England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the groups play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. France are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 2027 Draw
Pool A
- New Zealand
- Australia
- Chile
- Hong Kong
Pool B
- South Africa
- Italy
- Georgia
- Romania
Pool C
- Argentina
- Fiji
- Spain
- Canada
Pool D
- Ireland
- Scotland
- Uruguay
- Portugal
Pool E
- France
- Japan
- USA
- Samoa
Pool F
- England
- Wales
- Tonga
- Zimbabwe
