England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots also share a group once again, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and world number one South Africa until the final, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
