Rugby World Cup 2027 draw: All Blacks grouped with Australia, Chile and Hong Kong China
The All Blacks have been grouped with host Australia for the 2027 Rugby World Cup and face a potential clash with two-time defending champions South Africa as early as the quarter-finals.
The 2027 Rugby World Cup draw was revealed in Sydney tonight, the first time the event will feature 24 teams across six pools.
The All Blacks were drawn in Pool A with Australia, Chile and tournament debutants Hong Kong China. It is the first time New Zealand and their Bledisloe Cup rivals have been drawn together in a group at a men’s Rugby World Cup while the All Blacks have never played against Chile or Hong Kong China.
Chile are ranked 17th in the world and made their first World Cup appearance two years ago in France, where they lost all four games, scoring just four tries and conceding 30.
Hong Kong China qualified for RWC 2027 by winning the Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2025, beating Korea, Sri Lanka and UAE. They are ranked 23rd in the world.
The winner of the group will meet a third placed team in Pool C/E or F before being pitted in a likely quarter-final clash with World No 1 side South Africa who are in Group B alongside Italy, Georgia and Romania.
It’s a worst case scenario for Scott Robertson’s side who will also likely have France on their side of the draw in the knock-out round.
Runner up in Group A will go to the other side of the draw and face Runner up in Group E in the Round of 16.
In Group C is Argentina, Fiji, Spain and Canada while Group D will feature Six Nations rivals Ireland and Scotland with Uruguay and Portugal.
In Group E is France, Japan, USA and Samoa and Group F is England, Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe.
The match schedule will be announced on February 3 next year which will reveal whether the All Blacks and Wallabies will be playing in the tournament opener on October 1, 2027.
All Blacks potential path to the final
If win Group A
Round of 16 - Third placed team in Pool C/E or F (Spain, Samoa or Tonga)
Quarter-final - Winner of Group B (South Africa)
Semi-final - Winner of Pool E (France)/Pool D runner up (Scotland/Ireland)
In runner up in Group A
Round of 16 - Runner up in Group E (Japan)
Quarter-final - Pool F winner (England)
Semi-final - Pool C winner (Argentina) or Pool D winner (Ireland/Scotland)
We did call it a few months ago
Cameron McMillan
Quarter-final match-ups
Cameron McMillan
We could see a final rematch in the quarter-finals. This is probably worst case scenario for the All Blacks. There's a huge chance All Blacks, South Africa and France are on the same side of the draw.
Quarter finals - if goes as expected
Pool A winner (NZ) v Pool B winner (South Africa)
Pool C runner up (Fiji) v Pool E winner (France)/Pool D runner up (Scotland)
Pool A runner up (Australia)/Pool E runner up (Japan) v Pool F winner (England)
Pool C winner (Argentina) v Pool D winner (Ireland)
Round of 16
Cameron McMillan
The first-ever Men’s Rugby World Cup round of 16 will see the winners of Pool A, B, C and D play the four best thirds, winners of Pool E and F will face the runners-up from Pool D and B, with the runners-up in Pool A and C to meet the second-placed teams from Pool E and F.
So if All Blacks top their group they'll face a third-placed team. It does mean Ireland or Scotland could be facing France or England in the round of 16.
So there you have it
Cameron McMillan
All Blacks v Wallabies in Perth for the World Cup opener? We'll find out when the schedule is done in February. Chile and Hong Kong China also in the group.
Ireland v Scotland in group D should be great
Cameron McMillan
Group A
New Zealand
Australia
Chile
Hong Kong China
Group B
South Africa
Italy
Georgia
Romania
Cameron McMillan
All Blacks get the Wallabies!
Cameron McMillan
Group C
Argentina
Fiji
Spain
Canada
Cameron McMillan
Group D
Ireland
Scotland
Uruguay
Portugal
Group E
France
Japan
USA
Samoa
Cameron McMillan
Group F
England, Wales,Tonga, Zimbabwe
Now the big ones
Cameron McMillan
Cameron McMillan
Wales into pool F, Japan into E.
Band three down now
Cameron McMillan
So Australia have Chile and Hong Kong China.
Samoa to face USA.
Band 4
Cameron McMillan
Hong Kong China into Group A so they will face the Wallabies.
Band 4
Cameron McMillan
Zimbabwe into Group F, Samoa into E and Portugal into D
Band four to be drawn first
Cameron McMillan
Those nations are Samoa, Canada, Portugal, Romania, Zimbabwe and Hong Kong China.
Draw time
Cameron McMillan
Dan Carter, James Slipper, Alicia Lucas and World Rugby CEO Brett Robinson will help draw the teams.
What I don’t want to see
Cameron McMillan
A near 2023-repeat...but without France.
New Zealand
Italy
Uruguay
Zimbabwe
What I'd like to see
Cameron McMillan
A strong pool to test the All Blacks with at least one Pacific side:
New Zealand
Scotland
Georgia
Samoa
Draw just moments away
Cameron McMillan
Time for a break. Hopefully the glass bowls and the balls and being prepped right now.
Looking at the Band 2 options for All Blacks
Cameron McMillan
Italy
It just wouldn’t be a World Cup without Italy and the All Blacks being drawn in the same pool. It happened in 1987, 1991, 1999, 2003, 2007, 2019 and 2023. The 2019 clash didn’t go ahead because of the threat of Typhoon Hagibis, while the All Blacks put 96 points on them at the last tournament to all but end their World Cup hopes. The closest Italy have gotten to beating the All Blacks was the 31-21 defeat at Leicester’s Welford Road Stadium in 1991.
Wales
Benefited from an early World Cup draw for the last World Cup when they were in the top band three years out from the event. How times have changed, as Wales now sit ranked 11th in the world. They were grouped with the All Blacks in 1995 and 2003, the last time Australia hosted the World Cup. The All Blacks just beat them in Cardiff and are scheduled to meet again at the end of 2026 - just like Scotland. Not sure we need to see this clash three years in a row.
Japan
An Eddie Jones-coached team on Australian soil. Who knows? The Aussie recently said they should be targeting the semifinals. Japan pushed Australia last month going down 19-15 but were soundly beaten by Ireland. Were in the same group as New Zealand in 1995 and 2011. Went down to the All Blacks 64-19 last year.
Looking at the Band 2 options for All Blacks
Cameron McMillan
Australia
Probably the most intriguing of the four options for rugby neutrals but maybe the least desirable for All Blacks fans considering the two sides face off so often. The Bledisloe Cup rivals, however, have never met in pool play. Their four previous meetings at the World Cup have either been at the semifinal or final stage, the last being the 2015 final. The Wallabies are coming off the embarrassment of being knocked out in pool play in 2023, while losing a record 10 tests this year.
Fiji
It would be nice to see the All Blacks play a Pacific nation in pool play that isn’t Tonga, with whom they have shared the same pool five times now. The All Blacks haven’t played Fiji at the World Cup since 1987 and have never played Samoa, who could come out of band four. The All Blacks played Fiji in San Diego last year, a 47-5 win, and have played them just six times since 2000. Currently ranked eighth in the world.
Scotland
New Zealand and Scotland have been drawn in the same pool just once, which was in 2007 when the Scots played a weakened lineup in a 40-0 defeat at Edinburgh to prepare for a vital pool game against Italy six days later. Previously the Scots had a knack of being knocked out by the All Blacks, losing quarter-finals in 1987, 1995 and 1999. The Scots are probably the strongest team in this band, going off recent clashes.
Dan Carter in the house
Cameron McMillan
Dan Carter, Alicia Lucas and Tim Horan talking about the World Cup. Carter on playing in four World Cups mentions he did have a bit of heartbreak in the first two tournaments he played in.
Coverage is underway
Cameron McMillan
They're underway in Sydney. Bit of a Mad Max Fury Road vibe to the intro.
What will the opening game be?
Cameron McMillan
With Australia locked in at A2 will we see A1 v A2 like we did in Paris when France opened against the All Blacks or will they play it a bit safer? In 2019 Japan opened the tournament against Russia. Four years earlier England played Fiji, when Australia or Wales were options.
Some draw facts
Cameron McMillan
South Africa have never been drawn in a pool with Argentina, France or Portugal. Only Portugal is an option this time.
Australia have never been drawn in a pool with France, New Zealand, Portugal, Scotland, Spain or Tonga
Scotland have never been drawn in a pool with Australia, Canada, Chile or Wales.
France have never been in a pool with Australia, Portugal, Samoa, South Africa, Spain or Wales.
Tonight's hosts
Cameron McMillan
The draw will be presented by Dan Carter, James Slipper, Alicia Lucas, Brett Robinson and Morgan Turinui.
Poll results
Cameron McMillan
Quite a few of you keen on facing Scotland. And yes, we all agree we've seen enough of Italy.
Cameron McMillan
Which team have the All Blacks drawn the most?
Cameron McMillan
New Zealand v Italy is the most-common pool match in RWC history, with six. They were also drawn together in 2019 but did not play due to Typhoon Hagibis.
Of the teams to play in every Rugby World Cup, the only side New Zealand have not faced in a pool stage is Australia.
The All Blacks have never played against Chile, Hong Kong China, Spain and Zimbabwe.
New Zealand have not been drawn in a pool with Fiji since the inaugural tournament in 1987 and have never met Samoa in the tournament’s history.
They have not faced Portugal, Romania or Scotland at the tournament since RWC 2007, while they last faced Wales in a pool match when the tournament was held in Australia in 2003.
What is the format for the 2027 Rugby World Cup?
Cameron McMillan
The new expanded format will feature six pools of four teams, replacing the four pools of five teams that had been in place since Australia last hosted the tournament in 2003.
The World Rugby Men’s Rankings at the end of the November internationals have been used to create four bands of six teams, with each band drawn randomly into Pool A, B, C, D, E or F. The exception is Australia who, as hosts, will be placed in Pool A in their respective band.
The top two teams from each pool plus the four best third-placed teams will qualify for the knockout phase.
The first-ever Men’s Rugby World Cup round of 16 will see the winners of Pool A, B, C and D play the four best thirds, winners of Pool E and F will face the runners-up from Pool D and B, with the runners-up in Pool A and C to meet the second-placed teams from Pool E and F.
So yes, you can start charting the All Blacks potential path to the final once the draw is completed.
How the draw will work
Cameron McMillan
Australia is the only team pre-placed, set in Pool A as A2.
All other teams are drawn randomly starting from Band 4 (the lowest ranked teams), followed by Band 3, Band 2 and Band 1.
Per band: First team drawn goes to Pool F and then E, D, C, B and A.
So going by that, by the time we get to the All Blacks, there may only be one place left to go into if they are last selected out of Band 1.
Rugby World Cup 2027 - Grouping the groups
Cameron McMillan
Good evening and welcome to the Herald's coverage of the Rugby World Cup 2027 draw. It is December 3, 2025, and the opening game of the tournament isn't until October 1, 2027, which is still 668 days away. But tickets must be sold, so things can we paid for, therefore a draw must be made.
Coverage of the draw begins at 10pm. Feel free to email any questions to me at cameron.mcmillan@nzme.co.nz. I'm here to help get us through the process, which I'm expecting to be much less complicated and shorter than the Fifa World Cup draw on Saturday morning.
Expect a few speeches from dignitaries, our very own Dan Carter is playing a part, and then the highly anticipated drawing.
Cameron McMillan