The English side and Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
Ireland alongside the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression 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 the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current global standings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Tournament hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who competed in 2023.
This edition will feature a round of 16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the runner-up from Group B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third 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
