England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a convincing win, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other 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
