England and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups play out according to the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face 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.
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
