England and Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors 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' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play 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
