England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and top-ranked South Africa until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third 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
