England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same 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 echoes their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool 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
