England and Wales have been drawn in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play 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
