England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
RWC 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
