England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from both England and the Irish until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
