England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa before the final, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
If the pools conclude according to the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the event.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
