England together with Wales will face off in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and the Irish all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third 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
