The English side and Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the final, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
