England together with Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools play out according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from both England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
RWC 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
