England together with Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and top-ranked South Africa before the final, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the 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 runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face 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
