The English side together with Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland and Scotland also share a pool once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages.
RWC 2027 Groups
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
