England together with their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland and the Scots also share a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely 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 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
