England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
