England and their Welsh counterparts have been drawn in an identical group for the World Cup in 2027, promising a highly-anticipated early clash in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and the Zimbabwean Sables.
This draw echoes their memorable clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where Wales' victory at Twickenham played a part in the English team's shock early exit.
Other Notable Group Pairings
The Irish and Scotland also share a pool once again, replicating the situation from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they secured a 36-14 win, with Scotland failing to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, who each made a strong impression as underdogs in France, round out that same group.
Notably, the victors of these two groups are kept apart from defending champions and top-ranked the Springboks until the showpiece match, presuming the Springboks win their own group.
Tournament Implications
Should the groups play out in line with the current global standings, other top favourites like the All Blacks and France would also be kept apart from the likes of the English and Ireland until the final.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the other top-ranked nation on that half of the knockout draw as those northern hemisphere teams.
Tournament Hosts Draw Major Fixture
Hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and three-time winners the All Blacks in Group A.
Australia will kick off the World Cup in the city of Perth on October 1st, 2027 in a blockbuster fixture aimed at jump-start the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have drawn the Azzurri, Georgia and the Oaks. The French team are grouped with Japan, future hosts the United States and Samoa.
Larger Tournament for 2027
Argentina will take on Fiji, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament grows to 24 teams from the twenty who took part in France.
This edition will introduce a round of 16 stage for the very first time in the competition's existence.
Although the victor of Pool F may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights early on, they will meet the second-placed team from Group B – probably the Italians – 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 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
