England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their famous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' surprise early exit.
Key Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, they secured a convincing victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one South Africa before the final, assuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would remain separated from both England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. France are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will play 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
