England and Wales have been drawn in an identical pool for the 2027 RWC, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage clash in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw recalls their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish alongside the Scots also share a pool together, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, who each impressed as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F are kept apart from holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
If the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from both the English and Ireland 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 Opener
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the World Cup expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.
Although the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts early on, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the other six group winners will face 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
