England and Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face 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
