England together with Wales will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
RWC 2027 Groups
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
