England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw echoes their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish and the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 2027 Groups
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
