The English side together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Significantly, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play 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
