The English side and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a group once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they secured a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from holders and top-ranked South Africa until the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would remain separated from the likes of England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 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
