England together with Wales will face off in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they secured a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked South Africa until the final, presuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the final.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of 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
