England and Wales have been drawn in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups play out according to the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great 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 blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages.
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
