England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
Ireland and Scotland also share a pool together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups play out according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
