The English side together with Wales have been drawn in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland alongside the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other top favourites 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, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will face 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
