All Blacks draw Wallabies at 2027 Rugby World Cup

Darren Walton, AAP • December 3rd, 2025 10:52 pm

All Blacks will challenge hosts Australia in Pool A | Photo: Raghavan Venugopal/Photosport

The struggling Wallabies have been drawn alongside trans-Tasman rivals New Zealand for the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Australia.

Unseeded at Wednesday night's much-anticipated draw in Sydney, Australia were automatically placed in Pool A as tournament hosts.

As each nation from Band 1 was read out, the prospect of the three-time world champion All Blacks being included in the same pool became more and more likely, then quickly confirmed, as NZ joined their neighbours, plus Chile and tournament debutants Hong Kong China in Pool A.

The Wallabies will play the tournament opener in Perth on October 1, with the spectre of facing their trans-Tasman rivals in a blockbuster start to the 11th ediition of the global showpiece.

The seventh-ranked Wallabies have lost their past 11 Tests against New Zealand stretching back to November 2020.

With South Africa chasing an unprecedented third straight World Cup triumph, their Pool B assignment has them slated to potentially run into the All Blacks for a heavyweight sudden-death quarter-final.

2027 Rugby World Cup Draw

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.

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