England and Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Pool Draws
Ireland and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and Ireland until the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will play a third-placed side 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
