England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play 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
