England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools 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 all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool winners will face 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
