Anyone got access to post the text of this article ( I can't from where I am) -
A clause in the deal between the Victorian government and the NFL to host games at the MCG could stop Australia playing at the iconic venue in the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
www.smh.com.au
The irony sounds astounding to say the least.
The chance of the Wallabies playing a potential 2027 Rugby World Cup pool game against the All Blacks or England at a sold-out MCG could rest on the decision of an unlikely official: NFL commissioner Roger Goodell.
The draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia will be held in Sydney on Wednesday night, and the potential upside of the Wallabies being seeded in band two - a blockbuster pool game against a top-six side in front of 100,000 people in Melbourne - may be scuttled by the NFL’s multi-year deal with the Victorian government.
The door for such a clash was opened after the Wallabies finished the year poorly and ending the Test season as no.7 in world rankings. That left them in band two, along with Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales and Japan.
The six pools for the expanded, 24-team Rugby World Cup will be finalised on Wednesday night, via a random draw of one side from each band. The final fixture list will be released in February.
As hosts, Australia already know they’re in pool A, but they’ll learn at the draw which top-six team will also be in their pool: South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France or Argentina.
On one hand, it makes life much harder for the Wallabies to finish top of their pool and get a favourable finals run but the upside for tournament organisers is it also ensures one of the Wallabies’ pool games will be against a major team.
Rugby World Cup 2027 seeding bands
One team from each band will randomly drawn to form a pool. There are six pools of four teams. As hosts, Australia are already in Pool A.
Table with 2 columns and 4 rows. (column headers with buttons are sortable)
Band Teams
Band 1 South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Argentina
Band 2 Australia, Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales, Japan
Band 3 Georgia, Uruguay, Spain, United States, Chile, Tonga
Band 4 Samoa, Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong, Zimbabwe, Canada
Get the dataCreated with Datawrapper
Where the Wallabies will play their pool games will be released in February, but tournament organisers have already mapped out potential scenarios, according to informed sources who requested anonymity to speak freely.
It has been announced the Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth at Optus Stadium, and Sydney, Brisbane, Melbourne, Adelaide, Newcastle and Townsville will also be host cities.
Given Sydney won the rights to host most of the finals - Accor Stadium will be the venue for the final, both semi-finals and two quarter-finals - there is a strong chance Melbourne and Brisbane will get the nod for the other two Wallabies’ pool games.
Two of three pool games would be against sides ranked between 13th and 24th in the world, so the clash against a top-six side would be the Wallabies’ biggest, and attract a bumper crowd.
After initially aiming to host the final before withdrawing from negotiations altogether, the Victorian government struck a late deal for Melbourne to host nine games - including seven pool matches - and World Cup bosses intended to use the MCG for at least two big-ticket games, including one with the Wallabies.
But it has emerged the MCG may not even be available in October, 2027, under the terms of a deal between the Victorian government and the NFL.
Victorian Premier Jacinta Allan announced in February that Melbourne will join the list of cities outside the US who’ll host NFL games, as part of the NFL International series. The Los Angeles Rams will play a yet-to-be determined opponent in late September, 2026; likely on a Sunday morning, to prevent a clash with the AFL finals.
The date for the clash in 2027 remains unknown, however, and under the terms of the deal, the Victorian government handed the NFL exclusivity on choice of the date in October, according to informed sources.
That has caused a headache for Rugby World Cup organisers, who had successfully petitioned World Rugby to push the start of the 2027 tournament to October 1, to avoid NRL and AFL finals. The tournament runs for six weeks, through to November 13.
As part of Rugby World Cup hosting agreements, venues must be vacated 10 days before the game and two days after.
If the NFL elect to play in Melbourne in October - as it did in three of seven International series games in 2025 - then the MCG will not be available for Rugby World Cup pool games. If the NFL elect to play at the MCG at the end of October, it could prevent the MCG hosting Melbourne’s two round-of-16 games.
Rugby World Cup organisers also have a deal with the AFL to play games at the 60,000-seat Marvel Stadium, according to informed sources, and the schedule is likely to contain an asterisk on some games, allowing them to be shifted to the MCG if it is free.
Asked about the terms of the deal with the NFL, a Victorian government spokesperson said: “We’re incredibly excited that the 2027 Rugby World Cup is coming to Melbourne and work is continuing with all parties to finalise details for games here.”
The Wallabies haven’t paid a heavy price for not finishing in the top six, and band one. Compared to others, Pool A has a favourable run in the early stages of the playoffs, with the winner set to play one of four “best third” qualifiers in the round of 16. And instead of playing a pool winner, the Pool A runner-up is one of two who also face another runner-up in the round of 16.
The round of 16 has been added for the first time in the 2027 Rugby World Cup, after it was expanded from 20 teams to 24.
