The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools play out according to the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
