![\"Wales](\"https:\/\/www.europesays.com\/uk\/wp-content\/uploads\/2025\/11\/0_JS388585871.jpg\")
Wales will finish 2025 as the 11th best team in the world(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\nWe now know the World Rugby rankings and seedings for the 2027 World Cup draw next weekWales will finish 2025 as the 11th best team in the world(Image: Getty Images)<\/p>\n
World Rugby have announced the latest world rankings table that now confirms the final standings ahead of the World Cup draw next week.<\/p>\n
This weekend’s results mean all sides’ current positions will be those they hold when the draw for the 2027 tournament is made in Sydney on Wednesday. Wales <\/a>are now the 11th-ranked side in the global game despite a heavy defeat against New Zealand<\/a> and will finish the year in that spot.<\/p>\n That change comes as a result of Japan’s 25-23 win in Georgia, which saw them secure 12th place and second seed status at the expense of Georgia who drop from 11th to 13th.<\/p>\n The world champion Springboks will be the number one team in the draw for the expanded 24-team tournament, even if they suffer a shock defeat against Wales on Saturday.<\/p>\n Likewise, Wales cannot drop below 11th or move up into 10th, no matter what the result.<\/p>\n The seedings for Wednesday’s draw are as follows.<\/p>\n Band 1:<\/strong> South Africa, New Zealand, England, Ireland, France, Argentina<\/p>\n Band 2:<\/strong> Australia, Fiji, Scotland, Italy, Wales, Japan<\/p>\n Band 3:<\/strong> Georgia, Spain, Uruguay, United States, Chile, Tonga<\/p>\n Band 4:<\/strong> Samoa, Portugal, Romania, Hong Kong, Canada, Zimbabwe<\/p>\n While there will be the luxury of knowing all the teams involved in the pool stages after next month’s draw, plotting a route to the final in Sydney is a little more convoluted.<\/p>\n For the first time in World Cup history, there is now a round of 16 – meaning more teams will qualify for the knockout stages than in previous tournaments.<\/p>\n The top two teams from each pool will progress to the round of 16, along with the four best third-placed nations.<\/p>\n The top team in Pools A, B, C and D will all face one of the teams that finished third in their group.<\/p>\n The winners of Pools E and F will play the runners-up from Pools D and B. And the runners-up from Pools A and C will take on the runners-up from Pools E and F.<\/p>\n There have been some suggestions that could lead to an imbalanced draw. For example, the winner of Pool A would play a third-placed team in the round of 16, but then could play the winner of Pool B if they also reached the quarter-final.<\/p>\n However, the winner of Pool E would play a second-placed team in both the round of 16 and quarter-finals.<\/p>\n The current World Rugby rankings table<\/strong><\/p>\n Follow all of our channels to ensure you stay up to date with the latest Welsh rugby news. Sign up to our<\/strong> free daily newsletter here<\/strong><\/a> and our <\/strong>WhatsApp channel here<\/strong><\/a> for all the breaking news.<\/strong><\/p>\n You can also follow us on social media on our <\/strong>X account<\/strong><\/a>, <\/strong>Facebook<\/strong><\/a>,<\/strong> Instagram<\/strong><\/a> and<\/strong> TikTok.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n For more exclusive stories and in-depth analysis, you can <\/strong>sign up for the Inside Welsh Rugby substack newsletter here.<\/strong><\/a><\/p>\n