England and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one 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, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
