The English side together with their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the 2027 Rugby World Cup, setting up a highly-anticipated pool stage encounter in the tournament Down Under. Completing the group in Pool F by the Tongan Ikale Tahi and Zimbabwe.
This pairing echoes their infamous meeting in the group phase of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at England's home ground played a part in the hosts' surprise early exit.
Other Notable Pool Draws
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool once again, just as the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, Ireland claimed a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Os Lobos, both made a strong impression as surprise packages in France, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks before the showpiece match, assuming the Springboks win their assigned pool.
Knockout Implications
Should the groups play out in line with the current world rankings, other leading contenders like New Zealand and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland until the final.
In that scenario, Los Pumas would be the other highly-seeded nation on the same half of the elimination bracket as England and Ireland.
Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Tournament hosts the Wallabies have been drawn alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions New Zealand in Group A.
Australia will kick off the tournament in the city of Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee match designed to launch the competition.
Elsewhere, reigning champions South Africa have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the USA and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will face Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the World Cup grows to twenty-four nations from the 20 who competed in France.
The 2027 tournament will feature a round of 16 round for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the winner of Pool F may be kept apart from some of the game's heavyweights initially, they will meet the second-placed team from Pool B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
A total of four of the remaining six pool winners will face a team that finished third from the pool stages.
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
