England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa before the final, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool winners will play a third-placed side 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
