The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
Ireland alongside the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
If the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool 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
