Rugby World Cup 2027: Two-time Rugby World Cup winner Steven Kitshoff has admitted. He feels uneasy about the road facing South Africa at the 2027 tournament, despite the Springboks being handed what many consider a favourable draw.
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South Africa were placed in Pool B, where Italy appear to be their toughest opponents on paper. At first glance, it looks like a relatively smooth path through the group stage. But Kitshoff believes the real danger lies beyond the pools.
The tournament could quickly become unforgiving for the reigning champions. If results go as expected and South Africa and New Zealand will both top their respective pools. The two rugby giants are set on a collision course in the quarter-finals.
That scenario has raised alarm bells for Kitshoff, who knows better than most how brutal knockout rugby can be at a World Cup. The Springboks and the All Blacks are currently ranked first and second in the world. While rankings can shift over the next two years.
It remains highly likely that one of the game’s biggest names will be knocked out far earlier than expected. For South Africa, the pressure is even greater. They are chasing history after winning back-to-back World Cups in 2019 and 2023, matching New Zealand’s achievements from 2011 and 2015.
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Rugby World Cup: Kitshoff fears early knockout heartbreak
A third consecutive title would be unprecedented, but Kitshoff believes the 2027 draw could make it the toughest challenge yet. Even if South Africa manages to overcome New Zealand in what would feel like a final disguised as a quarter-final, the road does not get any easier.
A French side, still hurting from their narrow defeat to the Springboks on home soil in 2023, is widely expected to be waiting in the semi-finals. That’s my biggest fear for this World Cup, Kitshoff said. That we trip over the hurdle at the quarter-final.
Everyone’s already saying that’s the big game. Playing New Zealand at that stage will feel like a final. You’re going to be exhausted, both physically and mentally, and then you still have to back it up in a semi-final.
He added that facing France after such an intense match only adds to his concerns. That’s why I’m nervous about how the draw has worked out for us, he said. There is still plenty of rugby to be played before 2027 arrives, and one of the most anticipated events on the calendar will come a year earlier.
In 2026, South Africa and New Zealand will renew their rivalry in a blockbuster tour billed as Rugby’s Greatest Rivalry. The All Blacks will travel to South Africa for a three-Test series and will also face the country’s four main franchises.
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Rugby World Cup Final: Rugby World Cup 2027 draw confirmed in Sydney
Before meeting the Springboks again at a neutral venue. Kitshoff joked about the outcome, saying South Africa would pump them four times, before laughing and revising that prediction to three wins apiece. The official Rugby World Cup 2027 draw took place in Sydney on 3 December and confirmed the six pools of four teams.
Alongside several familiar World Cup match-ups, the draw also produced some first-time meetings in both the tournament and Test rugby more broadly. Pool A provides a good example of this mix of tradition and novelty.
Hosts Australia will face New Zealand in one of world rugby’s greatest rivalries. Both teams will also meet Chile and tournament debutants Hong Kong China for the first time. Between them, Australia and New Zealand have won five Men’s Rugby World Cup titles.
And they are strong favourites to progress to the knockout rounds. Similar expectations exist across the other pools, with South Africa and Italy tipped to advance from Pool B, Argentina and Fiji from Pool C, and Ireland and Scotland from Pool D.
France and Japan from Pool E, and England and Wales from Pool F. The 2027 tournament will also feature a new format, expanded to include four additional teams. As a result, finishing outside the top two in a pool does not automatically mean elimination.
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