England and Wales will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Pool Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
