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Wallabies captain Harry Wilson is keen to open the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Perth with a blockbuster against arch-rival New Zealand after drawing their trans-Tasman rivals in the same pool for the first time in World Cup history.
In random pool draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup staged in Sydney on Wednesday night, hosts Australia and the Kiwis were randomly selected together in pool A, along with minnows Chile and Hong Kong.
Seeded in band two, the Wallabies were always going to face a big gun drawn from band one, which contained the top six ranked sides at the end of this year.
But the random draw saw their old Bledisloe Cup foe pulled out last, setting up the Wallabies with a fifth clash against the All Blacks in World Cup games since 1991, but for the first time ever in a pool round.
The game could potentially be staged as the opening match of the 2027 Rugby World Cup in Perth, or as a blockbuster later in the pool stages, potentially in front of 100,000 people at the MCG.
The decision will be made by Rugby World Cup organisers ahead of a fixture list released on February 3, but Wilson said he’d be keen to do battle with their Bledisloe foes first up.
“The opening game of the World Cup, I don’t reckon there’d be many better games to play than that one,” Wilson said. “I think it would be something everyone would be pretty excited for.
“If you beat the All Blacks, it’ll give your team a lot of confidence to know you probably can beat anyone on your day.
“We’re obviously stoked to get the All Blacks. They’re a team, we love versing, and we verse quite a lot.
“In a World Cup, if you want to win it, you’ve got to beat the best teams, and they’re obviously one of the best teams in the world.”
The Wallabies haven’t beaten the Kiwis in 11 Tests. Still, even a loss in the pool stages is not likely to cost Australia the chance to move through to the round of 16, where a clash with Eddie Jones’ Japan could await, if the Brave Blossoms finish runner-up behind France in pool E ahead of the USA and Samoa.
The Wallabies will meet the All Blacks in a World Cup pool game.Credit: Getty Images
If Australia and England both progress, another quarter-final clash could then occur. Australia has lost to England three times in Rugby World Cup quarters.
In a fascinating twist, however, back-to-back champions South Africa were drawn in pool B, and barring upsets, that is likely to see the Boks take on the winner of pool A - either the All Blacks or Australia - in a massive quarter-final clash.
France would also likely be on the same side of the finals draw for those Rugby Championship sides.
Wallabies coach Joe Schmidt, who will hand over to Les Kiss next year and won’t be in charge at the tournament, said he was confident that Australia had shown the ability in 2025 that they can beat both New Zealand and South Africa.
“It wasn’t too different last World Cup with New Zealand. You were either going to play South Africa in a quarterfinal, or Ireland in a quarterfinal, and either way it was going to be really tough,” Schmidt said.
“So if you’re going to get into a final, or into even a semifinal, you’re going to have to beat good teams to get there.
“I wouldn’t plot a path for sure, but you’ve got to be aware of who you’re likely to meet, and I think the advantage of that is you know South Africa really well. Players will have got some confidence, not just from (winning in) Jo’burg, but in the game in Cape Town as well.”
The Wallabies will meet world no.17 Chile for the first time, in the South American side’s second appearance at a Rugby World Cup.
They will also face Hong Kong China, who have qualified for their first-ever Rugby World Cup. The world no. 23-ranked side is just the second Asian side to make the tournament.
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“They’re two newcomers that will challenge you in a different way, and challenge you to keep that level of performance at a certain height, so that when you hit the round of top 16, you hit the ground running,” Schmidt said.
Given the expansion to 24 teams for the first time, there are no traditional pools of death, and particularly with the addition of a round of 16, meaning two-thirds of teams will progress from the pool stage.
England and Ireland appear to have had the better of the draw, and if they win their pools and keep winning, they can avoid South Africa, New Zealand or France until the final.
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