England and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a convincing win, with their opponents 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 winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups play out in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw 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 kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at launch the event.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
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
