England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will play a team that finished third 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
