England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Draws
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both England and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the runner-up 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 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
