The English side and Wales have been drawn in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one South Africa before the final, assuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools conclude according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play a third-placed side 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