The jackpot for the Blues. Protected by its top seed status and assured of not encountering any nation from hat 1 in the group stage, the French team inherited a group largely within its reach this Wednesday morning during the draw for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, carried out live from Sydney (Australia).
With Japan as the toughest opponent according to the world ranking (12th) as well as the United States (16th) and Samoa (19th), Fabien Galthié’s men should be able to slowly gain strength before the big deadlines awaiting them in the final phase.
For the latter, which remains theoretical and will depend on everyone’s performance in the pools, it is already possible to plan ahead. And once again, the Tricolores were varnished. If they could inherit a more complex round of 16 than other major selections, such as New Zealand or South Africa who will find a third in the group, Antoine Dupont and his partners will have the assurance of not encountering teams from hat 1 before the semi-finals if they finish at the top of their group (and the latter do the same).
Towards a reunion with South Africa in the semi-finals?
If the French XV does the job during this first phase of the World Cup, it will face the second of group D in the round of 16, namely Scotland if the logic of the hats and the world ranking is respected. A tricky match, certainly, but compensated by the prospect of finding another runner-up in the group in the quarter-finals. While New Zealand and South Africa could meet in a summit clash, the Blues would face Fiji or Wales.
A table which would almost resemble a highway towards the last four, far from the memory of the 2023 World Cup organized in France, when the group led by Fabien Galthié came up against the Springboks, future winners, in the quarter-finals.
Things (very) serious would then begin in the semi-finals, with a clash against the potential winner of the match between the title holders and the All Blacks. In the event of victory, the Tricolores would conclude this theoretical journey against England in the final. One thing is certain: France will only be able to find the XV de la Rose in the final if the two nations finish at the top of their respective groups.
