The China Mail - Australia meet New Zealand as S. Africa face Italy at Rugby World Cup

The four-time champion Springboks will also play Georgia and Romania in Pool B at the six-week global showpiece from October 1-November 13 featuring a bumper 24 teams and 52 games.

Rassie Erasmus' all-conquering side are favourites to win a third straight title after an exceptional 2025.

They completed an Autumn Nations Series clean sweep after retaining their Rugby Championship crown, taking an eight-match unbeaten streak into the new year.

South Africa and New Zealand are on a collision course in the quarter-finals.

Scott Robertson's All Blacks are looking to halt the Springboks' march and lift their fourth title and first since 2015 after being edged 12-11 in the 2023 final in France.

They face the struggling Wallabies in Pool A along with debutants Hong Kong and Chile, a daunting prospect for their opponents with New Zealand only losing one pool game in 10 previous World Cups.

Australia are ranked outside the world's top six and missed a seeding, so were always destined to meet one of the big guns.

Despite being two-time champions they are a shadow of their former selves, suffering a first winless European tour since 1958 this year and a record 10 losses in a season.

Third-ranked England, the 2003 champions, are in Pool F and will go up against local rivals Wales, Tonga and Zimbabwe, who last played a World Cup in 1991.

Ireland, who crashed to both South Africa and New Zealand last month, top Pool D with Scotland, Uruguay and Portugal.

France, two-time runners-up, headline Pool E with Japan, USA and Samoa while Argentina are in Pool C and face Fiji, Spain and Canada.

Only four teams have won the World Cup -- South Africa (4), New Zealand (3), Australia (2) and England (1) -- and there is a new look for the 2027 version with 24 sides in contention, up from 20.

For the first time a round of 16 will be played, with the top two in each pool plus the four best third-placed teams reaching the knockout phase.

The match schedule will be announced on February 3, but the opening game is guaranteed to feature Australia at Perth Stadium, likely against the All Blacks, while the final will be held at Sydney's Olympic Stadium.

Other host cities are Melbourne, Adelaide, Townsville, Newcastle and 2032 Olympics host Brisbane.

J.Thompson--ThChM