England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will play a third-placed side 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
