England together with Wales have been drawn in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, just as the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, presuming the South Africans win their assigned pool.
Tournament Implications
If the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will kick off the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and the Oaks. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, 2031 hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Spain and Canada as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the other six pool 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
