The English side and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa until the final, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
