England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one South Africa until the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools play out according to the current global standings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
Rugby World Cup 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
