England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other 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
