England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman 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 designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 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
