England together with Wales will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish and the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
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