South Africa were grouped with France, Italy and Brazil in Pool D for the Rugby World Cup in England in 2025 when the draw for next year’s showpiece was made in London earlier on Thursday evening.

The Springbok Women, currently ranked 12th in the world, will face two teams ranked in the top 10 – France (fourth) and Italy eighth – as well as Brazil , who are ranked 42nd.

The Springbok Women played France in the opening game of the last Rugby World Cup, at Eden Park in Auckland, New Zealand and Italy last weekend in the final match of WXV 2, but are yet to face Brazil in a Test match.

Springbok Women performance coach Swys de Bruin said the draw was yet another step closer to the actual tournament to be played across eight cities from 22 August to 27 September 2025, and brings another rush of energy to the group, already boosted by some commendable performances in the recent WXV 2 tournament in Cape Town.

“The puzzle is getting closer and closer to completion and the only thing remaining is the announcement next Tuesday of the playing schedule and team venues,” said De Bruyn.

“That means that we can start to focus and prepare with a clear picture in mind and that is always an exciting part of any campaign.”

Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 Managing Director, Sarah Massey, said: “With anticipation building amongst fans and teams for next year’s showpiece event, today marks an important step forward to what will be an unmissable tournament.

“Next week will see the tournament celebrate another exciting milestone, as we unveil the match schedule, allowing fans, host locations and teams to start preparing their Women’s Rugby World Cup 2025 experience in earnest.”

The pools are:

A: England, Australia, USA, Samoa

B: Canada, Scotland, Wales, Fiji

C: New Zealand, Ireland, Japan, Spain

D: France, Italy, South Africa, Brazil

Issued by SA Rugby Communications