The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots also share a group together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with their opponents 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 Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked South Africa before the final, presuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
If the groups play out according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage 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 game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a third-placed side from the pool stages.
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
