The English side and Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing recalls their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish and the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six group 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
