England and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out according to the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
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 tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
Rugby World Cup 2027 Groups
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
