-off one-off match between Asia 2 and Africa 2, which saw the winner earning a spot in the Final Qualification Tournament. Pacific / Sudamérica qualifying play-off The other cross-regional play-off was a two-leg play-off series between Sudamérica 2 and Pacific 4, where the winner qualified for the World Cup and World Rugby Nations Championship's second division as the Sudamérica / Pacific play-off winner. The runner-up advanced to the Final Qualification Tournament as the final team in the FQT as the Sudamérica / Pacific play-off loser. Final Qualification Tournament The Final Qualification Tournament was a round-robin tournament hosted at a neutral venue in Dubai, where the winner qualified for the World Cup. The four participating teams were made up of two spots directly from regional qualifications; the fifth place team from Europe (Europe 5) and the third placed team from South America (Sudamérica 3). The two remaining spots were made up via cross-regional play-offs; the winner of the Asia / Africa play-off and the loser of the Pacific / Sudamérica qualifying play-off. ==Teams==

Six teams progressed to the regional play-off and Final Qualification Tournament stages for the final two non-regional seeds in the World Cup. (World rankings are as per date progressing to the play-off phase.) ==Asia/Africa play-off==

The Asia / Africa play-off was played in Kampala, Uganda, which had also hosted the final stage of the African qualification process. The match took place a week after the final of the 2025 Rugby Africa Cup and three weeks after the final match in the 2025 Asia Rugby Championship. Namibia won the play-off match and progressed the to the Final Qualification Tournament, whilst the United Arab Emirates were eliminated. ==Pacific/Sudamérica qualifying play-off==

Leg 1 Notes: • Theodore Steffany (Samoa) made his international debut. Leg 2 Notes: • Emilio Shea (Chile), Marco Fepulea'i, Herman Huch and Rilloy Suesue (all Samoa) made their internationals debuts. • This was Chile's first win over Samoa • Chile move up to 17th on the World Rugby Rankings, their highest position, and qualified for the 2027 Men's Rugby World Cup, the first time they have appeared in back-to-back tournaments (after their debut in 2023). ==Final Qualification Tournament==

}} Fixtures The fixtures for the 2027 Final Qualification Tournament were announced on 19 October 2025, in addition to the referee appointments. Paraguay initially qualified for the FQT after defeating Brazil 70–43 on aggregate in the Sudamérica 3 play-off matches. However, after it was discovered that Paraguay had fielded an ineligible player during those matches, they withdrew and were replaced by Brazil. Round 1 Notes: • Mills Sanerivi, Faletoi Peni and Va'a Apelu Maliko (all Samoa) made their international debuts. • This was the first meeting between these two nations. ---- Notes: • Gianluca Savoldelli (Namibia) made his international debut. • This was the first meeting between these two nations. Round 2 Notes: • André Arruda (Brazil) earned his 50th test cap. • This was Belgium's first win over Brazil. ---- Notes: • Scott Sio (Samoa) made his international debut for Samoa, having previously played for Australia. • With this loss, Namibia failed to qualify for the World Cup for the first time since 1995, and the second time in their history of entering qualification. Round 3 Notes: • Joshua Bester (Namibia) made his international debut. • This was the first meeting between these two nations. ---- Notes: • This was the first draw between the two sides. ==See also==