England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Pairings
Ireland alongside the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture 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, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
RWC 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
