The English side together with their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their memorable clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland alongside the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both England and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side 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
