England together with Wales have been drawn in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major pool stage clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they secured a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at launch the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the victor 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 Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will play 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
