England together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 2027 Groups
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
