England together with Wales have been drawn in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools conclude 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 Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 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
