England and Wales have been drawn in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and world number one South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages.
Rugby World Cup 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