The English side together with their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress 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 Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one South Africa until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely 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 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
