England together with Wales have been drawn in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the groups conclude in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 2027 Groups
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
