England and Wales will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland alongside the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current global standings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
