The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Group Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a pool once again, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one South Africa until the final, assuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools play out according to the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
RWC 2027 Groups
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
