Tonga qualified for Rugby World Cup 2027. The Ikale Tahi qualified as one of the top three teams from the 2025 Pacific Nations Cup (PNC) other than Fiji or Japan. It was Fiji’s 29-15 win over Samoa on Saturday, in Rotorua, New Zealand which saw Tonga officially confirmed for the Australia hosted Rugby World Cup in 2027.
Earlier results meant Tonga booked their place in Australia 2027. Tonga overcame Samoa 30-16 in their first match and fell 32-10 to Fiji in their other fixture. The winless Samoa finish third, of three, in Pool A of the Pacific Nations Cup. Canada, Japan and the USA are in Pool B with the USA set to be in action on Saturday against Japan.
| QUALIFIED TEAMS FOR RUGBY WORLD CUP 2027 |
Tonga are the nineteenth team confirmed for Rugby World Cup 2027. The Ikale Tahi join the twelve automatic qualifiers from Rugby World Cup 2023 and the sixth other teams to have qualified for Australia 2027 this year.
The twelve automatic qualifying participants were those that finished in the top three of their respective pools at France 2023. They are: South Africa, Ireland, Scotland, France, New Zealand, Italy, Wales, Fiji, Australia, England, Japan and Argentina.
Qualifying matches this year in Europe saw four countries booking their places in Australia 2027. Georgia qualified as the top side, followed by Spain, Romania and Portugal. Belgium were the next best fplaced which saw them booking a spot in repechage.
African qualifiers saw Zimbabwe ending a 34-year wait. The Sables overcame Rugby World Cup 1999-2023 perennials, Namibia to qualify as Africa 1 and send Namibia to an interregional play-off against the United Arab Emirates. Namibia won to join Belgium in the Final Qualification tournament.
Hong Kong qualified by winning the Asia 1 spot. Hong Kong were up against lowly ranked opposition and had no problems in securing the Asian allocated qualifying spot. In doing so, Hong Kong will make their Rugby World Cup debut in Australia 2027. The tournament will be the first Men’s Rugby World Cup with two Asian competitors.
