England together with their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool once again, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa until the final, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
If the groups conclude according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
