The English side and Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, assuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably 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.
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
