England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks before the final, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side 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
