The English side and Wales will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one South Africa before the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament 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.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
