England and Wales have been drawn in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw echoes their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, just as the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups conclude according to the current global standings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
RWC 2027 Groups
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
