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The English side and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a major early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and the Zimbabwean Sables.

This draw mirrors their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the hosts' shock early exit.

Other Notable Pool Pairings

Ireland alongside the Scots have likewise been drawn in a pool together, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, they claimed a convincing victory, with their opponents unable to advance to the knockout stages.

Los Teros and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, round out that Pool D.

Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet holders and top-ranked South Africa before the showpiece match, presuming the South Africans win their own group.

Tournament Ramifications

Should the pools play out in line with the current world rankings, further top favourites like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish until the championship decider.

Under those circumstances, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.

Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener

Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Group A.

Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a blockbuster fixture designed to launch the competition.

In other groups, reigning champions the Springboks have been paired with Italy, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Manu Samoa.

Larger Format for 2027

Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.

The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in Rugby World Cup existence.

While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – probably Italy – 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