England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined 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 Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa until the final, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from both the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – 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 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
