SA Rugby Legend Slams 2027 World Cup Draw That Puts Springboks and All Blacks in Difficult Positions

• Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett reacted strongly to the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw, calling it 'scandalous'
• The draw placed South Africa in Pool B and New Zealand in Pool A, setting up a potential quarter-final clash between the two sides
• Victor Matfield backed Mallett's criticism, arguing the world's two best teams deserved a shot at the final

Former Springbok coach Nick Mallett has labelled the 2027 Rugby World Cup draw "scandalous," warning that either the Springboks or the All Blacks could be knocked out as early as the quarter-finals.

Mallett shared his reaction on SuperSport's *Final Whistle presents Side Entry*, where he argued that the structure of the draw had failed to protect the two highest-profile teams in world rugby.

Springboks and All Blacks on a Collision Course

South Africa were placed in Pool B alongside Italy, Georgia and Romania, while New Zealand were drawn in Pool A with Australia, Chile and Hong Kong. On the surface, both sides appear to have manageable pools. The complication, however, lies in what the bracket produces beyond the group stage.

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Both the Springboks and the All Blacks are expected to top their respective pools and advance past third-place finishers in the Round of 16. That path would then set them on course to meet each other in the quarter-finals — a stage at which one of the two finalists from the last World Cup would be eliminated.

The expanded 2027 tournament features 24 teams, and much was made in the lead-up to the draw about world rankings serving as a key factor in how sides would be pooled. In practice, that expectation did not translate into a draw that kept the top-ranked nations apart deep into the competition.

'They Should Get to a Final'

Mallett did not hold back in his assessment. "It's scandalous; it's not a pity," he said, expressing frustration that the draw could produce such an outcome at the quarter-final stage.

Former Springbok lock Victor Matfield shared the same view. "It's the two best teams in the world; they should get to a final if they win all their games," Matfield commented.

The full pool draw for RWC 2027 is as follows: Pool A — New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Hong Kong; 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.

Source: Briefly News