England together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one South Africa until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Knockout Ramifications
If the pools conclude according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their great rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face a third-placed side from the pool stages.
Rugby World Cup 2027 Groups
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
