Rugby World Cup fixtures spark uproar as Wales game to be played in middle of night

The fixtures for next year's Rugby World Cup in Australia have been confirmed, but fans have been left unimpressed by the "disappointing" and "lazy" match schedule.

World Rugby confirmed the dates, venues, kick-off times and ticket prices for all 52 tournament matches on Sunday, with the competition set to be the biggest yet having been expanded to include 24 teams. Taking place across six weeks, the 2027 edition will also include a Round of 16 for the first time ever.

Wales have been drawn in Pool F alongside Zimbabwe, Tonga and England and will get their tournament underway against the former, with Steve Tandy's men taking on the African side at the Adelaide Oval on October 2.

They will then follow that up with a match against Tonga at Melbourne's Docklands Stadium on October 8, before facing England at Stadium Australia in Sydney on October 16. If they top the pool or finish as runners-up, knockout matches in either Perth or Sydney await Wales, while they could also play in either Brisbane or Melbourne if they qualify as one of the best-placed third place sides.

However, Welsh fans will have to be up in the middle of the night to watch their side get their tournament underway, with the Zimbabwe clash scheduled for a 12.15pm kick-off in Adelaide.

Due to the time difference between Australia and the UK, that means that fans back home will be tuning in to watch Tandy's side at 3.45am on Saturday morning.

All three of Wales' pool matches have been scheduled for morning kick-offs in the UK, with their clash with Tonga set to kick off at 6.15pm on a Friday in Melbourne (8.15am UK time).

Their crunch match with England, meanwhile, will kick-off at 7.45pm in Sydney (9.45 UK time) on a Saturday.

Elsewhere in the draw, hosts Australia will get the competition underway on October 1, as they take on tournament debutants Hong Kong China in Perth.

That particular fixture has seen tournament organisers receive heavy criticism from fans, who argued that it was a major mismatch which only served to short-change Wallabies supporters.

With New Zealand also in their pool, fans had hoped to see them face the hosts in a blockbuster opening match but have instead been left disappointed, with one supporter claiming they had been "misled".

Fans have taken to social media to share their frustrations at the scheduling, with one saying Wales' 3.45am clash with Zimbabwe "feels like a low reward experience".

Another sarcastically added: "All out passion. All out rivalry. At 3am, four days a week. Carnival!"

As for the underwhelming tournament opener, one fan wrote: "Opening match is a bit disappointing, considering NZ is right there," while another said: "Australia v Hong Kong China. Jesus. What are you doing??!"

A third claimed that the "first decent game is 9 days in," while another said there is "no viewing momentum during the pool stages."

However, World Rugby chair Brett Robinson has responded to the criticism surrounding the opening match, insisting that the governing body's role is to grow the game.

"Clearly people will have different opinions and the sides will have different opinions, but we've landed where we've landed," he told reporters.

"For me, the pools are this great opportunity where clearly we are going to have teams that are dominating, but we also have teams that are aspiring. That's our role as World Rugby, to build and grow our great global game."