Tony Johnson: All Blacks’ Tough Rugby World Cup Path Explained

We’ve got Tony Johnson back from the Northern Tour and straight into the fire, because there is so much to unpack. The World Cup 2027 draw is out, and yep… the All Blacks have copped the toughest path. Tony walks us through how the seedings landed us here, why New Zealand and South Africa are staring at a quarterfinal collision, and whether World Rugby has painted itself into a corner by locking draws in years out. We get into the (likely) Australia opener, the logistics versus logic debate, and the ripple effects for teams like England, Ireland, Fiji and France. Then we shift to the All Blacks themselves. Tony breaks down the coaching structure questions swirling around Scott Robertson and Scott Hansen, what’s real, what needs clarifying, and how much of this conversation exists purely because the team didn’t close out England. Find every episode and discover your next favourite podcast on the rova app or rova.nz Learn more about your ad choices. Visit megaphone.fm/adchoices