Scotland Rugby World Cup draw: Dream and danger groups, how to watch on TV and why format suits

There are more teams and more matches than ever before and hosts Australia are also promising to make it affordable, with a million tickets priced at under Aus$100.

Twenty-four nations will take part, up from 20, and the new format should suit Scotland who were eliminated at the group stage in 2019 and 2023.

The expanded competition will feature six pools of four teams, replacing the four pools of five that had been in place since Australia last hosted the tournament in 2003. The seven host cities are Adelaide, Brisbane, Melbourne, Newcastle, Perth, Sydney and Townsville.

How the new format works

The top two from each pool will go through to the knockout phase along with the best four third-placed sides.

Failure to qualify from their group would be unthinkable for Gregor Townsend’s side who are in the second band of seeds and should have a couple of minnows alongside them along with one of the game’s powerhouses.

The new format means more groups and fewer pool stage matches but also an extra knockout round so qualification from the first phase takes you into the last 16 rather than the quarter-finals which had previously been the case.

The advantage of being in Pools A-D

The tournament will begin on October 1, 2027, and end on November 13 and will feature 52 games, up from 48 in 2023. It won’t mean more matches for the players because the team lifting the Webb Ellis Cup will still play seven games, just as South Africa did in France two years ago.

As you would expect, pool winners will be rewarded with what should be easier games in the round of 16 but the new format will favour those teams who win Pools A, B, C and D - on paper at least - as they will meet third-placed sides in the first knockout round. The winners of Pools E and F will play group runners-up from D and B, respectively.

The seedings for Wednesday’s draw are based on the World Rugby rankings at the conclusion of last month’s autumn internationals which means the six teams in the top band are holders South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France and Argentina.

No favours for the hosts

Unlike the football World Cup, the hosts are not automatically given a top seeding which means Australia find themselves in band two along with Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales and Japan.

The only concession made to the Wallabies is that they already know that they will be in Pool A and will play in the tournament’s opening match in Perth on October 1, 2027.

All other teams will be drawn randomly, starting with the band four sides, followed by band three, band two and band one. Each pool will have a country from each seeding band.

The nations in band three are Georgia, Uruguay, Spain, USA, Chile and Tonga, while the band four side are Samoa, Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong China, Zimbabwe and Canada.

The group of most danger

South Africa, Scotland, Georgia, Samoa.

There’s no doubt Scotland got dealt a shocking hand at the draw for the last Rugby World Cup when they were placed in Pool B with South Africa, Ireland, Tonga and Romania. The draw had been made in December 2020, almost three years before the tournament took place, and was based on the seedings at the time.

By the time the 2023 World Cup kicked off in Paris, South Africa, Ireland and Scotland were all in the top five of the World Rugby rankings, meaning the ‘group of death’ description was entirely fitting. Townsend’s side lost to both the Springboks and the Irish who both proceeded to the quarter-finals at the expense of the Scots who were the only one of the so-called ‘home nations’ to be knocked out early.

The good news is that Scotland cannot be drawn alongside both South Africa and Ireland this time around but they could land one of them. Given that they have failed to beat either during Townsend’s eight years in charge they would be best avoided. So too would New Zealand, a team Scotland have never got the better of in 33 meetings.

Scotland cannot meet the hosts in the pool phase as Australia are also in the second band of seeds.

Of the teams seeded third, Georgia are ranked highest but have never been beyond the pool stage at a World Cup. Richard Cockerill, their head coach, will be targeting the last 16 at the very least.

Samoa were the last team to qualify for the 2027 tournament, edging out Belgium in the final qualification tournament in Dubai last month. Samoa are ranked 19th in the world and Scotland beat them 41-12 in Auckland in July.

The most winnable group

Argentina, Scotland, USA, Hong Kong China

Scotland’s match against Argentina at Murrayfield last month was their defining game of the year - for all the wrong reasons. The host blew a 21-0 lead, conceding five tries in the final 23 minutes to lose 33-24 in one of biggest turnarounds in Test match history.

Townsend’s squad would relish the chance of revenge against the Pumas who are the lowest ranked of the top seeds but have a good World Cup pedigree.

Argentina reached the semi-finals in 2007, 2015 and 2023 and have twice beaten Scotland at the tournament, in the quarter-finals in 2007 and in the pool stage in 2011.

The USA are included in the third band of seeds but their recent form has been poor and Scotland thrashed them 85-0 in Edinburgh in November. Hong Kong China, meanwhile, will be the only team making their Rugby World Cup debut in 2027. They qualified by winning the Asia Rugby Emirates Men’s Championship 2025, beating Korea, Sri Lanka and UAE to retain their title.

How to watch the draw

The draw will take place in Sydney on Wednesday at around 9am GMT and should last around 15 minutes. It will be available to watch online in the UK via World Rugby’s YouTube channel and RugbyPass TV.

The draw will be presented by World Rugby chair Brett Robinson, All Blacks legend and two-time Rugby World Cup winner Dan Carter, Australia’s most-capped player James Slipper and Rio 2016 Olympic gold medallist Alicia Lucas.

Key dates

December 3, 2025: Rugby World Cup draw in Sydney

February 3, 2026: Match schedule announcement

February 18, 2026: Ticket pre-sale for registered fans

May 2026: Three-week general ticket application phase opens

to all supporters worldwide

October 1 2027: Opening match of RWC, featuring hosts Australia (Perth)

November 13, 2027: Rugby World Cup final (Sydney)