The English side together with Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and top-ranked the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are in a pool with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup expands 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 the competition's existence.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining 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
