England and Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
Ireland and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they secured a convincing win, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
