The English side and Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups play out in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six pool 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
