England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish and the Scots also share a pool once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups 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
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
