The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a group once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they secured a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups play out according to the current world rankings, other 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 highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six pool 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
