What is the format?published at 08:20 GMT

08:20 GMT

The top two teams from each pool will progress to the round of 16 along with the four best third-place nations.

This is where it gets a bit more complicated…

The top team in Pools A, B, C and D will face teams that finished third in their group

The winners of Pools E and F will play the runners-up from Pools D and B

The runners-up from Pools A and C will then take on the runners-up from Pools E and F

Some have said the format is imbalanced, but organisers say this is “addressed in the next round” and will even itself out.

So for example, the winner of Pool A will play a third-place team in the round of 16, but could face the winner of Pool B if that team advances. The winner of Pool E will play a second-place team in both knockout rounds.

A graphic showing the format and brackets for the 2027 Rugby World CupImage source, World Rugby