England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa before the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play 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
