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England and their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 RWC, promising a highly-anticipated early encounter in the tournament Down Under. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.

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

Key Pool Draws

Ireland and the Scots have likewise been drawn in a group once again, replicating the situation from the 2023 edition. In that tournament, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.

Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that same group.

Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and top-ranked South Africa until the final, presuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.

Tournament Ramifications

If the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and the Irish until the championship decider.

In that scenario, Argentina would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.

Tournament Hosts Face Major Opener

Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.

The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster match designed to launch the competition.

In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with the Azzurri, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are in a pool with Japan, future hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.

Expanded Tournament for 2027

Los Pumas will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to twenty-four nations from the 20 who took part in France.

This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.

While the winner of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's biggest beasts initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Pool B – probably the Italians – in the first knockout round.

Four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side 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