England together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw echoes their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a convincing win, with their opponents failing to progress to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both impressed as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Opener
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match designed to jump-start the competition.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Los Pumas will take on Fiji, Los Leones and Canada as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will introduce a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's history.
While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely the Italians – 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
