WORLD RUGBY ANNOUNCES WORLD CUP GROUPS
The groups have been announced, and there’s no going back now. That’s the word from World Rugby as it has announced the groups that will participate in the 2027 Rugby World Cup.
Reigning world champions South Africa have a tough road ahead of them with Argentina, Samoa and Tonga in the same group. A complete Southern Hemisphere group should create the perfect platform for tough physical rugby.
With South Africa and Argentina being the two Tier 1 nations in Group A, it should be a challenging road for the Springboks.
Group B consists of New Zealand, Scotland, Japan and Chile. Although the big ones to watch are New Zealand and Scotland, Japan is one of those countries that should never be underestimated.
Japan managed to make the quarter finals in 2019, something they’ll definitely want to achieve again and maybe even hope to improve on.
Chile made its first appearance at the Rugby World Cup in 2023, and the South American team is already a force to be reckoned with.
The luck of the Irish seems to have been with them when the draws were done for the group stages as Ireland finds themselves among Fiji, Spain and Romania in Group C.
It’s expected that Ireland, the current Six Nations champions, would want to break their quarterfinal curse.
Group D consists of France, Italy, the USA and Belgium. The latter was a big surprise for several of the competing nations, but definitely a welcome addition to the world of rugby.
Italy will probably be France’s biggest challenge, with the USA going all out in planning to host the Rugby World Cup after Australia.
The 2027 Rugby World Cup will take place in Australia.
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