England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing recalls their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the groups play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, 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 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
