MEN’S RUGBY WORLD CUP 2027 DRAW – RESULTS AND REACTION

This afternoon (Wednesday 3 December) Hong Kong China Men's XVs learned the three teams they will face in their pool at the Men's Rugby World Cup 2027 - taking place in Australia from 1 October-13 November 2027.

The Pool Draw was held in Sydney, Australia, at 8PM local time (5PM HKT) and fans were able to watch live via the World Rugby YouTube channel and on RugbyPass TV. 

World Rugby Chair Brett Robinson, All Blacks legend and two-time Rugby World Cup winner Dan Carter, Australia’s most-capped player James Slipper and Rio 2016 Olympic gold medalist Alicia Lucas were the presenters for the Draw.

The Men's Rugby World Cup will feature an expanded 24 teams in 2027 for the first time, which means there will be six pools of four teams. 

Draw Results

Pool A

• New Zealand 
• Australia 
• Chile 
• Hong Kong China

Pool B

• South Africa 
• Italy
• Georgia 
• Romania

Pool C

• Argentina
• Fiji
• Spain
• Canada

Pool D

• Ireland 
• Scotland
• Uruguay 
• Portugal 

Pool E

• France
• Japan
• USA
• Samoa

Pool F

• England
• Wales
• Tonga
• Zimbabwe

Players & Coaches Reaction

Josh Hrstich      

"What an occasion to celebrate the hard work our team has put in to get here and to face two of the powerhouses of World Rugby. It's a huge opportunity for us. We understand where we currently stand and where we need to be for 2027, including the support we'll need from the city and the work we must put in as a team. What an opportunity!"     

“There's nobody else like us at the World Cup. The diversity we have, the stories we can tell. So,  just a huge, huge occasion for us to promote the city but also help grow the game here in Hong Kong. I think we're a sleeping giant. We understand what wearing the jersey means and we're hugely proud of that.”     

Wai Lap Chui Eric    

"I started playing rugby as a 15 year old, my brother introduced it to me. I now have a chance to play at the Rugby World Cup on the biggest rugby event in the world. I hope that my story can bring more local people to join and play rugby. Rugby is an incredible sport for everyone, no matter your size and shape."     

Andrew Douglas      

"I was just talking to Tommy (Hill) before this and he gave me his ideal draw, and he's got it. So, a dream come true!"     

"I think there are plenty of tasty match-ups looking at those pools. The France-Japan matchup, strikes me first of all. I think you got a Japan team that'll play a pretty exciting brand of rugby and a French team that I think's developing really well and could be really dangerous in 20 months time. Another one is the Ireland-Scotland matchup. They've played each other a lot already and there's not much between them, so another one that could be very even. Then you have the likes of Fiji-Argentina. You've got the set piece strength of an Argentinian team that play a pretty brutal, physical type of game, and Fiji, who now have so many players playing in France and England and have developed that set piece game that's probably lacking for a few years."    

Logan Asplin    

“I guess for us from our point of view, to play the host nation, to play the nation for a few of us at birth is pretty important and, and pretty special.”