England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a group together, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one South Africa before the final, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and the Irish all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool winners will face a third-placed side 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
