England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
Ireland and Scotland also share a group once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each 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 South Africa before the final, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups play out according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish all the way to 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.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
RWC 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
