England and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. France are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
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
