The All Blacks had a dig at the Wallabies in a since-deleted social media post following the confirmation of the 2027 Rugby World Cup fixture schedule.
With Australia drawn in the same Pool A as New Zealand, the expectation was that this would be chosen as the tournament’s opening fixture.
Previous World Cups have had blockbuster matchups involving the tournament hosts to get things off to the highest profile start possible. For instance, the Rugby World Cup 2023 had France take on the All Blacks in Paris in the tournament opener.
However, organisers of Rugby World Cup 2027 decided to hold the Wallabies’ clash with the All Blacks back until the second weekend of the tournament in Sydney and have instead chosen Australia to host Hong Kong China in a low-key opener in Perth eight days earlier.
“We thought we had the script…”
It’s a decision that has ignited criticism from fans who want the tournament to get off to a spectacular start with a must-see fixture. Instead, it will open with a dreary one-sided mismatch in which the Wallabies are expected to trounce minnows Hong Kong China.
Aside from disgruntled fans voicing their grievance over this decision, the All Blacks briefly poked fun at the Wallabies with a social media post that was deleted not long after it was published.
“We thought we had the script…” was the caption accompanying the post that dismissed Australia versus Hong Kong China for becoming ‘the curtain raiser’ to the World Cup clash between Bledisloe Cup rivals who just last October faced each other in Perth in their most recent Rugby Championship match.
The post summed up the frustration of fans who felt the tournament starter should have been the Wallabies versus the All Blacks in Perth. Some of the replies to a Rugby World Cup post advertising the match schedule were scathing.
“Horrible opening game. It should have been Australia vs New Zealand. Fumbled the tournament before it even started. Expect record low attendance and viewership. Not a great advertisement for the game at all. Brett Robinson era showing already,” wrote one upset fan.
Another claimed: “Perth rugby fans have been deliberately misled. For months, we’ve been told that round one would be Wallabies and All Blacks at Optus Stadium. We’ve all interpreted ‘Wallabies AND All Blacks’ to mean ‘Wallabies VERSUS All Blacks’.”
Rugby World Cup 2027: Fixtures, dates, kick-off times and venues confirmed
Meanwhile, West Australian reporter Ben Smith wrote on X: “It won’t be Wallabies and All Blacks to open the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Perth. And neither will it be Australia vs Chile. Instead, the Wallabies will take on minnows Hong Kong. Utterly indefensible. What a poor opening game. Perth fans dudded.”
Incredibly, ticket prices don’t reflect this low-calibre lift off for the tournament. A Category 1 ticket for Australia v Hong Kong China in Perth will sell for $635 (Aussie dollars), the same price as a Cat A ticket in Sydney eight days later when the Wallabies play the All Blacks.
The Perth and Sydney prices for these two matches are exactly the same as you go down the different adult category tickets – Cat 2:$495, Cat 3:$340, Cat 4:$210, Cat 5:$95 and Cat 6:$65.
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Rugby World Cup 2027 is the first edition with 24 teams, up from 20, which had been the number of qualifiers since 2003. This has led to a change in the pool format and the introduction of a much criticised Round of 16.
It has left organisers trying to hype up a lacklustre pool stage schedule. For instance, the overnight announcement spoke excitedly about its so-called Super Sunday, where five matches will be played in a single day for the first time ever “to deliver an exciting end to the pool phase”.
The problem with this ‘Super Sunday’ boast is the calibre of fixtures involved: Italy v Georgia, Ireland v Uruguay, Scotland v Portugal, France v Samoa, South Africa v Romania.