England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
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 assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.
While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining 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
