The English side together with Wales will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
Ireland and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool together, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland all the way to the final.
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.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in 2023.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 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
