England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland alongside the Scots also share a group together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the groups play out according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool 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
