England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Group Draws
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out according to the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to launch the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
