The English side and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
