England and Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 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 expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
