The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third 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
