The English side and Wales find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Key Group Draws
Ireland alongside Scotland also share a group together, just as the situation from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland secured a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Os Lobos, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.
Significantly, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the South Africans win their own group.
Tournament Implications
If the groups conclude according to the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will open the World Cup in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
