England together with Wales have been drawn in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks before the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Opener
Hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at launch the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's 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 first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third 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
