The English side together with Wales find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a convincing win, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the pools play out in line with the current global standings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both the English and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
This edition will introduce a last-16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While 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 Pool B – probably the Italians – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will play a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
