EPCR: first Rugby World Club Cup to be held every four years from 2028 onwards

The first edition of the Rugby World Club Cup will be held every four years from June 2028, confirmed Dominic McKay, president of European Professional Club Rugby, at the finals of the 2024-25 European Rugby Cups held in Cardiff (Wales) on 23 and 24/05/2025.

The EPCR, which will continue to organise the Investec Champions Cup and the Challenge Cup, will also be responsible for staging this new competition. The new competition will see the participation of 16 teams: eight from the Champions Cup and the other eight from Super Rugby Pacific and Japan.

The Top 14, the BKT United Rugby Championship and Gallagher Premiership Rugby, as well as seven member unions of the EPCR board and general assembly, have unanimously approved the creation of this Club World Cup.

"We'll be sharing more information over the course of the summer, and we'll do that in conjunction with our friends from the south," said Dominic McKay.