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England together with their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.

This draw mirrors their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise group stage elimination.

Other Notable Group Draws

The Irish and the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.

Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that same group.

Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their own group.

Tournament Ramifications

If the pools conclude in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the final.

In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.

Hosts Draw Major Opener

Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.

The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the event.

In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.

Larger Tournament for 2027

Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in France.

The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.

Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.

Four of the remaining six group winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.

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