England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major pool stage clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, 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 Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
