England and Wales will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's shock early exit.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group once again, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
If the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos 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 face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
