England and Wales will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament 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 been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
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
