England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous 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 and the Scots also share a group together, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
