The English side together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw echoes their infamous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground contributed to the hosts' shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish alongside Scotland also share a group once again, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing win, with Scotland unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as surprise packages in France, round out that Pool D.
Notably, the victors of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
If the groups play out in line with the current global standings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both the English and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Blockbuster Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in 2023.
This edition will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
RWC 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
