SYDNEY (AP) — Australia will play Hong Kong in the western city of Perth on Oct. 1 to open the 2027 Rugby World Cup. The final will be on Nov. 13 at Stadium Australia in Sydney.
Organizers announced the schedule and times on Tuesday for all 52 matches over 19 match days in seven cities and eight venues.
The draw was held in Sydney in December. South Africa, the two-time defending champion, open against Italy on Oct. 3 in Adelaide.
Organizers also announced a so-called “Super Sunday” on Oct. 17, 2027, when five matches will be played on the final day of pool play: Italy vs. Georgia, Ireland vs. Uruguay, Scotland vs. Portugal, France vs. Samoa and South Africa vs Romania.
Brisbane, Melbourne, Perth, and Sydney will host the first ever knockout round of 16 teams, followed by quarterfinals in Brisbane and Sydney, and semifinals, bronze final and final in Sydney.
The Wallabies will have a much tougher second match when they take on powerhouse New Zealand in Sydney on Oct. 9. It will be the first time Australia and the All Blacks have met in the pool stage at a Rugby World Cup.
“To kick off our campaign against Hong Kong will be special given it’s their first time in a World Cup and we always feel incredibly well supported in Perth," Australia captain Harry Wilson said. “New Zealand a week later in Sydney will obviously be a massive occasion.”
The RWC 2027 tournament's full schedule of matches.
AP rugby: https://apnews.com/hub/rugby
FILE - South African President Cyril Ramaphosa hold up the trophy as the team celebrate during the presentation ceremony after South Africa won the Rugby World Cup final match between New Zealand and South Africa at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris Saturday, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Christophe Ena, File)
FILE - South Africa's Jesse Kriel celebrates with team mates after the Rugby World Cup final match between New Zealand and South Africa at the Stade de France in Saint-Denis, near Paris, Oct. 28, 2023. (AP Photo/Themba Hadebe, File)
SPRINGFIELD, Ohio (AP) — A federal judge on Monday blocked the Trump administration from ending temporary protections that have allowed roughly 350,000 Haitians to live and work in the U.S.
U.S. District Judge Ana Reyes in Washington granted to pause the termination of temporary protected status for Haitians while a lawsuit challenging it proceeds. The TPS designation for people from the Caribbean island country was scheduled to end on Feb. 3.
Reyes said in an accompanying 83-page opinion that plaintiffs were likely to prevail on the merits of the case, and that she found it “substantially likely” that Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem preordained her termination decision because of “hostility to nonwhite immigrants.”
“During the stay, the Termination shall be null, void, and of no legal effect,” the judge said in her two-page order, adding that for now, the termination has no bearing on their ability to work and to be protected from detention and deportation.
Temporary Protected Status can be granted by the Homeland Security secretary if conditions in home countries are deemed unsafe for return due to a natural disaster, political instability or other dangers. While it grants TPS holders the right to live and work in the U.S., it does not provide a legal pathway to citizenship.
The Trump administration has aggressively sought to remove the protection, making more people eligible for deportation. The moves are part of the administration’s wider, mass deportation effort.
In addition to the migrants from Haiti, Homeland Security Secretary Kristi Noem has terminated protections for about 600,000 Venezuelans, 60,000 people from Honduras, Nicaragua and Nepal, more than 160,000 Ukrainians and thousands of people from Afghanistan and Cameroon. Some have pending lawsuits in federal courts.
Haiti’s TPS status was initially activated in 2010 after a catastrophic earthquake and has been extended multiple times. The country is racked by gang violence that has displaced hundreds of thousands of people.
“If the termination stands, people will almost certainly die,” attorneys for Haitian TPS holders wrote in a court filing in December. “Some will likely be killed, others will likely die from disease, and yet others will likely starve to death.”
They say the decision to end Haiti’s status was motivated by racial animus, and Noem failed to consider whether there was an ongoing armed conflict that would pose a “serious threat” to personal safety, as required by law.
The Department of Homeland Security said conditions in Haiti had improved. In a court filing in December, attorneys for the administration said the plaintiffs’ claims of racial animus were based on statements “taken out of context, often from other speakers and from years ago, and without direct links to the Secretary’s determinations.”
“Rather, Secretary Noem provided reasoned, facially sufficient explanations for her determinations.” they said.
A government notice in November announcing the termination said there had been some positive developments for Haiti, including authorization of a new, multinational force to combat gangs. Noem determined allowing Haitians to remain in the U.S. was against the national interest, the notice said.
Faith leaders and Haitian community leaders pray at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio, Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, during an event in support of Haitian migrants fearing the end of their Temporary Protected Status in the U.S. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Faith leaders sing together as a sign of support for Haitian migrants fearing the end of their Temporary Protected Status in the U.S., at an event held at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Bishop Dwayne Royster, executive director of the grassroots community organizing network, Faith in Action, addresses a crowd at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, during an event where dozens of faith leaders showed their support for Haitian migrants fearing the end of their Temporary Protected Status in the U.S. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Faith leaders and members of the World House Choir sing at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026, during an event in support of Haitian migrants fearing the end of their Temporary Protected Status in the U.S. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
Faith leaders from across the United States sing together as a sign of support for Haitian migrants fearing the end of their Temporary Protected Status in the U.S., at an event held at St. John Missionary Baptist Church in Springfield, Ohio, on Monday, Feb. 2, 2026. (AP Photo/Luis Andres Henao)
