England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Group Draws
Ireland and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a convincing win, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to 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 in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third 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
