The English side and Wales will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising 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 pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool 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
