England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a major early encounter in Australia. Completing the group in Pool F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their famous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock early exit.
Key Group Draws
The Irish and the Scots also share a group once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. On that occasion, Ireland secured a 36-14 victory, with their opponents failing to advance to the quarter-finals.
Los Teros and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as surprise packages in the last World Cup, complete that Pool D.
Significantly, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks top their assigned pool.
Knockout Ramifications
Should the groups play out in line with the current global standings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from the likes of England and Ireland until the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Opener
Tournament hosts Australia have been drawn together with their great rivals and three-time winners New Zealand in Pool A.
Australia will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster match aimed at jump-start the event.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. France are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Argentina will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and Canada as the World Cup grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will play a team that finished third 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
