England and Wales will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a group together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the pools play out according to the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will play a third-placed side 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
