🔗 Share this article

The English side and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.

This pairing recalls their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's shock early exit.

Other Notable Pool Draws

Ireland alongside Scotland have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.

Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as surprise packages in France, complete that Pool D.

Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks before the final, assuming the South Africans win their own group.

Knockout Ramifications

If the pools play out according to the current global standings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.

In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.

Tournament Hosts Face Major Fixture

Hosts the Wallabies find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.

Australia will kick off the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition.

Elsewhere, reigning champions the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.

Larger Format for 2027

Argentina will take on Fiji, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.

This edition will feature a last-16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup history.

Although the victor of Pool F may avoid 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.

A total of 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