England together with Wales will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other 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
