England and Wales will face off in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, promising a major early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at England's home ground contributed to the English team's shock group stage elimination.
Key Pool Pairings
The Irish alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the 2023 edition. On that occasion, Ireland claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each impressed as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
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
Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and the Irish until the championship decider.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match aimed at jump-start the competition.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Spain and Canada as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the 20 who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the game's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
