England and Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Pool Draws
Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in France, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups conclude according to the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa 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.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition 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 rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third 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
