Exciting, tough: Pacific Islands' reactions to the 2027 Rugby World Cup pool draw

Opinion - There is one thing all three Pacific Island rugby teams competing at the 2027 Rugby World Cup are consistent about.

Following last Wednesday's official pool draws for the event, Fiji, Samoa and Tonga all agree the work that needs to be done in the next two years is critical if they are to make any real impact at the event to be hosted by Australia.

The formula is really simple for them.

Secure the best and right players, get them tested through the different competitions the teams will be involved in, and get everyone to be 101 percent in every aspect of the preparation, with a wholesome approach that must include all stakeholders.

By "all stakeholders", Tonga's 'Ikale Tahi team head coach Tevita Tuifu'a told RNZ Pacific, he means the people, government, the national rugby unions, team officials and the players.

"Everyone must be on the same plan, same focus, same mind 101 percent," the former 'Ikale Tahi said.

"If we do not get our own house in order first then it will be useless because down the line something is going to give and we will not be able to achieve what we want to."

Strong words, but ones that rings true for the Pacific three, especially since the buzz word now is professionalism across the board.

The first reactions from Tuifu'a, Manu Samoa head coach Lemalu Tusiata Pisi and their Flying Fijian counterpart Mick Byrne are the pool draws are good for each of them, with the opportunity to qualify for the Round of 16, introduced for the first time at the world meet in 2027.

Although match schedules will be announced on 3 February 2026, the teams at least now know who they will be meeting in the pool matches.

The pool draw has Fiji in Pool C with Argentina, Canada and Spain.

Samoa is in Pool E with France, Japan and the United States of America.

Tonga is in Pool F together with Six Nations teams England and Wales, and Zimbabwe.

Other pools see New Zealand, Australia, Chile and Hong Kong China in Pool A, with Pool B featuring South Africa, Italy, Georgia and Romania.

Pool D has Ireland, Scotland, Uruguay and Portugal.

Moving forward into 2026 Fiji will be playing in the new Nations Championship, with July and November test matches slotted in.

They and Japan join the Tier 1 teams in the Southern and Northern hemispheres.

Samoa and Tonga join the World Rugby Nations Cup series, where they will be joined by Canada, Chile, Georgia, Hong Kong China, Portugal, Romania, Spain, Uruguay, USA and Zimbabwe.

In 2027, all teams will also have Test matches lined up, including the Pacific Nations Cup, that will be the final test runs before the World Cup kick off on 1 October in Perth.

Manu Samoa reaction

Lemalu Tusiata Pisi told World Rugby while reacting to the draw that France, Japan and USA all have a rich history of rugby and of playing at the World Cup.

But he and Samoa have their own target to work on from now on.

Manu Samoa also have a rich history to emulate at the world cup, having reached the top eight previously on two occasions.

"The knockout stage at the very least, absolutely," he said, referring to make the top eight again.

"And once you get to the knockouts anything can happen, so that's the target."

That work begins now and into the 2026 season, where player selection is going to be critical.

The Samoans were the 24th and last team to qualify for the 2027 event.

Their biggest hiccup this season was the unavailability of players they needed.

The team had to go through three different qualifying events before they finally secured their spot.

News that former England centre Manu Tuilagi could be available to play for Samoa at RWC 2027 was welcomed but Pisi, a former Manu Samoa captain and playmaker, said he just does not want the big names but players who are consistent throughout and are willing to sacrifice for the team and country.

"It's going to be about who is playing well at the time - it's not just about big-name players - then who is available to train every day. That's the only way to create combinations.

"It's all about preparation, making sure our best players are available, not just in the lead-up to the World Cup but in these crucial campaigns before the build-up, where we can build combinations. This is what is going to be important for us."

He believes USA and Japan, who they have played in the Pacific Nations Cup series in the past three seasons would be exciting opponents too, adding both sides are playing good rugby.

One of Samoa's opponents, USA, have stated they are wary of the Samoans, especially the unknown, which is the players that will make up the team for the world meet.

Head Scott Lawrence said Pool E opponents France, Japan and Samoa will not be easy.

He understands that being a world cup all games "are tough" so the only was forward for them, he reckons, is to prepare "so we're ready for whatever, and we'll prepare just the same".

"We are a little bit familiar with Japan and we'll see with Samoa what players become available as we get closer to the World Cup," he said.

"It starts now so we can put ourselves in a position physically to be able to compete. We will work with our athlete performance staff, leading in and during the tournament. The nice part of a two-year run-in is you get to look at the facilities and the bases and put together the best plan. The things we can control is we have our players who are in Europe are playing well, and those who are based domestically have a really good off-season with an eye towards building in September 2027."

Japan's head coach, the wily Eddie Jones, who also coached England and the Wallabies, is happy teams now know who they meet.

He wants to know who they will meet first so the Japanese can work their game management around that.

He is wary of Samoa also.

"What happens from now on is important. France are a top-ranked team in the world," he said.

"Samoa had to struggle through to make the World Cup. We also know that Samoa will only have their best players available at the World Cup, so we will only get to see what they are really like once they are there.

"USA have been under a new coach for a little while now, employing a high kicking game. One of the most important contests in the game is the aerial contest. We're getting 30 of those in a game, and the ability to kick and regain now is almost worth a double possession as all the data on the game shows how important that is. We will be watching those three teams really closely from now on. We need to develop a game to beat those three teams, and that's what we will be doing over the next two years."

Tonga's reaction

Head coach Tuifu'a was one of the very first to respond to the pool draws on Wednesday night.

He said being drawn against England and Wales, both of whom he played against in Rugby World Cups, is exciting and the two teams will be favourites.

But he sees the opportunity for Tonga to make their own history when the islanders meet the two Six Nations giants.

"With Wales, I would say they are now in a building phase," he said.

"Looking at their background of playing in Australia, I think they'll handle it well, and so will England, having the background in Australia in the 2003 World Cup.

"Even though it will be an advantage for them to have that experience and that motivation, there could also be some more pressure on the players having that to live up to."

His captain Ben Tameifuna, who also led Tonga at the 2023 campaign in France, believes he and the players will have their job cut out for them.

"England are always going to be a strong team, Wales as well, being a tier one nation teams," the former Chiefs Super Rugby player said.

"They've obviously got all the backing behind them. We're on a building path as well as a team, and I feel like we're heading in the right direction."

The dark horse in the team is Zimbabwe, who Tameifuna believes will be going all out to prove themselves on the world stage.

"I don't know much about Zimbabwe, but they've obviously earned their spot at a World Cup, so I believe this will be a huge occasion for them, especially with it being one of their first World Cups," he said.

"So, they'll be throwing the kitchen sink at it, having a crack and seeing whether they can produce an upset.

"As a Tongan team, we're heading in the right direction. We're slowly building and anything can happen at World Cups. We're pretty stoked with the pools, actually, we're pretty happy and looking forward to it."

One thing that should work well for Tonga, Fiji and Samoa is the fact that they will have a lot more fans available to cheer for them at their games, with Australia within cheap flying distance from ther islands.

He is hoping that would work well for them, as was seen at the 2011 world cup in New Zealand and the recent rugby league matches involving the Mate Ma'a Tonga and Tonga Rugby League XIII.

"Being in the southern hemisphere, it's sort of in our backyard; people just have to fly to Australia from Tonga and New Zealand, as opposed to flying to Europe, so it will be like a home away from home.

"We're definitely looking forward to that. Hopefully, the red sea will turn up and show as much support for us as they do for the Mate Ma'a Tonga team. We feed off that, and hopefully we can paint these Australian stadiums in red."

One of Tonga's opponent is going to be Wales, who have struggled this year.

Head coach Steve Tandy believes the new format for 2027 is exciting, with the early pool draws giving teams the opportunity to know early who they will be playing against.

While he reckons England will be tough, his thoughts also went to Tonga.

"Those big games against England are always massive and being in a World Cup is even bigger," he said.

"But Tonga and the others will also be a big challenge. Overall, it is very exciting even though, obviously, the game against England will be the one most people will focus on."

Byrne on Fiji's pool

Flying Fijians head coach Byrne believes it will be a long tournament for everyone.

Seven matches for the finalists and third/fourth place playoffs, six for the semifinalists and five for the quarterfinalists.

But the excitement is there also - teams will get the chance to play opponents they do not play often too, like for the Fijians facing Argentina again since 2003 when the two teams last played against each other.

And with Spain and Canada thrown into the mix, the Fijians will have to be at their best.

"Spain and Argentina play a similar style of footy, they like to run, they like to throw the ball around, they like to keep the ball alive. Defensively we need to be on our game when we play those teams," Byrne said when asked what his reaction was to the pool draw.

"Canada, we've played a lot recently and they're getting a really good structure around the way they're playing. They've become very aggressive in their ball carries and their line speed's improved a lot in defence.

"Having played Spain and Canada a bit in the last couple of years, we'll keep an eye on them and we've got a good benchmark to see where they're at and what improvements they've made. Argentina play a great brand of rugby and the Fiji-Argentina game will be one of the highlights of the World Cup.

"If you get to the World Cup final it's seven games so it's a long tournament.

"You get to play teams that you may not get a chance to play very much, so that's exciting. We're going to get to play Argentina, I think the last time we played them was 2003 so they're the exciting things."

He also re-echoed Tameifuna's reactions for Tonga playing in Australia.

"Being in our backyard, there'll be a good following, we'll have a lot of fans. We're really looking forward to that, that's an exciting part of having a World Cup in Australia is we know our Fijian families and communities in Australia are very strong.

"We wait now to see where our games are and where that's going to happen, I think that's going to be early in the New Year when we find that out (3 February). Then we can work on where we're going to be based, and then we can connect with our communities when we get over there."

Argentina head coach Felipe Contepomi is already contemplating how he and his team are going to prepare for their pool matches, especially the Fijians who he holds in high regard.

"It's interesting to play against Fiji, whom we haven't faced many times in recent years, but we know the team they are and the surprises they often pull off in World Cups," he said of the opportunity to meet the islanders again.

"Then there's Spain, which has many Argentineans, adding an extra element, and Canada, a team that's been improving.

"As I was saying during the November window, despite the draw, what is important is how you arrive as a team to October 2027. There's still plenty of time for that, 22 months."

Canadian coach Steve Meehan, also jumped on the bandwagon and said their Pool C is full of different sorts of challenges.

"Every team wants to play. So, all those teams are running rugby teams and that's going to be a great experience for us. Some of the rugby that Argentina played in the middle of this year was outstanding especially in some of their attacking play.

"We saw first-hand what Fiji are capable of over the last few years, and we know that Spain can attack from deep in their own territory as well."

With all said and done, what remains now is how each team will prepare.

There might be some rugby fans and critics already trying to work out who will come out of the pool matches and into the Round of 16.

Or who will make the quarterfinals even. That is best left for when that happens.

The old Fijian saying 'sivi mada na veikau qai kalu' - meaning, 'do not predict the result before that is known' - could be relevant for many teams who will be in Australia in 2027.

For the Pacific island teams at least, they now know what they need to do to get there in the end.