England together with Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland and Scotland also share a pool together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one South Africa until the final, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group 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
