England and Wales have been drawn in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they secured a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups play out according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland until the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will play a team that finished third 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
