England together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one South Africa until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the groups play out in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group 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
