England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish and the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
If the groups conclude in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from both England and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool 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
