The English side and Wales find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing recalls their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both impressed as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa until the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Knockout Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current global standings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would remain separated from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the remaining top-ranked nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup expands to twenty-four nations from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the victor of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six pool winners will play a team that finished third from the pool stages.
Rugby World Cup 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
