England together with Wales will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Draws
Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although 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 second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool 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
