England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will face 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
