England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing recalls their famous clash 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 surprise early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and the Irish all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will play 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
