England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six group winners will play a third-placed side 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
