England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the final, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups play out in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third 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
