England and Wales will face off in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw echoes their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, 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 remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages.
RWC 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