The European section of Rugby World Cup 2027 Qualifying began this weekend. Four European countries were head-and-shoulders above the other four. Big wins see Romania, Georgia, Portugal and Spain closing in on qualifying for Australia 2027.

Georgia broke records in beating Switzerland on Saturday. The 110-0 win was the biggest in Georgia history. It was game two of the opening round. In the first match Germany had a solid first-half against Romania before the East Europeans took control for a big win on Friday.

Portugal were pushed hard by Belgium in their match on Saturday; Os Lobos ultimately won by 10 points. The final fixture saw Spain completing a bonus point win over the Netherlands.

Spain’s big win comes as the start of redemption for Los Leones. Disqualification from France 2023 hit the players and union hard. Spain is now well-placed to qualify for a first Rugby World Cup since 1999 and a second overall. Spanish qualification would mean at least three Spanish-Speaking teams would play in Australia 2027. Argentina has already qualified while South America 1, highly likely to be Uruguay or Chile, will qualify too. South America 2 also has an excellent opportunity of qualifying.

The qualifiers are organized in two pools of four. Pool A consists of Georgia, Netherlands, Spain, and Switzerland while Pool B is comprised of Belgium, Georgia, Germany and Portugal. The top two from each pool will advance to the Semi Finals and these four will, critically, qualify for the World Cup. The four will be known at the completion of round three on February 16.

The third and fourth places sides from the pools will compete for the repechage birth. World Rugby has allocated Rugby Europe with four direct slots for Australia 2027. The four to qualify will do so as Europe 1, Europe 2, Europe 3 and Europe 4. Three of the remaining teams will be eliminated with Europe 5 entering global repechage.

The tournament is taking place without the involvement of Russia. World Rugby is yet to reinstate Russia which enhances the prospects of others to qualify for Australia 2027.

After one round there is plenty to play for in round two. It will be played next weekend. Georgia host the Netherlands, the promoted Switzerland take-on Spain, Belgium host Romania and Portugal remain at home to face Germany.

GEORGIA 110-0 SWITZERLAND