England and Wales will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group once again, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out 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, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six group winners will play 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