England together with Wales will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side 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
