England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early clash in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Pairings
Ireland and the Scots also share a group together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups play out according to the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both England and Ireland all the way to the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts Australia find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders South Africa have been paired with Italy, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are in a pool with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 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
