England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks before the final, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
If the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
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 – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
