Global ticketing giant Ticketmaster’s sport arm has secured another major rugby contract after being named the official ticketing service provider for two Rugby World Cups, in 2027 and 2029.
The World Rugby governing body announced Ticketmaster Sport will manage the sales process for the Men’s Rugby World Cup 2027 and Women’s Rugby World Cup 2029, both hosted by Australia.
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Ahead of both tournaments, Ticketmaster will use its digital ticketing technology, including SafeTix and Smart Queue, to ensure a smooth experience for fans.
Gavin Taylor, managing director of Ticketmaster Australia, has said: “As a leader in ticketing world-class sporting events, the teams at Ticketmaster look forward to delivering a seamless experience for rugby fans across the globe who will make their way to Australia for Men’s and Women’s World Cup events.”
The agreement builds on World Rugby’s existing partnership with Ticketmaster for the Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025, to be hosted by England, which has already seen record ticket sales.
This year’s tournament is being played across eight English cities, starting in Sunderland on August 22 and ending with the final at Twickenham on September 27.
World Rugby chief executive Alan Gilpin commented: “The collaboration [with Ticketmaster] has proven to be particularly successful in making Women’s Rugby World Cup England 2025 the most sought-after women’s sporting ticket of the year, and the biggest women’s rugby event ever.
“With men’s and women’s Rugby World Cups at the centerpiece of a golden decade of rugby in Australia and a gateway to a new era of rugby, the extension of our collaboration with Ticketmaster is a natural progression and reflects our ambition to break records in Australia.”
The men’s 2027 tournament will be the first to feature a new format of 24 teams and a last round of 16, with the world’s best teams playing across seven host cities in Australia between October 1 and November 13.
The women’s 2029 edition, meanwhile, is the first to be hosted in Australia, with dates yet to be announced.
Ticketmaster has a strong portfolio in the sport, and currently serves as the official ticketing partner of English men’s rugby union’s top-flight Premiership competition. The company's services are also utilized by both the England Rugby and Welsh Rugby Union governing bodies.
Meanwhile, Ticketmaster has partnered with Fanatics to help facilitate the ecommerce and merchandise giant’s push into ticketing.
It will see the launch of Fanatics Ticket Marketplace, where users on the Fanatics app will be able to buy resale tickets alongside apparel, merchandise, trading cards, and collectibles.
The deal is part of a wider two-way partnership between the pair, whereby Ticketmaster tickets will list on Fanatics app, while Fanatics products will list on the Ticketmaster website and app.
On announcing the deal, Tuck Kain, Fanatics’ chief strategy and growth officer, told Sportico: “When you look at the market position that Ticketmaster has built—we wanted to make sure we had as broad and comprehensive an offering as we could.
“Plus, having Ticketmaster/Live Nation as a potential partner across a number of things, like distributing our merchandise [through them], there’s an opportunity to start here and build a bigger partnership over time.”
This deal marks the latest move under Fanatics’ goal for its app – which ties all of its verticals together – to be a 'one-stop-shop' for sports fans, which has so far seen partnerships struck with digital music service Spotify, social media heavyweight Meta, and live music event listing website BandsInTown.com, where fans can buy tickets via Ticketmaster without having to access the main Ticketmaster website.
