England together with Wales will face off in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early 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 surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Significantly, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both England and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side 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
