The English side together with their Welsh counterparts will face off in the same group for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, promising a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in Australia. They are joined in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This draw mirrors their memorable meeting in the pool stages of the 2015 World Cup, where a Welsh win at Twickenham contributed to the English team's surprise early exit.
Key Pool Pairings
Ireland and Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with their opponents failing to progress to the quarter-finals.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, complete that Pool D.
Notably, the winners of these two groups cannot meet defending champions and world number one South Africa before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the groups conclude according to the current global standings, further leading contenders like the All Blacks and Les Bleus would also be kept apart from both England and the Irish all the way to the championship decider.
In that scenario, Argentina would be the other highly-seeded nation on that side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Hosts Face Major Fixture
Hosts the Wallabies find themselves together with their great rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
The Wallabies will open the World Cup in Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a marquee match designed to launch the event.
Elsewhere, holders South Africa have been paired with the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. France are grouped with the Brave Blossoms, future hosts the United States and Manu Samoa.
Larger Format for 2027
Los Pumas will face the Flying Fijians, Los Leones and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to twenty-four nations from the twenty who took part in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the very first time in the competition's history.
Although the winner of England and Wales's group may be kept apart from some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will meet the runner-up from Group B – most likely Italy – in the first knockout round.
A total of four of the other six group winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
