England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves 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 October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
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
