England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland and Scotland also share a group once again, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six pool winners will play a third-placed side 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
