England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their memorable meeting 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 group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the groups play out according to the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby'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.
Four of the other six pool 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
