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In an upset result, Belgium booked a spot in Rugby World Cup 2027 Repechage. Belgium defeated neighbors the Netherlands 31-10 in Amsterdam to officially advance in Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifying to the global finale.
The result is the greatest outcome in the history of Belgium rugby. It surpasses the 2024 upset win over Portugal. Belgium is through to the global repechage tournament, of which the winner will claim the final spot in Australia 2027.
The Final qualification tournament will be comprised of one pool of four teams. The four will face each-other in a round-robin format with the winner, based on competition points, qualifying for Australia 2027.
Belgium booked the spot in Rugby World Cup 2007 repechage as Europe 5. This came after Georgia, Romania, Portugal and Spain all qualified for Australia 2027.
Europe 5 is the first repechage spot confirmed. The three others will be claimed over the coming months in qualifiers in the World Rugby defined regions of Africa, Asia, Pacific and South America. The pathways are different for each region.
First, the third placed side from South America’s Championship will join Belgium in repechage. Based on rankings and form Brazil is the likely team. Second, the Pacific spot will go to the loser of the regional play-off between the South American vs Pacific clash. This looms as being the loser of Chile vs Canada. Finally, the winner of Africa 2 vs Asia 2 will enter repechage. Based on 2024 results, this is most likely to be United Arab Emirates (UAE) vs Zimbabwe.
