England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland secured a convincing win, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa before the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Hosts Australia find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch 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 Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six pool winners will face a third-placed side 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
