England together with Wales have been drawn in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes 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 Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, assuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
If the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six group 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
