England and Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's shock early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the final, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the pools conclude in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
