England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 win, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third 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
