England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their infamous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to advance 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 winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
