England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Pool Draws
Ireland and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland secured a convincing win, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
