England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw echoes their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Pool Draws
The Irish and the Scots also share a pool together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
While the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
