England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools conclude according to the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely 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.
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
