England together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
If the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have drawn Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool 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