England and Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing recalls their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools conclude according to the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
