England and their Welsh counterparts find themselves placed in an identical pool for the World Cup in 2027, setting up a highly-anticipated early encounter in Australia. They are joined in Group F by Tonga and Zimbabwe.
This pairing mirrors their famous clash in the pool stages of the 2015 tournament, where a Welsh win at Twickenham played a part in the hosts' shock group stage elimination.
Other Notable Pool Pairings
Ireland and the Scots also share a pool once again, replicating the scenario from the France 2023 tournament. In that tournament, they claimed a 36-14 victory, with Scotland unable to advance to the knockout stages.
Uruguay and Portugal, both made a strong impression as underdogs in the last World Cup, complete that same group.
Notably, the winners of both Pool D and Pool F cannot meet holders and world number one the Springboks until the final, presuming the Springboks top their own group.
Tournament Ramifications
Should the pools conclude in line with the current world rankings, other top favourites like New Zealand and Les Bleus would remain separated from the likes of the English and Ireland all the way to the championship decider.
Under those circumstances, Los Pumas would be the remaining highly-seeded nation on the same side of the knockout draw as England and Ireland.
Tournament Hosts Draw Blockbuster Fixture
Tournament hosts Australia find themselves alongside their trans-Tasman rivals and triple champions the All Blacks in Pool A.
Australia will open the tournament in Perth on 1 October 2027 in a marquee fixture designed to launch the event.
In other groups, holders the Springboks have been paired with Italy, the Lelos and Romania. The French team are grouped with Japan, 2031 hosts the USA and Samoa.
Expanded Format for 2027
Argentina will take on the Flying Fijians, Spain and the Canadian team as the tournament expands to 24 teams from the twenty who competed in 2023.
The 2027 tournament will feature a last-16 stage for the first time in the competition's existence.
While the winner of England and Wales's group may avoid some of the rugby's heavyweights initially, they will have to face the second-placed team from Group B – most likely Italy – in the last 16.
Four of the remaining six pool winners will face a third-placed side from the initial group phase.
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
