The Albany Gazette - Principal reaction to 2027 Rugby World Cup draw

AFP Sport highlights the pick of the reaction from the coaches and team captains around the world:

Pool A -- (New Zealand, Australia, Chile, Hong Kong)

Joe Schmidt (Australia)

"It would immediately excite players, all the fans," said the 60-year-old New Zealander about the All Blacks potentially playing the Wallabies in the tournament opener.

"I think it would be a great way to kick it off. It's a trans-Tasman battle, which I think both teams are going to love having," added Schmidt, who steps down in mid-2026.

Pool B -- (South Africa, Italy, Georgia, Romania)

Rassie Erasmus (South Africa)

"We are pleased with the pool we have been drawn in, but this is a World Cup, and every team will go out there with great passion and do their utmost to represent their nations with pride.

"There have been surprises in the tournament before, so we'll need to be up mentally and physically for every match," said the 53-year-old, mindful of when Japan upset the Springboks in a 2015 pool match in Brighton.

Pool C -- (Argentina, Fiji, Spain, Canada)

Pablo Bouza (Spain)

"I didn't want to play against Argentina because they're at a very high level, and besides, I played there and worked with the team for almost eight years. I know some of the staff and I have friends there."

Pool D -- (Ireland, Scotland, Uruguay, Portugal)

Andy Farrell (Ireland)

"I suppose you're always looking at which side of the draw you could come out, but if you don't look after your own side of things first and foremost then things could slightly happen a little bit differently," said the 50-year-old, reacting to what appears to be a more favourable draw than they had in 2023.

"But all in all, I was super excited actually, it got the old hairs on the skin standing up, definitely, so that's the way it should be."

Gregor Townsend (Scotland)

"Obviously Ireland are a team that has beaten us pretty regularly the last few years, so we'll have to be better to beat them," said the 52-year-old, whose side has been beaten in the pool stage by the Irish in the past two Rugby World Cups.

"We have two occasions, one in Dublin, one at Murrayfield before the World Cup. The goal every year is to try and beat Ireland but it's even more important now. It'll be more difficult in the World Cup if we haven't managed to beat Ireland in the next two seasons."

Pool E (France, Japan, USA, Samoa)

Fabien Galthie (France)

"It is a very manageable pool. It is the ideal draw to allow us to build momentum," said the 56-year-old, who captained the French side that lost to eventual champions England in the 2003 semi-finals in Australia.

Things could get harder for France in the knock-outs, with a potential semi-final against either New Zealand or South Africa -- who knocked them out on hole soil in the quarters two years ago.

"To confront South Africa would be formidable, colossal, an immense challenge.

"Our ambition is to be crowned world champions. It will be very difficult as France has never achieved that, and our ambition is to do just that."

Eddie Jones (Japan)

"We want to be the team of the World Cup. We want to be the team that everyone wants to watch, and to do that a best four finish would be absolutely fantastic," said the 65-year-old Australian, who guided Australia and England to the 2003 and 2019 finals respectively.

"To do that we're going to have to play above ourselves, and we understand that's going to take an extraordinary effort, but there's no reason why we can't do it.

Pool F (England, Wales, Tonga, Zimbabwe)

Maro Itoje (England)

"It wasn't the best day from an England point of view but hopefully this time round it'll be a little different," said the 31-year-old captain referring to the 2015 pool defeat to Wales that eliminated hosts England from the tournament.

"Our ambition is to do very well and win this tournament. That's our objective, but to do that we know we have to make sure we get our preparation right, and the next two years leading to the World Cup is massive."

Steve Tandy (Wales)

"There were lots of tough experiences this autumn but a lot of positive ones as well," said the 45-year-old about a team that was hammered 73-0 by South Africa at the weekend, suffering a 12th defeat in their last 14 Tests.

"We will remain really positive with this group because I do believe in them. Most of it is about spending time and staying connected so we can grow our game as we go."

(P.Clark--TAG)