The English side together with Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and Ireland until the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining top-ranked nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the competition.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
Rugby World Cup 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
