Red card history as Boks face Euro mission: RWC 2027 Pool B head-to-heads

South Africa have been placed in Pool B for the third consecutive tournament, as they look to complete a historic three-peat of titles and a fifth Rugby World Cup win overall.

The Springboks are paired with three European teams, as they were in 2023, with Italy, perennial Rugby Europe champions Georgia and Romania tasked with taking on the world champions.

With each team playing three matches in the pool stages, there will be six fixtures per pool. The schedule will be announced on 3 February, 2026.

Here’s the overall Test head-to-head records of the teams involved, listing the highest-ranked team first:

South Africa (1) v Italy (10)
The Springboks’ only previous Rugby World Cup meeting with Italy was in Japan in 2019, en route to their third title. The Boks ran in seven tries in a 49-3 win against the Azzurri, who played with 14 men when prop Andrea Lovetti was sent off for a tip tackle.

Lovetti’s dismissal is one of three red cards issued in the last five meetings between these teams. Franco Mostert was dismissed in Turin in the Quilter Nations Series, although the red card was later rescinded by a disciplinary panel. And the match before that, in July 2025, saw Jasper Wiese sent off.

Overall Test head-to-head record: Played 19 – South Africa leads 18-1

Past RWC results: 2019 Pool – South Africa 49-3 Italy

South Africa (1) v Georgia (13)
South Afirca met Georgia when the Lelos made their Rugby World Cup in debut in Australia in 2003. With 20 minutes to go at Aussie Stadium, the underdogs trailed by just 13 points, but the Springboks regathered themselves and pulled away to win 46-19.

Since that match, the sides have only met twice more, both times outside of the tournament, with the Springboks’ winning record remaining intact. Georgia were South Africa’s first opponents out of lockdown in 2021.

Overall Test head-to-head record: Played 3 – South Africa leads 3-0

Past RWC results: 2003 Pool – South Africa 46-19 Georgia

South Africa (1) v Romania (22) 
Both previous encounters came at Rugby World Cups, with the Springboks winning 21-8 at Newlands at RWC 1995 and 76-0 in Bordeaux at RWC 2023, which featured a hat-trick of tries from Makazole Mapimpi and Cobus Reinach. Reinach notched his treble inside 25 minutes, making it the second-fastest hat-trick in the tournament’s history. Reinach holds the record, having scooted over three times in 20 minutes against Canada in 2019.

Overall Test head-to-head record: Played 2 – South Africa leads 2-0

Past RWC results: 1995 Pool – South Africa 21-8 Romania; 2023 Pool – South Africa 76-0 Romania

Italy (10) v Georgia (13)
There is always extra spice whenever these two teams meet, due to claims that Georgia deserve Italy’s place in the Guinness Men’s Six Nations.

With just three ranking places between them, it should be a hard-fought encounter. But the Azzurri boast the superior head-to-head record, Georgia having only won once, 28-19 in Batumi in 2022.

None of the previous six encounters have been at a Rugby World Cup, so 2027 will be their first tournament meeting.

Overall Test head-to-head record: Played 6 – Italy leads 5-1

Past RWC results: N/A

Italy (10) v Romania (22)
Italy and Romania will have been playing against each other for the best part of a century by the time they meet in Australia in 2027, with the first fixture dating back to 1934.

The Azzurri have beaten the Oaks more times than any other nation (25), with two of those victories coming at a Rugby World Cup. While he did not feature in the latter match in 2015, Mauro Bergamasco marked the end of an era in Italian rugby as he called time on his career. The 36-year-old was carried off Sandy Park on the shoulders of his team-mates having become just the second player to play in five Rugby World Cups.

Italy racked up their record score and enjoyed their biggest margin of victory when they won the last fixture, 57-7 in San Benedetto del Tronto in August 2023.

Overall Test head-to-head record: Played: 44 – Italy leads 25-16 with three draws

Past RWC results: 2007 Pool – Italy 24-18 Romania; 2015 Pool – Italy 32-22 Romania

Georgia (13) v Romania (22)
These two Rugby Europe heavyweights will collide for only the second time at a Rugby World Cup. Mamuka Gorgodze scored the only try of the Eastern European ‘derby’ in New Zealand in 2011, which the Lelos won 25-9.

Georgia have won the last nine matches all told, the last two by an identical 43-5 scoreline. Georgia’s dominance has been such that the Oaks have only scored single-figure points in the last four fixtures.

Overall Test head-to-head record: Played 30 – Georgia leads 20-9 with one draw

Past RWC results: 2011 Pool – Georgia 25-9 Romania