England together with Wales will face off in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger 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 France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
RWC 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
