The English side and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
Ireland and Scotland also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
