England together with Wales will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground 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 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies 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 the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 2027 Draw
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
