The English side together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third 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
