Former Springbok captain Jean de Villiers has poured cold water on the idea that South Africa scored an “easy” 2027 Rugby World Cup draw.

He’s warned that the real danger only begins once the playoffs arrive.

The defending champions were grouped with Italy, Georgia and Romania – a pool many fans immediately labelled a free pass to the quarter-finals. But De Villiers said that view completely misses the real threat awaiting Rassie Erasmus’ side.

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“I disagree that it’s an easy draw, I think it’s a tough draw,” De Villiers told News24.

“You don’t look at the pool, you look at your route to the final and being able to win the final. In saying that, I think it’s an extremely difficult draw.”

The Springboks’ path beyond Pool B is where the tournament could turn brutal. With World Rugby’s new format reshuffle, De Villiers believes South Africa are now staring at a gauntlet loaded with title heavyweights.

“We are most probably playing New Zealand in the quarterfinal, with France and Wales or the other side of the draw, [all things being equal],” he said. “So, potentially, there are very good odds that we meet France in the semi-finals and probably England or Ireland in the final.”

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While Italy remain the highest-ranked pool opponent at 10th, De Villiers stressed that knockout rugby, not pool comfort, is what defines a World Cup.

“Yes, the pool itself is an easy one… [but] then the route to the final is an extremely difficult one,” he said. “It’s more about getting your route to the final sort of figured out.”

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