England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a group once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 2027 Groups
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
