The English side and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a major early clash in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw recalls their infamous meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's surprise group stage elimination.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish 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 Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Los Teros and Portugal, both impressed as underdogs in France, complete that same group.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the South Africans top their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the pools conclude according to the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both the English and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at launch the competition.
Elsewhere, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the first time in Rugby World Cup existence.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely the Italians – in the first knockout round.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the initial group phase.
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
