England and Wales have been drawn in an identical group for the 2027 RWC, promising a major pool stage encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their memorable meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish and Scotland have likewise been drawn in a pool together, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Knockout Implications
If the pools play out according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Opener
Hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, 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.
Expanded Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.
Although the victor of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six group winners will play a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
RWC 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
