The English side and Wales will face off in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish and the Scots also share a group once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups play out according to the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from both England and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies 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 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
