The English side together with their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
