England together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool together, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 stage 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 heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool 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
