England and Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from both England and Ireland until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
