Sir Bill Beaumont confirms Rugby World Cup draw changes for 2027 edition

World Rugby chairman Sir Bill Beaumont has confirmed the changes to draw and plans for the Rugby World Cup 2027.

The draws for the 2023 edition of the tournament was announced in December 2020 which led to criticism as the top five teams in the current World Rugby Rankings - Ireland, France, New Zealand, South Africa and Scotland are grouped in Pool A and Pool B.

“The reason why the pool draws were made earlier was because of the surety of the host cities and knowing where teams were going, which is very important," he said.

"The need for certainty and stability in the planning process influenced the decision to conduct the draw early".

Nevertheless, Sir Bill Beaumont insisted that they will be making the draw for the 2027 edition in Australia as late as possible.

“What we will be doing is looking to have the pool draw as late as possible so that you get more consistency around the balance in a pool.

"The goal is to achieve a fairer distribution of teams within each pool, reducing potential disparities.

“When we go to Australia, we will be looking at how late we can make the pool draw.”