The English along with Wales Drawn in the Same Group for RWC 2027 Down Under
England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group 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
