The tournament might not be for another two years, but a potential blockbuster opening match is on the cards.

Andy Farrell and Caelan Doris have reacted to this morning’s pool stage draw.

The Rugby World Cup, to be played across Australia from October 2027, will feature 24 teams, drawn into six pools of four teams each.

The draw took place in Sydney this morning.

The draw took place in Sydney this morning.

Host Australia and three-time champion New Zealand were drawn into the same group Wednesday for the expanded Rugby World Cup in 2027, with the winner likely to meet defending champion South Africa in the quarterfinals. No. 2-ranked New Zealand was the last team pulled out in the draw by World…

LONDON, Dec 3 : Steve Borthwick is probably the last man on earth who would dare to say he was pleased with how the Rugby World Cup draw panned out and though the England coach played his usual straight bat when discussing it, he must have been beaming inside.England were placed with Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe

SYDNEY, Dec 3 : If South Africa are to claim a third straight World Cup and fifth in total they are likely to have to get through a blockbuster quarter-final against second-ranked New Zealand after Wednesday's draw for the expanded 24-team tournament.The new format robbed the draw of much of its pool-stage je

Reigning world champions South Africa and arch rivals New Zealand will likely face a showdown in quarterfinals.