England and Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw echoes their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the pools play out according to the current global standings, other 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.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a third-placed side 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
